Hi everyone!
A question I'm asked a lot is
"How do you set up your space for foster kittens?"
So in this video I will be talking about
Setting up your home base for kittens of all different ages
And I'll be answering some of your top questions about
"How to set up their areas properly?"
So the first thing I'll say is
Yes! You do have room to foster kittens
A lot of people say that they want to wait until they have more space so that they can foster
But whether you live in a six-bedroom house or a studio apartment
I promise you
You have room to foster kittens
So you don't just want to bring home a foster kitten and let them loose all over your house
You want them to have a dedicated space
The good news is kittens don't take that much space
Have you seen a kitten?
They're not very big
An appropriate space for kittens is going to be:
Safe, confined and free of spaces that the kitten can get stuck
Climate-controlled, soft and warm
Protected from hazards such as; small objects, cords or other animals
And able to be cleaned daily and sanitized in between litters
So here's how you set up your space starting with kittens 0 to 3 weeks old
A top opening carrier, bin or box
A soft baby blanket
A heat source such as a *snuggle safe*
And you might want to include a cuddle companion like a little stuffed animal
Kittens two weeks old and under will be very small, very vulnerable and will sleep about 23 hours a day
I personally like to use a plastic tub because it's easy to clean
Sanitized and look through
And they're so small that they can't get out at the top of it
You can also use a top opening kennel
This is a better option than using a front-facing kennel because you can easily see down to the kittens
You really don't want to use something with bars on the front
Because these kittens are so small that they can get stuck
Or you might opt for a soft carrier.
This is nice because it's portable and it's safe for your babies
I typically use a soft carrier when I'm on the go with my kittens
And a plastic tub when I'm at home
One more optional thing you can add is a comfort source
Like a stuffed animal or even better a *snuggle kitty*
The *snuggle kitty* is a surrogate mom that has a battery-operated heartbeat inside
You just put two double-a batteries inside, turn it on
Stick it back inside the mama and you'll get a nice comforting heartbeat
Kittens are really drawn to this especially the solo babies
Because they're looking for that comfort from their mama
So this is a great thing you can add
Or if you don't have access to it *snuggle kitty*
You can always just include a nice little soft stuffed animal for them
Hot tip > Sometimes the *snuggle kitties* aren't available, but you can find *snuggle puppies*
The kittens don't really know the difference so I use *snuggle kitties* and *snuggle puppies*
So as you can see kittens three weeks, and younger really don't need much space
Their whole world is easy to keep right on top of your coffee table
Under your desk at work or even next to your bed
It's mostly a little place for them to incubate and sleep in between feedings
So I promise you
You have room for these little guys
Now let's talk about what it takes to set up a space for kittens three weeks and older
Once kittens reached two and a half to three weeks old
They're starting to spend more time awake
Their vision is improving
And they're becoming more curious about the world around them
This is a great time to upgrade your kitten to a playpen
I recommend getting a soft sided playpen with a zip top
These things are awesome because they're safe
They're confined and they're easy to sanitize
They also fold up easily so you can take them with you to work
Or to visit a friend or family for the weekend
Inside the playpen you'll still want some soft blankets
A heat source and perhaps your comfort source
But as the kittens get older you'll also want to start including some other things
You'll want;
A shallow litter box filled with a kitten safe litter
Choose something that is non clumping and unscented
Once the kittens are weaning, you'll start including some shallow food and water dishes into the playpen
There are lots of other things you could consider including such as toys, the comfy hideaway or a soft bed
It's really up to you
Just make sure that everything is kitten safe and that they have all the essentials
That's it!
It's totally possible for you to raise your kittens all the way to eight weeks old using your playpen
Now if you do have a separate room to foster kittens in
The first thing you want to think about is kitten proofing
If the kittens are in their own room make sure that it's safe for them
You want the room to be free of things like toxic plants
Small objects
Cords
Strings on blinds
Places the kitten can get stuck
And tall furniture where they might climb up and fall down
Kittens are super curious, and they can get into all sorts of stuff
So you want their space to be as simple as possible
Just the essentials
Things that they need
Things that are safe for them
And of course a shallow litter box and food
Now there are a lot of things you can choose to add to your kitten room
Things like a small bed
Small climbing structures or even scratch posts
Just make sure that they always have easy access to a litter box at all times
And that everything can be sanitized
And that's the other main thing that you want to think about
If you are going to have a separate room for fostering kittens
You do want to make sure that it's something that is easy to clean
When you bring home kittens you'll be bringing home an animal with an unknown health history
And that means you don't want them shedding any illness in an area that's difficult to sanitize
In general you want to avoid porous surfaces such as carpets
Which can retain certain viruses or parasites
And are a bit harder to clean
Okay, now let's talk about some common questions
A big question I get is "What about my personal pets?"
I have three cats of my own at home
And I can tell you from personal experience that it is safe and easy to foster while having your own cats
But you do want to take some precautions
My recommendation is that you keep your foster kittens separate from your cats
Such that they are not coming into contact with feces or saliva from one another
This is pretty easy to do if you follow the protocol of keeping your kittens separate
In a playpen or in a separate room
At a bare minimum two week quarantine is required
This is so that you can monitor the kitten for signs of illness
And treat them for any parasites that they may have
After the mandatory two week quarantine
It's up to you
But I do still recommend keeping them separate
Most of your foster kittens are not going to be with you for more than a couple weeks
So most of the time It's really just not worth it for you to go through the hassle
Of introductions with your personal pets
Keeping them separate in a playpen or a bedroom is always your best bet
If you do want to introduce your foster kittens to your pets
Never ever stray from that 2-week quarantine rule
And of course just make sure that your personal pets are up to date on vaccines
You should be doing that anyway, but if you're bringing in kittens
It's always a good idea just to check your records
And make sure that your cats are up to date on their FVRCP vaccine
And that they're nice and healthy
The other big question I get is "How do you sanitize your space?"
One nice thing about keeping your kittens contained
Is it an easier to sanitize your space when it's a small space
So first of all remember that cleaning and sanitizing are not the same thing
Cleaning is when you make things feel and look and smell fresh
But sanitizing is when you disinfect it completely
So while you do want to clean every day
You want to be sanitizing in between litters
And anytime that there's illness
Make sure the product you're using is a disinfectant
Bleach at a ratio of 1 to 32
Is the most affordable and common household disinfectant
And it can absolutely be used with your kitten supplies
But with bleach you want to make sure that you're thoroughly rinsing everything with water after you use it
My personal favorite disinfectant is a product called *Rescue*
It's an accelerated hydrogen peroxide disinfectant
And I like using it because it kills everything I might need it to kill
And it's really safe and gentle
So you can just spray down your supplies
Leave it on for about 10 minutes
Wipe it down and you're good to go
For soft stuff like stuffed animals
Washing in the washing machine with hot water and bleach will work just fine
Like I said, you don't need to sanitize all the time, but certainly when you're dealing with a serious illness
And ALWAYS in between litters
It's not tough to do and it keeps everybody safe!
And the final question is "Where do you get all this stuff?"
That's easy to do! I've made a page on my website
That's dedicated to giving you links to all of the supplies that you might need
Including all of my favorite things that I use at home
You can visit kittenlady.org/supplies
For easy links to everything that I use
But if you're worried about the expense of buying your own supplies
Don't worry
There's a lot of things that you can do!
First of all ask your foster programs what supplies they can give you
A lot of shelters and rescue groups will give you all or some of the supplies that you might need
Since so many of the supplies you're going to need are baby supplies
The things like stuffed animals and baby blankets are really easy to come by second hand
Of course an easy way to get the supplies that you need is to create an Amazon wishlist
You can share it online with your friends or family or coworkers
And you'll be surprised how many people are willing to help out
Especially when they know they're going to get lots of cute kitten videos in return
And finally my favorite thing is a kitten shower
just like a baby shower gifts baby supplies to new parents
A kitten shower gives kitten supplies to new foster parents
And who doesn't want to go to a kitten shower?
Just make a list of all of the things that you need
Invite your friends to come over to your house and you'd be surprised how many people will support you
Once the people in your life know that you're saving kittens lives
So many of them are going to support you in your efforts and help you along the way
So that's it!
Now you know how to set up your space for foster kittens
Whether you're fostering teeny tiny kittens
or older kittens who are almost ready for adoption
Now you know what they need to keep them safe comfy and healthy
Pumpkin don't chew that baby
I love you, don't chew that
🐱