Exactly how crazy would I have to be to offer to foster four kittens?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I’m a dog person, mostly. I have three (one is a foster that will be going to his permanent home next week), all of whom are good with cats, and easy dogs in general. My husband is going to be out of town pretty much constantly for the next six weeks, and I’m in the mood to play with kittens. I’m definitely going to foster two, but there are four siblings who need someplace to go…and part of me is thinking, why not? The other part of me wants to slap the first part because it’s insane.

The kittens are about 8-10 weeks old, I think (still waiting for details). How much of a pain are we talking, here?

#2

Pain? Pain? What’s a little pain compared to a hefty dose of the concentrated happiness that is kittens? So what if they will get into everything, climb the curtains, eat the houseplants and cause you to spend hours and hours looking for them to make sure they didn’t sneak out, curl up in the dryer, get stuck in a closet or chew through an electrical cord behind the sofa? You’ll get to laugh when they attack your shoes. Chuckle when they sneak up and pounce on each other. Giggle when they pretend to be scared of that bread tie on the floor. Smile indulgently when they curl up in you lap or in bed with you at night and purr with the volume of an outboard motor. That’s so worth it.

Xa predicts if you foster four kittens, you’ll end up with at least two. :smiley:

#3

…Scream in agony as they all decide to climb you with razor sharp kitty claws while you’re innocently preparing dinner.

#4

I’m having a hard time advising without seeing pictures of the kittens.

#5

Seconded.

#6

Sorry, I don’t have any yet! I promise to post as soon as they’re available. But it’s sounding like two will be enough. I tend to think…what’s one more animal? Or two? But then I’ve never had a kitten, so I really don’t know what I’m in for.

#7

Similar to human babies, actually. Except for the claws and teeth. But I hear the doctors do a bit of nip and duck soon after birth so with kittens, perhaps just a few more stitches. You won’t notice the scars after a while.

#8

Two gives them someone to play with when you’re not there. I’d stop short of four, though. I will try valiantly not to be swayed by the upcoming pictures.

[gully dwarf]Two. Not more than two.[/gully dwarf]

#9

Oh god, it can’t be that bad, can it? You’re just fucking with me, right? Right?

#10

Yeah, four kittens aren’t much more trouble than two. Actually, my cat never had less than 6 at a time. They’re a BLAST! Just a few more to keep track of when opening and closing doors, etc., a bit more litter-box scooping…ya know.

#11

I’ve looked after litters of kittens a couple of times, and hands down it’s been about as much fun as I’ve ever had. It’s also about as much time as I’ve ever wasted just watching them and laughing. Kittens are amazingly entertaining.

Four little kittens aren’t all that hard to care for … you’ll do a fair bit of litter tray cleaning, but other than that they’ll amuse each other, and you.

For your own peace of mind it would be a good idea to have somewhere for them to be when you’re out or busy so that you don’t have to worry about them chewing on electrical cords and such like, just in case it’s something they decide to do.

If you’ve got a big dog crate that you can fit a bed and litter tray in, that would be a good, or a bathroom, something like that.

At eight to ten weeks old they’ll be weaned and eating pretty much like adult cats (maybe a couple of extra meals and some kitten food), and most likely house-trained.

#12

Fun and very little pain. Except- letting them go. :frowning: Be prepared to want to keep them.

#13

Fostering kittens until they are about 8 weeks old is a blast - we’ve done many litters. At 8 weeks, though, they become a pain - one litter learned to open drawers, others learned to dash though doors… just make sure that whatever organization you are fostering for has a GOOD adoption strategy, and are not just hoping you will do all the work, or keep all the kittens.

#14

I would love to foster kittens! I think it would be so much fun! You can laugh and laugh at them and they will keep you entertained for hours. My father just told me that there is a litter of kittens at my neighbors house and asked if I wanted to adopt one. I already have one cat and I’m thinking about getting another. I would love to be able to give one of them a loving home.

#15

I adopted three kittens at age three months, bringing them into a household with two resident adult cats. It was a TOTAL BLAST! If I didn’t have 7.5* already right now, I’d love to do it again.

But then, I’m a crazy cat lady… :smiley:
*Peanut’s not big enough to count as one yet.