Volunteering/Fostering? 2 Litters?

Question

1st question: Are all shelters this simple to get involved with? I went today to volunteer at my local shelter and all I had to do was put my name on a piece of paper. Then I asked them if they had a lot of people foster and stuff and they asked if I would be interested in fostering and all I did was put my name and DL # on another piece of paper. Are all animal shelters like this? It seems a little careless....

Also, I am not fostering 2 litters of kittens and their moms. One mom has 4 but one died before and so now I have her and the other 3. She isn't into them much at all...she doesn't feed them hardly at all and they def. doesn't want to lay with them. At the shelter I thought she only had 2 cause one of them was way up under a blanket and she didn't even care.

The other mom is a cute petite gal who had 8 kittens. She is a wonderful mother and nurses before anything else.

I know 8 is a lot of begin with but I was wondering if I should go ahead and put the other 3 with her. They would warmer and get more of a chance to eat I believe but I just am afraid the strain would be too much.

She has quality food and isn't under weight or anything but she is a small cat.

Answer 1

First off most animal shelters or humane societies are just grateful to get help with cats and kittens. ESPECIALLY mommy and baby kittens as well. Fostering dogs usually takes a bit more just because more people are willing to foster and adopt dogs.

Secondly yes, if the first mother isn't helping the 3 kittens, its ok to move them all to the same mom. USUALLY the other mothers are good about just "adding" to the family. Just keep an eye on them. If they don't seem like they're growing and gaining like they should, or mom seems exausted you may want to bottle feed as well. How old are the kittens? That's the biggest issue. Let me know if I can help out any.

Answer 2

ive heard of lots of people doing that, i would just make sure , as 8 is a big litter, that she accepts them and they accept her, also i would separate the entire group into 2 or 3 groups, then alternate them, not just with feeding but to give the mom a break. then if you alternate them they wont be fighting over nipples and the mom will be happier, then put the group together at night and in the morning seperate them again

Answer 3

if she seems to have more than enough food and plenty of milk i would go ahead just make sure the other mom doesnt start to notice and get mad.