How difficult is it to foster a mother cat and her kittens? Where should the feline family stay in your home? You can successfully socialize the felines and prepare them for adoption once you have an understanding of why this population needs foster homes, how to set up your space, and how to care for each feline throughout their time with you.

Why do Mother Cats and Kittens Need Foster Homes?

Feline families benefit from the opportunity to stay indoors, away from the harsh elements and predators. By having a safe place to raise their kittens, the mother cat has a better chance of having low stress levels and doing an amazing job of keeping everyone healthy. This means that her kittens will have a better chance of survival. 

As the foster care provider, you will be there to monitor everyone’s growth and health. You will also assist in keeping the whole family up-to-date on vaccinations and other preventative care. Ultimately, you get to help each kitty prepare for a loving forever home, but the mother cat does the bulk of the work. 

How to Set Up Your Space for a Mother Cat and her Kittens

Start by gathering supplies for a general kitten room setup. Also include a nesting area for the mother cat and her kittens. The nesting area should be completely or partially covered, soft, comfortable, and warm. From there, you need to consider how old the kittens are in order to ensure everyone’s safety. 

Food setup

If the kittens are less than 3 weeks old, make sure that their mom’s food and water are far from the nesting area but are always accessible to her. The dishes should be shallow enough that the kittens cannot fall into them, become stuck, or drown. If the kittens are over 3 weeks old, the dishes should still be shallow but accessible to the kittens as they start to mimic their mom’s eating and drinking behaviors. Begin to consistently offer dry and wet food to the kittens around 5 weeks of age, as this is the age that most kittens naturally begin weaning off of their mother’s milk. 

Litter box setup

If the kittens are less than 3 weeks old, only the mother cat will need a litter box. Make sure the litter box is far from the food, water, and nesting area. It either needs to be too deep for the kittens to wander into or shallow enough that they could climb in and out on their own. 

Once the kittens are around 3-4 weeks old, include shallow litter box options with non-clumping litter. I prefer to use pine pellets for kittens this age. For a shallow litter box, you can use empty cardboard trays that canned cat food comes in, or you can buy kitten-specific litter boxes. 

To get the kittens used to using the litter boxes, you can stimulate them to go to the bathroom by taking a tissue and gently rubbing the area around the base of their tails. Once they’re finished, put the tissue on top of the litter. This will help the kittens associate the litter with their own scent, therefore telling the kittens that this is the spot where that scent is supposed to go. 

As time goes on, you can offer multiple litter box options to make sure each cat feels comfortable. For example, for a mom and three kittens, you can offer three or four litter boxes to be on the safe side. 

Enrichment

Just like you would provide enrichment options in your kitten room setup, you should also provide these options to the mother cat and her kittens. Ideally, the mother cat will have access to a space where she can safely get away from her kittens. This can be a simple perch on top of a scratching post or a space that only she can access. You want her to be able to take some time for herself while still observing her kittens from a distance.

If you’re not sure how much space to give the feline family, they will let you know if you take some time to understand their behaviors. I learned the hard way that my first adult foster and mother cat, Duchess, didn’t have enough space. She weaseled her way out of every setup I created so she could get away from the kittens for a while. I ended up making the playpen taller and extending the family’s territory into the guest bathroom, and now she’s content.

The feline family will also benefit from having access to toys. Provide cat-safe toys (no feathers, strings, or loose parts that can be bitten off or swallowed) to the mother cat from day one, and give her some one-on-one play time with you if she’s comfortable. You can introduce toys to the kittens when they are around 4-5 weeks of age. This is the age when you’ll notice that they’re starting to exhibit hunting and playing behaviors, so it’s a great time to teach them how to direct these skills to toys and objects instead of your body. 

How to Care for the Kittens

The most important task you will take on as a feline family foster is monitoring the health of each animal in your care. Weigh each kitten at least once a day to make sure they’re each getting enough milk from their mom. According to Kitten Lady, young kittens should gain 7-14 grams per day, but the most important thing to know is that the weight of a growing kitten should never decrease. If their weight goes down for more than two feedings in a row, it’s time to step in and provide supplemental bottle-feeding. If their weight continues to decline, it’s time to contact a veterinarian. 

You should also provide a safe source of warmth for the kittens, just in case their mom gets stressed and spends a long time away from them. You can use a microwaveable heat disc, sometimes called a Snuggle Safe. This is also a good idea in general if the room is not consistently warm. 

Aside from their growth and development, you should assess the kittens’ physical health daily. Look over each kitten to make sure their mom is cleaning them thoroughly. You should also make sure that their mom is stimulating them to go to the bathroom and that she is cleaning them afterwards. Take some time during your care routine to pause and observe; if the kittens are 3 weeks old or younger and you don’t see their mom licking around their tails before or after they nurse, it’s time to step in and help the kittens yourself. You should also monitor for signs of illness and physical injuries. Symptoms such as eye irritation, sneezing, colored nasal discharge, coughing, vomiting, lethargy, and diarrhea are all signs that a vet visit is needed as soon as possible. 

The kittens’ behavior must also be monitored daily. Handle them each day to ensure they are successfully socialized to humans. Look out for signs of a lethargic or uncomfortable kitten: sleeping frequently while the others are playing, slow to respond to stimuli, weak movements, squinting, refusing to eat, and constant crying are all indicators that the kitten needs to see a veterinarian right away. 

How to Care for the Mother Cat

Kittens aren’t the only ones who need your care and attention. Even though she’s doing most of the work, you still need to monitor the mother cat for the same signs of illness and take action accordingly. Aside from daily monitoring, one of the most important actionable steps you can take is to make sure she is eating enough food to maintain a healthy weight. Offer her as much dry food and wet kitten food as she wants at least three times a day. This will help her to successfully feed the kittens and allow them to grow and develop appropriately. 

If she’s having digestive issues, she can have probiotics even if she’s still lactating. Also monitor her abdomen if she’ll allow you to make sure her skin doesn’t look swollen, bruised, or inflamed. If she is having diarrhea or loose/foul-smelling stool, it’s time to get a fecal test. Anything affecting her digestive system could also be affecting the kittens. 

If the mother cat is friendly and has been socialized to humans, give her plenty of affection and offer her toys. If she’s feral, give her space and make sure she’s not too stressed. An over-stressed mother cat is less likely to successfully care for her kittens. You should also engage the mother cat in play as much as you can! It’s so joyful to watch a mother cat return to her goofy, kitten-like self as she gains confidence and independence.

How to Support Mother Cats and Kittens During the Weaning Process

Kittens begin naturally weaning from their mother’s milk around 4 to 5 weeks of age. During this time, you might notice that some of the kittens start to eat or show interest in their mom’s food. You will also notice that their mouths are finally full of teeth, indicating that they are able to successfully bite and chew on their own. While it is perfectly okay to let them snack on solid food as they’re comfortable, you can aid their fragile digestive systems by making slurry. Slurry is a mix of kitten formula and wet kitten food. The mixture can gradually help introduce their digestive systems to meat. 

In general, you will offer everyone wet food at each of the three or more daily meals when the kittens are around 4 to 5 weeks of age. Give the kittens as much food as they will eat in one sitting, and continue to monitor their weight each day. If you notice some of the kittens are not gaining weight, provide supplemental bottle feeding or make sure that their mom is still producing milk. 

You can typically let the kittens go through the weaning process at their own pace. However, if the kittens are not reliably eating food on their own around 6-7 weeks of age, with or without supplemental nursing, give their mom some time away from the kittens so her milk can start to dry up. This measure will help the kittens be more motivated to eat solid food on their own. Whatever the case, don’t rush the weaning process! Two kittens may be suddenly very interested in their mother’s food and start eating slurry with ease, but the third kitten may be slower to warm up to the idea and continue to nurse for another week 

How to Prepare the Mother Cat and her Kittens for Adoption

Prepping the feline family for adoption will be the biggest step in your fostering journey. If the mom is friendly and comfortable around humans, continue handling and spending time with each feline to teach them proper manners. You’ll also teach them how to play and how to be an adorable house cat. 

If the mom is feral, get her spayed and returned to her colony or a working cat adopter once the kittens are weaned. This way, the kittens can continue to be successfully socialized to humans without taking fearful cues from their mom. The kittens can be spayed and neutered once they are 8 weeks old and weigh at least 2 pounds. 

---

Thank you for taking the time to learn about fostering a feline family! It is very rewarding to know you’re helping one part of the feline population, and I promise you will enjoy the journey.

---

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Any purchase made through these links may help me earn a small commission.

Reference: Kitten Lady

• Instagram
• Pinterest
• TikTok

Exploring animal welfare one foster kitten at a time