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Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

  • 1.  Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-05-2025 04:10 PM

    Hi everyone!

    I'm reaching out to see if any organizations would be willing to share resources or their protocol for handling situations where kittens are critically ill or dying in foster care after- hours.

    I'm in the process of creating a protocol for our shelter and would love to learn from others about how they manage these emergencies when veterinary care isn't immediately available. If you have any advice or resources on how fosters should proceed in these situations, it would be greatly appreciated. Currently, we don't have a partnership with a local emergency pet hospital.

    I would really appreciate any guidance you can provide.

    #FosterPrograms

    #fostercareprogram

    #emergencyprotocol

    #neonatalkitten

    #neonatalhealth

    #overnight

    #catfostering

    #municipalshelter


    #FosterPrograms

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    Yvette Mota
    Foster Coordinator
    Chula Vista Animal Services
    CA
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  • 2.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-06-2025 09:04 AM

    Hi there,

    We have an after-hours number for our foster parents that they can call if they are experiencing any sort of emergency, they can even text (it's google voice).  We also have on our trello board lots of resources for medical things, and include like a 'emergency' flow chart for them to utilize as well. If they call after hours and we determine that the kitten needs immediate help, we'll connect with our healthcare team to have someone meet them at our shelter to care for the animal. Attaching some of our resources here, let me know if you have any questions!



    ------------------------------
    Shelby Bundy
    Shelter Manager
    Longmont Humane Society
    303-772-1232 x 265
    ------------------------------

    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    Kitten_Foster_ER_Chart.pdf   50 KB 1 version
    pdf
    FKS.pdf   570 KB 1 version
    pdf
    Levels_of_Emergency_(1).pdf   6.29 MB 1 version


  • 3.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-06-2025 03:29 PM

    Thank you so much for sharing these! Do you supply every foster parent with medical supplies in case they're needed or how do you go about that? 



    ------------------------------
    Yvette Mota
    Animal Services Specialist
    Chula Vista Animal Care Facility
    CA
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-07-2025 07:13 AM

    Yes, we will supply foster parents with a "Critical Care Kit" in the event of a fading kitten. This kit includes sub-q fluids, nutrical, and karo syrup. There have been times where we have sent home injectable b12 as well. And depending on the foster parent and the needs of the animal, if they need something more extensive and are willing, we will supply them with additional things and show them how to utilize them properly.



    ------------------------------
    Shelby Bundy
    Shelter Manager
    Longmont Humane Society
    303-772-1232 x 265
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-07-2025 09:14 AM

    Awesome, thank you for the information! 



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    Yvette Mota
    Animal Services Specialist
    Chula Vista Animal Care Facility
    CA
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-10-2025 08:21 AM

    Do you give every foster parent one of these kits? Or just when kittens seem medically fragile?



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    Emme Hones
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  • 7.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-11-2025 08:48 AM

    It's entirely dependent on the kitten. Bottle babies always have emergency kitten kits sent with them, in case of fading kitten. Older kittens may or may not be sent with supplies, depending on their current health status.



    ------------------------------
    Shelby Bundy
    Shelter Manager
    Longmont Humane Society
    303-772-1232 x 265
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 10-16-2025 11:46 AM

    Do you send the fluid in pre drawn syringes and if so, how long does that last? 



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    BreeAna Porter
    Foster and Transport Manager
    Houston Humane Society
    TX
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 10-16-2025 02:02 PM
    Hi there,

    Yes we would give prefilled syringes of subq fluids. We normally gave about 3-5 syringes (around 5-10ml each). They would only last a week once drawn up but we would give more if needed after that.




  • 10.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 10-17-2025 03:17 PM

    Thank you for this information! 



    ------------------------------
    BreeAna Porter
    Foster and Transport Manager
    Houston Humane Society
    TX
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-09-2025 09:01 AM

    Hi Yvette!

    Our foster program has been a huge work in progress and had to make a lot of adjustments for situations like this over the last couple of years. We just launched our Google voice number, which is what we are providing for fosters as our 24 hr emergency number. It's wonderful because people can call OR text, you can access from your personal cell phone without providing fosters your legit phone number. Myself and the one other foster employee will rotate the responsibility of being on call. When someone contacts us, we deem whether it's genuinely an emergency or not, and if so we will head into the shelter and meet the foster there. We do have a veterinarian on staff, but she does not work outside of office hours unless an extreme, bigger-scale emergency.

    We send everyone taking kittens with a fading kitten protocol sheet and advise them to begin that as they are contacting us with concerns. Generally speaking, I find that a lot of fosters will panic and not really even think to follow the steps we have given them - but we provide the literature anyway! The best you can do is just make it clear that they have support, even if it's an imperfect system. We use the Slack app for day-to-day communication with fosters, and if I'm sending out kittens that are fragile, I touch base with the foster every single day until I'm confident they are on the right track!




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    Vanessa Brown
    Foster Care Coordinator
    Vanderburgh Humane Society
    Evansville, IN
    812-426-2563, ext 210
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-10-2025 08:53 AM

    Hello!

    2 year ago we partnered with a 24hour emergency vet that is in our town that will allow fosters to drop off fading kittens for emergency euthanasia or if possible, life saving care. Then I connect with the emergency vet the next day and will either pick up the body for panleuk testing or if the kitten is still alive, transfer them to our vet. I believe we pay a yearly fee for this care or barter services for their vet students if they need cadavers, spay/neuter practice or other surgeries. This allows fosters an immediate option if their babies are crashing where they do not need to watch them suffer or wait for a response from us. So far we have only needed to use if a few times and I send a box of donuts or a treat to the emergency vet staff if they help us with a dying foster. 

    I am very straight forward with the fosters that it will usually be for emergency euthanasia but the ER staff will do everything they can for the baby if it is possible to save it. 



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    Katie Pauli
    Foster Coordinator
    Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter
    MT
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Dying Kitten In Foster After-Hours

    Posted 03-10-2025 04:32 PM
      |   view attached

    Every shelter/rescue has to decide how they want to handle fading kittens/puppies and how to best utilize limited resources. However, the vast majority of "fading" neonates will not survive, even with heroic efforts. The "litter-bearing mammal" model never really intends to have all of the offspring survive. If Mom quits nursing them, pushes them out of the box or they suddenly start to struggle, there is typically something wrong that can't be fixed.

    My shelter is blessed with a robust foster department and our staff provides foster parents with a ton of information, support and training. I am attaching the 1-page sheet regarding fading puppies/kittens. Our foster staff is available 24/7 for fosters and veterinary staff are also on-call for emergency situations. If shelter animals in foster require emergency care, we partner with a local emergency clinic to provide care. However, we do not send fading puppies/kittens to the emergency hospital unless they require emergency euthanasia (determined after consultation with O/C vet). I cannot recall the last time that this was necessary. The vast majority will pass peacefully without intervention.



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    Rachel Powell DVM
    Director of Surgery
    Greenhill Humane Society
    Eugene, OR
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    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    FadingKitten.pdf   642 KB 1 version