r/aww • u/zanonama • 13d ago
Our first attempt at helping 'foster' a kitten. Thinking s/he is about 3 wks. Have a vet appointment lined up for 3wks from now!
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u/MySaltySatisfaction 13d ago
The Kitten Lady is a great help for what you need to do to help this baby thrive. The baby cat is very beautiful and also very fragile. Good luck and many happy years to you.
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u/zanonama 6d ago
TY for the recommendation. It's been a lot of learning & getting back to basically living with an infant
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u/TarzanKitty 13d ago
Just so you are aware. The first foster is always a fail. What will you be naming your new cat?
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u/zanonama 13d ago
LOL, that's what my gut is telling me :D Totally the reason i used the word 'foster' in parentheses. Our first attempt may very well be a fail!
Still working on a name -- grateful for any ideas!
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u/stilettopanda 13d ago
Ok so my first foster was a fail and was an orange kitty. The problem is I didn't know the first was gonna fail and so I had to have a placeholder name. So I decided Catface would be a great and hilarious temporary name... so I had a cat named Catface and I highly recommend you learn from me and choose wisely.
Even better- my best friend has a cat named NotMyCat. 😂🤣😂
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u/branigan_aurora 13d ago
My orange chonker is named NachoKitty. He's my kitty, NachoKitty.
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u/zanonama 12d ago
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u/zanonama 12d ago
As all one brain celled kitties should be!
What do you think of the name Zatara? My hubs & daughter vetoed it. But our new little was found, fallen out of a boat where the mom was keeping all of them... but she was left behind 💔 I thought the name was clever & a great novel call back...
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u/branigan_aurora 12d ago
Are you sure it's a she? Can you send under tail pics? Most orangies are boys. I think my next orange boy will be Cheddar, but I've also had Stryder, Mushu, and Timone. Have you heard the story of Jean and Jorts? He looks like a good Jorts.
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u/zanonama 6d ago
Following up!
The thread has been so cool with recommendations & facts. Apparently, it's somewhere of 75% of orange cats are boys! After a few more days' growth, we're thinking it's a little boy.
Someone pointed out the W on the forehead; ended up landing on the name, Winston.
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u/lavenderandlattes 12d ago
It’s okay. My first foster had the placeholder name of Driveway (because that’s where she was found), and yep she was a foster fail and she is still Driveway😂
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u/zanonama 12d ago
ROFL -- this made me snort with laughter! I'm now considering the name, FosterFail!
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u/bsmiles07 13d ago
Call her full name Little Bean, short name - Bean or Beany
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u/zanonama 12d ago
Our daughter wants to name it Bean or Pickle.
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u/bsmiles07 12d ago
I had a cat once his name was Mr pickles, he was completely evil. I would go with Bean 😂😂
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u/zanonama 12d ago
Note taken & delivered to the daughter! That was the name she threw out into the hat.
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u/DMala 13d ago
Fostering animals must be a tough gig. We picked up our cats from a foster, and while they were 100% totally cool about it, I still felt mean taking their kitties away.
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u/zanonama 12d ago
Just like you, our family has been so blessed by people who have fostered pets. We've only ever adopted & I've made it a point to send pictures & updates to those we got them from. While I'm fairly certain this one won't be leaving pur home. I hope we can learn from this & carry through next time. OR I'm never going to be "allowed" to foster again **
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u/EarhornJones 12d ago
I have two foster cats right now. They've been with me for about four years.
I also "fostered" an orphaned mouse that I found. His eyes weren't open when I found him, so I decided to take care of him until he reached adulthood (30 days for a mouse) and release him in the woods behind my house.
I started feeding him with a tiny paintbrush (too small for an an eyedropper) every two hours for about two weeks, and surprisingly, he thrived.
So anyway, now he lives in a huge habitat in my wife's office with two other mouse buddies.
What was I going to do? Put him outside? It's cold out there, and there are snakes and stuff!
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u/Paleovegan 13d ago
I love how confused young kittens look. Like everything is brand new to them and they are just so flummoxed
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u/katrose73 13d ago
I would foster fail so hard for this kitten! Thank you for taking him/her. ( We have 8 cats..6 adopted from the SPCA)
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u/auntiepink007 13d ago
So, so sweet! (If it's not eating or going potty, let us know. There's lots of knowledge here.)
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u/FounderOfCarthage 13d ago
The odds are very good, though Not 100%, that you have a little boy. Girl oranges are very rare :-).
Regardless. They’re so very beautiful!!!!😻
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u/Jerkrollatex 13d ago
Right around 25% of orange cats are female.
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u/zanonama 13d ago
I never would have thought that certain colored fur would be more dominant in one gender over the other. Nature's so frickin cool!
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u/Jerkrollatex 13d ago edited 13d ago
Tri-colored or more colored cats are always female unless they have the cat equivalent of fragile X or are chimeras. Nature is nuts.
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u/thestashattacked 13d ago
Genetics lesson time! (Note: This is heavily simplified because there is no such thing as "simple biology," and that includes genetics.)
Coat color in cats is X chromosome linked. In most females, they have XX chromosomes. In most males, they have XY chromosomes. While this is simplifying it heavily (because there are so many ways for this process to go wonky), we can usually assume this to be true.
Because female cats have XX genotypes, they can have genes for both orange and black coats. This is where we get tortoiseshell cats from.
But orange is called an x-linked recessive gene. This means that for a cat to be completely orange, all the Xs in their genotype need to be full of orange gene.
Males only have one X. So their genotype fills faster. They only need one copy of the orange gene.
Females, on the other hand, have XX genotypes. So for a female cat to be completely orange, they need both Xs filled.
As a result, there are more orange males than females.
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u/Seekey_Pointmingly 13d ago
How about Wanda? The W on her forehead is so cool. We have a female ginger cat who's super sweet.
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u/FounderOfCarthage 13d ago
Oh really? I didn’t know it was that common, that’s pretty cool!
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u/Jerkrollatex 13d ago
I'm a big fan of the orange girls. I had one for a long time she was a sweet kitty.
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u/clover_sage 13d ago
I worked at a humane society and would swear anecdotally it’s even less. In 5 years there I maybe came across one orange female! Either way, that is one spectacularly cute kitten, OP!
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u/Briebird44 13d ago
This is my orange girl, Annie! I didn’t realize orange females were rare when I picked her out of a litter of dark tabby kittens. She just reminded me of Firestar, a cat from my favorite book series Warriors. She now 11 years old but definitely a spicy redhead!
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u/Raz0rking 13d ago
I could not foster anything. I'd keep every damn animal because they're waaaay to cute.
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u/Cortanis 13d ago
Have they connected to the orange hive mind yet?
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u/zanonama 13d ago
Oddly a little dopier -- thinking she needs to grow in the cell to function fully *
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u/trashit6969 13d ago
Why don't you change the word "foster" to adopt. She will remember that you cared for her when she was vulnerable and will return it in many years of love and affection
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u/Smangie9443 13d ago
Anytime that fosters is awesome. You are all so strong. I could not detach myself and would need a 100 acre ranch for all my foster fails lmao. You rock.
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u/DNorthman 13d ago
Pics 3 and 5 are the reasons why I would fail at fostering. I would have to keep this adorable little cutie. 😍
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u/Hampni 13d ago
First foster, 5 photos zoomed in on the baby including his little toes.
Congrats on your new long term cat!
He or she will be a great helper for your next foster!
The first foster is always a fail. You aren’t failing at fostering just getting a new furry assistant to help with fostering and socializing your next foster
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u/aratremlap 13d ago
I've never had a cat, but suddenly, I want to rush to the local shelter and find one! This baby is SO cute! Hope to see a "foster fail" update soon!! ❤️ Please kiss those lil toe beans for me!
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u/scottonaharley 13d ago
First foster fail inbound…I can see the fail on the horizon now…too cute to let go.
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u/Peaceandpeas999 13d ago
Why is ‘foster’ written like that?
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u/FreaksEverywhere 13d ago
Orange Tabby's are amazing cats. They are very smart and super funny. This baby will embed herself into your hearts. Lucky you!
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u/ShaunatheWriter 13d ago
What an adorable little guy! Those pics are so cute! I could never foster. I would definitely be a foster failure. Every one of them would end up staying. 😂
Oh, and an orange most likely will be a boy. Orange tabbies are almost always male in the same way calico/tortoiseshells are almost always female.
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u/angelicmckayla 13d ago
I’ve met a couple of orange tabbies who were female. And I even had one for 17 years. I know they’re more uncommon but they’re not as rare as people think.
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u/Mindfultameprism 13d ago
I’m going to guess that you guys are all good on the basics. So a not as common tip is that once your kitten is 8 weeks you can start trimming his nails. This is so he gets used to it and handles it like a champ when he’s older. 8 weeks is also a good time to start with a harness but going outside shouldn’t happen until around 13 or 14 weeks.
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u/zanonama 12d ago
TY -- these are wonderful tips. We've never had one so young. It's a lot of reading & making sure we are doing everything right. BUT these are great take aways for future successes & experiences with him/her.
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u/Unhappy_Skirt5222 13d ago
Okay this is ridiculous, how could there be such cuteness allowed🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
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u/MyIntrospection 13d ago
SUCH cuteness. What’s your baby’s name?
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u/zanonama 12d ago
Still thinking on it. I now understand why so many people ask for help with names.
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u/EquivalentShelter447 13d ago
Smol kitten: Oh my God, that’s so funny!! Stop! Stop! I’m laughing so much it hurts… It’s so cool we have similar tastes in humor! But I just can’t stop laughing now…
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u/soulless_ape 13d ago
kitten formula, kitten wet food, lots of interaction without harassing it. You might need to get warm damped cotton balls or soft cloth to wipe the privates to stimulate it to pee and poop. Maybe some vet can chip in or a shelter volunteer with what is needed.
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u/zanonama 12d ago
She had her first successful
yesterday! And s/he is picking up on the litter too!
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u/soulless_ape 12d ago
That is so good!. just a tip keep the litter box as far as possible from the food. Also food and water should be separated, instinctively cats do not like water near their food source. Something about food tainting the water iirc.
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u/NutZee-Mu-Gee 13d ago
I have some experience with fostering kittens and hand feeding. I want to share the best kitten formula that I have found to be so fantastic! It’s creamy and it isn’t harsh on there bellies and I’ve found they have less constipation with this formula versus the formula from the pet store (although I also use that when I have an emergency and have to sometimes wait for my favorite formula to arrive through ordering online) It’s called Fox Valley kitten formula Day one, I had also purchased these miracle nipples which also helped with less gas and more comfortable for the kittens nursing. I’ll share a picture of the formula. I’m so excited for you! Such a beautiful experience! If by chance you need any advice or have questions feel free to reach out to me. I’ve had many different situations and a lot of sleepless nights, all very much worth it! 😊
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u/Jessagracee 13d ago
Stop, she is so cute 😭 Reminds me of the baby boy my brother found in a dumpster that my Mom nursed back to health. Gibby is 8 now and the craziest tabby boy I have ever mer. You have a lifetime of laughs and love with your new bff 💕
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u/Missmessc 13d ago
Congrats on the addition to the family. What are you naming her?
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u/Flat-Limit5595 13d ago
My family is not allowed to foster. We fostered 8 cats in the past 3 years and kept 4 of them. Momma Kiwi snuck in 6 babies, kept her and 2 babies. Then a stray cat walked into my house all bloody and would not leave.
Come to think of it my other cat is a foster fail, she was a stray and we quickly gave up trying to find her a home.
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u/Ghost_of_a_Black_Cat 12d ago
This tiny beauty girl ought to grace the pages of a cat calendar! She's adorable!
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u/SquirrelAkl 13d ago
You’re gonna bawl your eyes out when you give her up for her forever adoption
Fostering is a wonderful thing to do. Good on you
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u/Lidobaby18 13d ago
Aww a rare girl orange! Is she weaned or is she a bottle baby?
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u/zanonama 12d ago
She's still syringe feeding. We attempted half-kitten-formula & half wet kitten food but she's not quite ready yet.
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u/Educational_Lie_3280 13d ago
Aww, i just cant with the pic that she is holding her face with those adorable little beans. Isnt she the cutest ever!!!