Decide on keeping foster kitten/s

[Greenmyrtle]

Don’t think this is the correct forum but can’t see a better one.

we decided to foster kittens after our old cat died, before getting a new forever cat for our 7yo: Foster and let her choose her own new friend.
It’s gone too well :/

we took fosters, 8w old and a 12w old. They’ve ended up w them for 2months now
Youngest v tame 2nd was more feral as she was found a bit older but she’s doing great. Due to covid there haven’t been foster events and we’ve ended up w them too long… Ie they’ve bonded, I’ve bonded, our house at plays w them both. I can’t figure out what to do. keeping 3 cats seems like a lot… here are my options

1. keep both
2. Keep youngest
3. Hope both are adopted as pair
—— considerations:
A / they do everything together now, and seem dependent on each other for entertainment. so hard to think of separating them now

B/ . Little one would adapt ok I think since she’s such a ppl cat and she’ll spend more time w the 2 of us and our 7yo If her playmate goes. But I’d worry about older one because she starts all the games (actually invents new games iv never seen before that involve a 2nd player) and works hard to play w 7yo - if she ended up alone without any cats or maybe a dog, I think she’d be sad. She’s really mothered the little one too, so is probably the more bonded of the 2. I see some superior intelligence in her behavior. She also annoys our 7yo more

C /. as a pair they learn from each other and I worry the older is gonna be a hunter. We can’t make them indoor only because of the little cabin layout, we’ve been successful with prior cats keeping them from being bad hunters, but I think if bigger kitten is hunter, little kitten will copy, cos she copies everything else. If big one isn’t around she’ll have our cat to model from, who doesn’t go out much and only catches mice

D/. If they could be adopted together of course there are a zillion other cute kittens we can foster, and maybe there’s another perfect kitten for our cat. But the little one seems unusually calm, doesn’t cause annoyance to old cat, old cat likes her, and, as a cat for us, she’s free of all bad cat habits! Seems like that may be unusual combo?

E/ little one follows big one everywhere for next game and that is slowing down her relationship with the 7yo who gets ignored during kitten games. If we just kept her she would for sure lean on the 7yo for company and play much more, and the relationship would grow. I can imagine them as firm friends in

F/ keeping both might take us out of the foster pool, and I like the idea of doing more. Keeping one, we could still foster 1 at a time… though perhaps keeping 2 we could still foster 1? What the difference right? And the older one might be a great big sis to other foster kittens too?

G/ 3 cats = 3x vet bills + 3x health dramas, + emptying 3x poop from litter trays. Sigh!
——

I wish we hadn’t had them so long. A month ago I was ready to let older go, keep younger and be done, but now with the bonding in all
Directions it’s so hard.

any feedback?
I know this is a good problem to have! So I’m not complaining but it’s making me sad instead of happy when I hang with them now.

 

[fionasmom]

More than likely, there is no "right" answer given that you are talking about everyone having a home however, this plays out. You are probably not the only foster that this has happened to during the COVID period. So, this is just my opinion, but I would keep the two kittens together and insist that they be adopted together. I don't think that you have any control over that though. Most rescues are so happy to place anyone that they won't go out of their way to do this. These two young cats do seem very bonded and I do believe that there are animal friendships that are very strong. My avatar and her sister were born feral. She warmed up first and started to come inside but would never stay inside until the rainy day when I brought the sister, who was more reticent, inside. She never asked to go out again.

However, all of your other options are very logical. If you are really leaning toward one of them, there is no reason you should not go with that one. As for hunting...you are worried about a specific prey aside from mice in your area? I am really not sure how you stop a cat from hunting. My outdoor ferals are incredibly well fed and have food available at all times except the middle of the night, but just now I looked out to see one of them happily hunting.

I have always had more than 3 pets....you are right that it is 3 times everything. There is pet insurance which I have found to be a help with bills.

 

[Greenmyrtle]

Darn, no right answer!

Prey-wise : birds, lizards, young rabbits/squirrels etc.
Off topic a bit but reducing predation - perhaps we’ve been lucky, but kept females because they have smaller home territory, remove all bird feeders, no play toys w feathers, floor based chase games (vs things swinging above their heads), let them out at night more than day, then they seem to habituate to preferred familiar pray - small rodents. Encourage inside as main territory. A few birds have been killed but thankfully not many at all, and mostly easy pickings like a juvenile ground feeder.

 

[fionasmom]

That is very interesting how you train the cats not to hunt. It is like never playing tug of war with a dog (which most people think is a great game) because it increases dominance and the prey drive.

 

[Greenmyrtle]

Thanks. I can’t prove we haven’t just been luck with a few cats. But no harm in trying the protocol to see if it works.

 

[solomonar]

From my experience - which includes scientific research btw :-) - the brain is not always the best adviser. :-).
Have you attempted to ask you heart what to do?

 

[Greenmyrtle]

From my experience - which includes scientific research btw :-) - the brain is not always the best adviser. :-).
Have you attempted to ask you heart what to do?

- I usually find that the hardest question of all!! thanks for the reminder!
I'll see if I can get an asnwer there.

 

[MindyStClairesMom]

I accidentally ended up with 3 fosters (that we will most likely keep) when I was originally interested in one -- MAYBE 2. But the magic of the group is *fascinating* and is so sweet & diverting. There is a food & poop difference that we noticed between 2 >> 3, but the benefit seems to have outweighed the cost so far (and this seems like it will continue to be the case, but we are in early days). We noticed that they each have interesting skills to teach the other 2. One is a fantastic wand-toy goddess, one vocalizes sweetly (purring & chirping), and one is very gregarious. I was concerned that they wouldn't connect as readily as they have, but they are kind of a magic little band of hilarity.

 

[fionasmom]

The relationship of cats to each other is really fascinating.