From whom did you get your kitten? Can not the breeder or adoption source step up to the plate?

My bad, I actually rescued her from the street and not from an animal shelter.

I applaud you for taking the cat in, I'm sorry I won't be able to help. (Turns out my Greyhound from the track in Tampa, FL, is aggressive toward small critters.)

Ona, I suggest you consult with your veterinarian...perhaps he/she knows of someone who can assist, or perhaps they can help you out.

Thank you for your reply but I did try to contact my vet and they said most of their foster programs were full because apparently it's kitty season. Most shelters say if I take her there it's considered as surrendering her and after passing all the health tests she will be up for adoption in 14 days which I do not want. It shouldn't be so difficult to find a foster program/family and as far as the expenses I would be responsible for her health bills. My trip can last between 3-4 weeks but it shouldn't be longer than that.

You are in an extremely difficult position. Since you apparently have no one you know who can take your kitten for a few weeks, and since you can't afford to have her professionally boarded, you are at the mercy of someone you don't know. That is always a very risky proposition. There are a lot of people out there who might tell you everything you want to hear just to get their hands on the kitten, then do God only knows what with the kitten once you're out of the picture. Horrible things happen to unprotected animals far more frequently than anyone realizes or would want to admit.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but under these circumstances, the best thing you may be able to do for the kitten is to relinquish her to a good, no-kill shelter where she will, at least, be safe and have a chance of being adopted into another loving home. And there's always the chance that she wouldn't be adopted before you got home and could go and adopt her again yourself. It's something you should seriously consider.

Laurie

Laurie: I had a couple cats dropped off at me unexpectedly. The alternative, my friend told me, was I take them or they get euthanized. (My friend and his wife and their autistic daughter were being evicted from a foreclosure). I took them. I contacted a couple no kill shelters (I already had three cats!) but they had a backlog of two to three months. You have to plan in advance if you want to use a no kill shelter for an animal.

The two cats are still here, I haven't heard from my "friends" since the drop off, and the original three in this house are STILL on barely speaking terms with the new two. After three years. The message, though, is that no-kill shelters do have limited space and you need to plan up in advance!

(Frankly, if the friends show back up wanting the cats, they can have the whiny CeeCee, but I'm keeping Rory. He had to have a forelimb removed this past Feb, and ever since he lost 5 or 6 pounds after coming into my care three years ago, he has developed into a cat with a wonderful personality)

I know! These no kill animal shelters are completely full at this period. Don't know what to do at this point. Things should be easier. Wish I had a friend/family to foster her for a couple of months. Tried posting an ad at a website but people are asking a lot of $$$$$ to keep her.

What you are asking is a lot more complicated than perhaps you realize. First, it is not cheap to keep an animal. There are substantial investments in time, money, and emotion when a new animal comes into a household. There is also life and death responsibility, because animals do sometimes become seriously injured or ill. And then there's the disruption to the home that would agree to take in your kitten. If there are other animals present, it may require that your kitten be given her own room, separate from the others, for the duration of her stay. That can seriously disrupt and inconvenience a household and stress any resident animals. And then there's the possibility that the kitten could bring an unknown illness into the household and make resident animals ill.

It's not just a matter of dropping her off somewhere for a few weeks. Anyone responsible enough to take proper care of your kitten is also going to be responsible enough to recognize all of the potential issues surrounding such an arrangement.

Even if you were to find a shelter or shelter-associated foster willing to take your kitten for a few weeks, that's a space that's not available to another feline in need.

It's not easier because there are ALWAYS thousands of homeless animals in need of a safe place to stay, and there are NEVER enough safe places for them all.

Laurie