24/7 Support Without Burnout: How We Created a Foster Emergency Line

In the world of kitten rescue, emergencies don’t stick to a 9-to-5 schedule. Fosters sometimes find themselves with life-or-death questions at 2 a.m. And without real-time guidance, panic can set in fast — for the human and the kitten.

At Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance, we knew we needed to offer around-the-clock support to our foster parents — but we also knew that burning out our staff wasn’t an option.

So, we got creative. Here’s how we built a 24/7 foster emergency support system that actually works — and how your rescue or shelter can, too.

Step 1: Define What Counts as an “Emergency”

First, we created a simple cheat sheet for fosters: “Is This an Emergency?”

This handout breaks down:

• True emergencies (e.g., a kitten is cold, nonresponsive, gasping, etc.)

• Urgent but not immediate issues (e.g., mild diarrhea, missed a feeding)

• Routine questions that can wait (e.g., when to introduce a litter box)

By educating fosters before they hit a crisis point, we dramatically reduced late-night texts about non-urgent things.

Step 2: Rotate an On-Call System

Instead of having one person on-call all the time, we created a rotating emergency contact schedule among experienced staff.

Each person is:

• Given a “Foster Emergency Phone” (a low-cost dedicated cell phone)

• Provided with a script for intake questions and triage

• Given access to a shared Foster Emergency Log so we can track patterns and follow-up needs

  
  

Step 3: Empower Staff and Fosters with Protocols and Templates

We built a protocol library of the most common scenarios:

• Cold kitten: warm first, then assess

• Hypoglycemia: rub Karo syrup on gums, check hydration

• Formula refusal: troubleshoot position, nipple, temp

Our emergency contact team doesn’t need to guess — they have step-by-step guidance they can relay confidently to fosters in the moment. This consistency also builds trust with our foster families.

Step 4: Offer Tiered Support

We encourage fosters to text or call their primary mentor or foster coordinator for non-emergent issues during business hours, and save the emergency line for only after-hours or true emergencies.

By normalizing multiple layers of support, we spread the emotional load and keep the emergency line from getting overwhelmed.

Bonus Tip: Log Everything

Every emergency contact is logged in our shared tracking system:

• Time/date

• Kitten(s) involved

• Outcome

• Advice given

• Follow-up needed

This helps us identify patterns (e.g., multiple fosters struggling with the same thing), address training gaps, and catch any concerning trends early.

The Results

Since launching our foster emergency line:

• Fosters report higher confidence and less stress

• We've caught medical crises earlier and saved lives

• Our foster retention has improved — because people feel like they’re never alone

You Can Do This, Too

Even if you’re a small rescue or team of one, this kind of system is possible. Start small:

• Define emergencies

• Set up a Google Voice number

• Recruit one backup person

• Create a few response templates

And most importantly: remind your fosters that you want to support them — but you also want to make that support sustainable. When you build a system that works for everyone, everybody wins — especially the kittens.