Kitten Season!

Our four foster kitties July 2011

I was having a conversation with a fellow cat lover the other day who also volunteers at our local animal shelter and she asked me if I was going to foster kittens again this summer.  I thought to myself, "God NO!" but inside was thinking, "Is there anything cuter than a fluffy KITTEN??"  (Dear hubby...as you read this, please put the heart medication down.  I won't do anything rash.  I promise!)  You see, we acquired our last cat, Pepper, (who has just a couple redeeming qualities...I can't remember what they are right now...) from fostering her last summer.  It's a TRAP!  I think I mentioned this before when I talked about tiny animals and their pretentious little perfect cute faces.  "Look at me!  I'm defenseless and fluffy!  Don't you want to hold me in the palm of your hand?"  But honestly, fostering can be very rewarding.  It's kind of like being a grandparent because you get to borrow the babies and GIVE them back!!! Yay! 

"Cricket"

"Marley"

Often shelters are very overcrowded during the spring with what they refer to as "kitten season" and they will have more kittens than they can adopt out. They will train volunteers to take care of very young kittens until they have room for them on the adoption floor, OR if they are very young, sometimes they need round-the-clock care and volunteer help is critical when there are tiny orphan kittens of varying ages.  The shelter will usually provide all the items necessary for the kittens so you won't have to pay for anything--so all you need to offer is the love and socialization of the kittens.  This is also an incredible service because it gives the kittens an edge in being adopted later.  Fostered kittens have a much better chance at being adopted from a shelter because they are not fearful of humans and will be much more adept at human interaction.

Maxwell

Last summer we had four kittens for our first attempt at fostering.  We had them all in a big dog crate in our basement and would transfer them to a large bathroom during the day to play and stretch and stink up to their hearts content.  This was good for us because we could leave the fan on and clean a bathroom very easily afterwards.  Kittens can make a HUGE mess when they work as a team.  Do not leave toilet paper out or any carpet, towels, mementos, or dangling items unless you WANT it to be shredded and used as chew toys.  We discovered quickly that they loved to jump in and out of the bathtub and climb UP the shower curtain with their sharp little claws, and up our legs when we came in with their food.  I was also unaware that kittens growled when they ate, but this must be a pack behavior.  They were HUNGRY and would rotate around the dishes to make sure no one was getting something better than someone else.  It was pretty hilarious.

Me holding Ginger and Cricket

After four weeks of transferring these little babies back and forth from bathroom to crate, eventually they escaped into the greater space of the basement and we let them play with the LASER! This game was awesome--not quite sure how smart cats are anymore when they can't figure out that they are chasing a dot of light??!!  But anyway, we fattened them up and it became time to surrender them back to the shelter for adoption and that was a HARD day for us.  We had named them and definitely felt attached, even though four kittens (plus the two grown ones I had upstairs that I had to keep separate) were hard work.  I'm happy to say they were all adopted out.  Two of them together and although one of them came back to the shelter to be rematched a few months later, she found another home shortly after.  All four are probably enjoying their families and don't remember our time together at all.  I will never forget it.

So if you've never considered fostering an animal, definitely think about it.  It won't cost you anything but time and love.  But the memories will be priceless.  And I caution you to remember these are dangerously lovable animals.  You might end up like me.  Writing cat blogs.  And people thinking you're a little...well...kitty-whipped.