Advice for Beginners
Expect your houseguest to be skittish for the first few days -- possibly to the point of hiding under a bed. Once she becomes used to the sounds and smells in your house, she'll be more comfortable getting to know you.
Most Rewarding Aspects of Fostering
Seeing cats come out of their shells, and knowing I'm making a difference in their lives
Saddest Aspects of Fostering
Returning mothers to the shelter with their litters. I know the babies will be adopted, but moms take longer. I try to speed up the process by posting info about the mom on Craigslist. I also offer to help pay for the adoption.
Temptation to Keep Cats and/or Kittens
Remind yourself that you'll do more good by letting the kitty go to a good home and fostering another one.
How I became a foster parent to cats and/or kittens
When my daughter was 6, she wanted to get a cat and let it have kittens. I oppose deliberately bringing cats and dogs into the world when so many already need homes. Someone mentioned fostering. We got our mom-to-be a day and a half before she gave birth. My daughter and I were able to witness the birth guilt-free. We adopted one of the kittens -- that was almost 17 years ago. (That kitten had a long happy life with us. Sadly, I came home a few weeks ago to find that she'd passed on.)
How I learned to care for my foster cats & kittens
I grew up with cats so I knew pretty much about their care. The rest was on-the-job training. I will say that living with kittens was a new experience. They were a lot of fun, but when I took them back to the shelter I enjoyed not having them crawl up my legs as I ate breakfast.
Lessons learned
- I keep the fosters in their own room, but put a large old window screen over the door so they can see what's going on without mixing it up with my 2 cats. However, a door is a door, and cats hate a closed doors, so eventually they get to come out when I can supervise their interaction with my cats.
- The older the cat (either the foster or the kitty at home), the harder it is for them to get along with the other cat.
- Find out what the foster kitty ate at the shelter and feed that, at least until you gradually introduce the food you feed your cat. Otherwise, phew!
