Foster Kittens

Meet Court

 

And Miel

These unbelievably adorable and tiny furballs are joining our household for the next 4-6 weeks! How did we manage to get two kittens, at the cutest stage of their lives, temporarily you ask?

Simple. We signed up to be 'foster parents' at the local animal shelter. I had never heard of fostering cats until I saw a tweet from one of the local shelters asking for people to help them out. After looking at their website I realized that not only is that a thing, but it's a pretty cool thing! It's so easy to get signed up. I just filled out the online application and later that day I got an email approving the application. After that I called to find out their hours then went and picked up the kittens! The shelter provide the cats and all medical treatment for them and you provide a home, food and TLC. Conveniently for us, when our old cat Oliver ran away we kept all of his toys and supplies. I mean how could you expect me to get rid of them when I still have the occasional dream that poor Ollie has come home?!

I'm a sap. I know.

Anyhow. We already had the cat carrier, litter box, scratching pad, food dishes etc so after I picked them up I swung by Pet Smart to pick up itty bitty collars and the specific kitten food that the shelter recommended.

Court and Miel are 4 weeks old, so we'll get to keep them for 4-6 weeks, depending on how fast they grow and gain weight. The reason that shelters foster out kittens is because they can't go up for adoption until they've been spayed/neutered and you can't do that until they weigh at least 2lbs.

This system is a huge win for everyone involved. The shelter is able to open up space for the kittens and cats that are trying to be adopted and people in the community are allowed to take home these insanely cute, cuddly creatures for a few weeks without any long term commitment or high costs! It is the perfect way to get a "cute and cuddly fix" whenever you want one, without having to buy another pet!

I quickly discovered that Court is the adventurer in our duo.

He didn't mind the cat carrier, but once he figured out how to get out of it, he was trying to check out every aspect of the car and the scenery as it passed by!

 

Miel, on the other hand, is a cuddle bug.

She likes to curl up in your lap, or hiding between the pillows on the couch and just snooze.

 

So far the cats have been super easy! The shelter recommends leaving them in 'isolation' for a week or two so they can get used to their surroundings before you introduce them to pets, kids etc. so they've spend 90% of their time in our master bathroom (which now doubles as a kitty hotel). We only go in there to feed them, snuggle them a bit and give them their medicine. Some kittens are medicine free and some are so itty bitty that they're considered 'bottle babies' because they need to be fed through a syringe and get meds every couple hours. Ours are pretty healthy, we just have to give them some medicine once a day for a week to help with diarrhea.

Once they're done with their meds, we'll slowly start introducing them to our other pets and the kids. We'll start with the old pro, katie our 8 year old lab. She's the best starter because she's been around puppies, kittens, baby chicks and babies before so she knows the routine. After that it will be Winny, our 4 month old lab and the kids in small doses until the kittens aren't terrified and the pup has better self-control.

Until then though, it's lots and lots of nap time with an occasional snuggle session.

Awww.

As if a free, no strings attached, no medical bills attached kitten is not enough, they sweeten the deal- fostering animals can count as volunteer hours for people that need it! 

I don't know about you, but I would be more than happy to let Wyatt and Alexis earn volunteer hours in high school by bringing home a foster kitten or two!

I will keep everyone posted on our first experience with fostering pets but I can already confidently say, GO CHECK IT OUT! If you love all things cute and cuddly, this is for you! If you want a pet but aren't sure about what kind of animal, this is for you! If you want to do something good for your community but don't want to pick up trash or donate gobs of money, this is for you! Even if you don't like cats this is for you! Why? Because you can foster dogs too!

If you're even remotely interested, do me a favor and google your local animal shelter and look at their website. I'm sure they'll have info on fostering and you can go from there. You won't regret it.