My Adventures as a Foster Parent
2012-October
by Susan Pressley
A few months ago a new neighbor moved onto the 2300 block of W. Magnolia. Nobody really noticed her much at first. She was nice enough but she kept to herself. After a while I realized she might be pregnant. I mentioned it to several neighbors but no one really knew anything about her. As it turned out, our new neighbor was pregnant and before we knew it there were five kittens running around our block.
A group of concerned neighbors started talking about this dilemma. There were six cats on our block that weren’t fixed and that number was sure to increase unless we took action. But no one took ownership of the problem, and nothing was done. Then one morning a 7 year-old girl found one of the kittens dead in the street. It was a heartbreaking reminder that we couldn’t ignore this. Finally, my neighbors and I agreed to work together to trap, neuter, foster, and find good homes for the kittens. One of us also agreed to care for the mother cat. We contacted neighbor Rose Lynn Scott to help us. I’d like to share our story in the hope that it might inspire more people to help feral cats.
* Our decision to do nothing about a stray cat was a mistake. The biggest lesson we learned was that we should have trapped and neutered the cat when she first showed up. It is much easier to trap and neuter one cat than it is to do it for five. Another thing that would have made our job easier was trapping the kittens when they were very young (4-6 weeks). We waited until the kittens were about 8 weeks old before we started trying to trap them. The first two kittens we caught were pretty tame. It took several more weeks to catch the other two and they were much wilder.
* A very important lesson we learned (the hard way) is never try to pick up a feral kitten when the mother is around. Cats are good mothers and they will try to protect their young. If you pick up a kitten, the mother cat may think that it is in trouble and bite you.
Kittens can be neutered starting at 8 weeks old, so after the kittens were caught Rose Lynn took them to a low-cost spay/neuter clinic where they were fixed and vaccinated for rabies for $15 a piece. The clinic also tipped one of their ears. This indicates they have already been fixed in case they are trapped by someone else. Out of the four surviving kittens, three of them were females.
* Kittens can get pregnant as early as 4 months old and they can have 2 to 3 litters a year. The cat on W. Magnolia had a litter of 5 kittens. Do the math.
I agreed to foster three of the kittens. The mother cat and the fourth kitten were released back to my neighbor’s yard after they were neutered because they were too wild to tame. The first two kittens that were caught quickly adapted to life with two young children, a dog, and two cats. They stayed in a large, wire crate in our living room and we took them out to pet them or play with them often. We also let them run around the bathroom or kitchen (any small, enclosed room).
* Kittens are small and can fit in places where it is extremely difficult to get them out. For example, a kitten is just small enough to fit underneath our sectional sofa but yet it is somehow too large to slide back out from the same sofa.
Within a couple of weeks the first two kittens were adopted. Then my neighbor told us she had caught the third kitten. What a difference two weeks makes! This kitten was not as adaptable as the first two. She hissed when we got close to her and she scratched if we tried to pet her. I knew that someone was going to have to handle her eventually, but I was terrified of this two pound ball of hatred. Then Rose Lynn came over to help. She used gloves to pick her up and then swaddled her in a towel. She took her to my bathroom and pet her for over an hour. Rose Lynn explained that feral kittens have to be handled as soon as possible if there is any hope in taming them. I made a commitment to put aside my fear and start “pet therapy” sessions with this tiny kitten. I am happy to say that “Julia” has made huge improvements and we have recently decided to keep her. I guess it’s kind of like owning one of these old houses – when you put enough blood, sweat, and tears into something it’s hard to let it go.
My neighbors and I are very glad we worked together to fix this problem. There are 3 kittens that have good homes now and my neighbor has 2 new helpers that will keep the rodent population down in her yard. Feral cats that are too wild to tame can still be companions that provide joy and friendship, even if it’s on a hands-off basis. Just trap, neuter, release, and then provide food and water for them.
My family’s experience as a foster family was exceptional. There is nothing quite as satisfying as earning an animal’s trust. It was fun to have some cute kittens around and it was also a wonderful learning opportunity for my children. Children are very good at fostering kittens because they often have a lot more time, patience, and hope than adults.
If you see a feral cat in the neighborhood, I encourage you to get involved. Over 3,000 feral cats are euthanized at the city’s animal shelter a year. You can take a step toward preventing this by trapping and neutering the feral cats in your area. For more information on feral cats, go to www.alleycat.org
* Valerie Ewing had a similar experience with a stray cat that showed up at her house and now she is fostering 5 kittens. If you are interested in giving one of these kittens a good home, please contact her at agdoc05@hotmail.com.