I have eleven cats in my house, but only five of them are mine. The rest will stay at my house for a few weeks and then will be adopted by loving families. My current six fosters — Penguin, Jellyfish, Otter, Seal, Beluga, and Dolphin — were about to be put to sleep because there was no room for them at the pound.
How cool is it that I saved six kittens’ lives simply by giving them a place to live, some food, and a little bit of love? It’s so easy and it makes me feel good. I couldn’t imagine them being killed when I have the power to save them.
The kittens really brighten my day. I wake up and Penguin is on my blanket (pictured). I go to bed and Jellyfish is right beside me. Then I walk into the kitchen and I run into Seal and Otter – the two shyest kittens. If I want to watch my dad play poker online, I won’t be able to do it without running into Dolphin. And Beluga? Well, I bet if I walk into the family room right now, she’ll be sitting on the TiVo, as always.
It’s nice that there’s always a cute bundle of fluff wherever I go. Plus, kittens always want attention. Then, they become teenagers and terrorize everyone.
One problem with being a foster home is we have five big cats — Princess Monica Kesh, Zippy, Pinocchio, Patrick and Ricky — and they tend to pick on the new cats. For the first couple of days, the cats are segregated, but once they come together, there’s a nuclear war.
Cats are territorial animals, so new kittens are a big problem. They poop everywhere. Like the other day. My mom goes into my sister’s room to clean a cat mess. She cleans it up and comes back five minutes later. Poop in the same spot. Ridiculous. The good news is the kittens are ready to go off to a home with other cats, which is always a good thing.
Article comments
1 - Joanne Huspek
Good job, Maddy.
We usually adopt from shelters too. There are too many kitties in them not to.
2 - Melinda Loomis
Maddy, I adopted my cat Sophie from the Burbank Animal Shelter a couple years ago. She wasn't fostered but a lot of Burbank's cats are.
I'd love to foster if I lived in a house instead of a small apartment. I always saw myself eventually becoming my neighborhood's crazy cat lady anyway.
Although I can't take in any other cats, thanks to your Happy Strays link I've sent off my Ralphs Club card info to them. I really hope it helps. Ralphs gets way too much of my money anyway.