Kitten Fosters Needed
If you have ever raised a single kitten to adulthood, you know that it can be both frustrating and rewarding—all those shredded curtains and wrecked plants. And all that purring, frolicking, and irresistible cuddling!
Since the life span of the average well-cared for cat is more than 10 years, we might experience the rearing of an infant kitten into adulthood only a few times in our lives. That might leave some of you yearning to share your home, however briefly, with energetic youngsters.
Many local animal shelters are looking for people like you!
Each spring and summer, the flood of homeless kittens begins. Animal shelters in the Pioneer Valley will admit thousands of kittens during these few months. Many will be too young to be placed for adoption, some even too young to leave their mothers.
That’s where volunteer foster homes come in. Foster parents provide a temporary home for orphaned animals until they are old enough and healthy enough—usually about eight weeks of age—to be placed into a permanent home.
Some foster families provide much-needed socialization for kittens born to feral mothers. Feral kittens often have pre-conceived notions about how scary humans are. It is the mission of the foster parents to convince these little wild ones that people are kind and loving. Once the kittens have overcome their fears—usually in a couple of weeks—they can return to the shelter to find their new family.
Other foster parents act as wet nurses to litters of orphans found without their mothers. Kittens are not usually ready to be weaned until they are around five weeks of age. Until this time, they need to nurse from their mother…or a bottle provided by a foster parent.
Using specially formulated “kitten milk replacer,” the foster parent nurses the infants every few hours. Eventually the parent introduces the kittens to solid food, taking on the weaning process normally performed by the kitten’s real mother. Once the kittens have reached the ripe old age of eight weeks, they are off to the shelter find their permanent home.
We all know that an un-neutered male cat is called a “tom cat.” Did you know that a mother cat is called a “queen?” When a kitten is fortunate enough to be raised by her own mother, foster parents can still play a role. Many foster families host both the kittens and the queen cat.
Because even these gentle mother cats can be protective of their young, it is important that the foster family be able to provide a safe, secluded space inside their house for her to raise her litter. As the kittens grow older, she will encourage them to go forth and explore their foster home. Soon enough, the kittens will no longer need their mother to provide them with nourishing milk. At this point, the whole feline family can return to the shelter to be placed for adoption.
Who makes the ideal foster family? People who love cats, certainly top the list! But other criteria include people who are allowed to have cats where they live and people with a spare room where the foster cats can stay without interacting with resident cats.
If you ask a foster parent the hardest part about volunteering to raise orphaned kittens, she isn’t likely to say it’s the sleepless nights of bottle-feeding or cleaning up after the rambunctious rascals. No, she’ll say the hardest part about being a good foster parent is bidding each kitten goodbye as they leave their foster home and begin their new life.
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent for orphaned kittens, contact the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society at 413-548-9898.
Leslie Harris is the Executive Director of the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society.
Leverett Adoption Center open 7 days a week. Click here for hours. 413-548-9898
Greenfield Rescue & Rehabilitation Center is open by appointment only 413-773-3148
Site created by Marianne Monoc Copyright © 2003 Pioneer Valley Humane Society