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Count: 153 foster cats/kittens fostered so far. (6 on this page)
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February 15, 2004 - April 26, 2004 (Lana) and March 21, 2005 (Laurel)
Lana aka B'Elana, brown tabby shorthair, young adult
Laurel, brown tabby shorthair, young adult
These two sisters are what is left of a litter of kittens that all had colds. When they came to me they were on their fourth medication. Lana, though never sick, was extremely spooked when she first came to our house. She'd hide and shiver whenever we came in. We were very concerned. We spent much time just being down there with her and set up lots of hidey-holes to sneak into. As the first week progressed she began coming out for drive-bys. We'd sit on the floor and she'd quickly jog past us to another sanctuary. A certain amount of petting was allowed, but only so much. Within a few weeks she was unrecognizable from the scared cat we brought home. She LOVED attention and would roll around gleefully whenever we came in. She was an irrepressible flirt. I seriously wondered if she was in heat she was so friendly!
Laurel was very stuffed and to this day continues to suffer with days of dripping eyes and stuffed nose. Lana loved Laurel, loved her a bit too much in fact! Laurel put up with Laurels obsessive interest and constant companionship and nosiness but she was subdued. Every time she moved Lana would rush over to greet her so she didn't move as much. They both love playing and that was the only time Laurel seemed especially happy despite her sisters involvement.
Eventually we decided that it would be better to split them up. Lana had no need to be in foster care and we figured there must be a place for her with a cat that might enjoy her heavy companionship rather than just put up with it?! So we took her to the adoption center, hoping that she wouldn't go back to her hermit ways with this change. She did well at the adoption center, winning over all the volunteers with her rolling, rubbing, wanton loving. Within a week someone fell in love with her and took her home. She now lives with cats and a dog. I heard she was settling in fine, already sleeping on the bed the first few days.
Laurel is much happier. She now does some of the same rolling as Lana did but her favorite thing is doing head butts. She does these extremely enthusiastically...so much that it hurts some times! She loves to play still and always hopes that I'll bring out a toy when visiting. We worry that she may never get better. Her condition isn't lifethreatening but is contagious to other cats so she can't go to the adoption center.
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March 21, 2005
Laurel gets adopted!
Laurel stayed with us until January of 2005. She eventually spent much of her time out with us, just spending her nights in her own quarters. She supervised much of our kitchen remodeling, including walking through (twice!) the flooring adhesive. She actually loved loud machines - the vaccuum, the table saw, etc. We loved her, so we were both happy and sad when the shelter allowed her to be put in an office for more exposure. She was immediately at home there, and her office person loved her, which was good because she didn't find a new home for several months. Finally they decided to take her around on a harness and the first day they did that someone adopted her. She is moving to New Mexico and has a new family with 2 dogs and another cat with someone that isn't bothered by her sneezing at all (and it might improve in the dry air there).
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March 9, 2005 - August 27, 2005
Yin, black shorthair, 1.5 years
Yang, black shorthair, 1.5 years
These gorgeous boys are not from the humane society I usually foster for. I'm taking a bit of a break and trying something different because I've had such bad luck with my fosters from the H.S. lately. These are reformed ferals from a group called Friends of Ferals. They've been in another foster home for a long time but that home was too crowded.
At first they freaked us out by climbing into the ceiling (which isn't completely blocked off from the rest of the house). We quickly tacked in some wood pieces. We were more worried about one of them escaping and never being seen again than anything else. For the first days I barely saw them, expect for Yin who found a spot in the rafters even after the ceiling was removed. The third morning I was petting Yang under a table/fort when he came out and with his eyes still wild and dark cuddled me and head butted me occasionally as I petted him. It's such a relief to be accepted even that much!
Yin was a little tougher. It took about 6 weeks of greeting him up in the ceiling (he'd jump up there whenever he heard us coming down the stairs) before he warmed up much. At first he just started hopping down while I was in the room and not too much after that he was over asking for greeting and petting too. He still has his shy moments but most of the time he pushes Yang out of the way to get attention.
Yin and Yang got adopted together to a quiet home with a man who seems willing to wait for Yin. He was going to ply them with canned food which is what worked for me. It took a long time (longer than for me because I forced the issue and pushed the boys, while in this new home they were allowed all the time they needed) but they finally approached him on their own and have been loving and friendly ever since. I am so happy that his patience was rewarded.
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October 13, 2005 - April 22, 2006
Clint, white/black shorthair, 10 years
#64445 Diana, brown tabby shorthair, 10 years
Clint and Diana were a tough call. I had a hard time committing to taking them. Their owner was moving out of town and couldn't take these two after many years with them. She actually planned to euthanize both of them because she couldn't find a rescue organization that would work with them and couldn't find homes.
The main problemwas simply their age for both of them, but also Clint had diabetes. I hadn't dealt with diabetes ever before and I had to look into it more before I agree to take him. I knew that's it would be very difficult to find him a home and so I decided that it would be better to give him somewhat of a chance and yet have a limit on it. I agree to take them both, but set a deadline of four months for Clint to find a home. Di was very adoptable other than her age and so I have put no limit on her.
These guys took a little while to get used to me but not real long. Clint loves food and so we bonded a lot over feeding times. He also loved belly rubs and had an adorable squeaky voice and would sing and talk to us. Taking care of his diabetes wasn't too difficult. It did require some commitment and planning, but overall it wasn't too taxing. In fact it looked like, at one point, he might be on his way to becoming insulin free -- but after decreasing his dosage quite a bit we reached a limit.
Clint's deadline loomed. I was strongly tempted to extend its, but it turned out that he also needed dental work done. This was going to be costly and possibly dangerous considering his condition and age and considering there have been very little interest in adopting himI did concede to his owner's original plan and euthanized him.
Diana continues to stay with us. I have tried to increase her exposure, but so far all interest has fallen through. Her age seems to be a big issue for most people. She is very sweet and loves people. She is a great combination of independence and cuddliness.
I gave up trying to find Di a home myself and surrendered her to the local humane society. I have ties there and I hoped to make it a positive experience for her. I knew if she could be seen in person by people that were looking for a cat, she would be easy to adopt out. It turned out that my 'insiders' couldn't help much, but luckily she was apparently happy and doing well there and she got adopted within 2 weeks (on 4/22/06).
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