Just over a week ago, I made the bold decision to apply to foster kitties. Our home has not been the same since we said goodbye to our sweet Dex. But it also feels too soon to adopt a new cat. I had been researching various places in Saskatoon that needed foster homes for cats and chose to go with SOS Prairie Rescue. It is a non-profit, entirely volunteer-run organization that rescues mostly stray cats and kittens in Saskatchewan. What better way to help kitties than to foster some, while getting our own healing at the same time? By the end of the week, we had welcomed four foster kittens – The Doritos boys – into our home.
Originally I had said we could foster one or two kitties. I had never looked after more than two kitties at the same time, so was unsure about handling four! Three kids in the house creates enough of a mess…
The family room was going to be their “safe space” but it needed to be free of little Legos and other hazards. We also needed a baby gate to keep them mostly in this room. Thankfully my sister still had one and my brother-in-law dropped it off shortly before the kittens arrived!
They are only about eight weeks old, now going on nine. That’s about the equivalent of a human toddler. So not everything that goes into their mouth will be eaten but they will test the limits and start exploring more and more each day.
We had spent the night before their arrival tidying and securing the room. But I didn’t know they would be coming the next day until a few hours before they showed up at our doorstep.
It was a nice surprise for our kids when they got back from school.
The kittens got to explore most of the house a bit before we tried confining them to the family room. Cool Ranch figured out how to climb the baby gate by day two.
They were pretty pooped out after their little exploration and exercise. Three of them – and eventually all four – found their way onto the mat in the kitchen and prevented me from doing dishes for a few hours. But that was fine by me.
The downside of having four kittens in a new environment is that they seemed to be literally pooping one after another for the first few days! Their poop was also not solid and their hygiene and grooming skills have not really kicked in yet. When one was going, one or two would try to go in the litter box at the same time. I would have to hold them back so they wouldn’t step on the other’s poop.
How many times can I say poop?
I was pooped after having to clean the litter boxes, surrounding areas and do laundry for a few days straight.
On Saturday, we went to an adoption event that SOS Prairie Rescue was doing at the Market Mall Pet Valu. I got to meet Ashlyn, the president of SOS and she gave me a great tip to help with solidifying the kittens’ poop – pumpkin puree! Adding it to the kittens’ wet food would give them fibre to prevent excess moisture in their digestive tract and add bulk to their stool. (I didn’t say “poop!”) We also got to meet some of the other foster kittens and foster cats looking for permanent homes.
We’re on day seven of fostering and the kitties feel like home to us. Of course, all our kids have asked to keep them. But it’s not time yet.
Hopefully they feel at home. But this is just a temporary stay for them – a hotel for kitties, I have told the kids. In another few weeks, they can go to an adoption event. As much as I’d love to adopt them, a) four is too many for us to care for financially, b) it doesn’t feel right to create another long bond so soon, and c) the goal is to help as many kitties as possible while also loving on them.
Plus, already all four of the kitties have experienced some illness or injury since their arrival. First, Sweet Chili Heat’s left eye was puffy and oozing some discharge. It seemed to clear up overnight after I used a warm compress on it. Then Spicy Nacho slept for most of day five and woke up with a limp. After I kept him mostly away from his very rambunctious brothers, he recovered quite well the next day.
He even climbed a cat tower that Matt DIYed all the way to the ceiling. We got the carpet from my parents’ basement and he wrapped it around a 2’x 4′.
Now all three of his brothers seem to have gotten whatever he had – all very sleepy and limping as well. I thought maybe it was from over-exerting themselves on the cat tower, but Sweet Chili Heat did not climb it at all. He slept most of yesterday and could barely hold himself up this afternoon, so it warranted a visit to the vet. Although he wasn’t diagnosed with limping calici, I have a feeling that may be what it is. For now, he is on pain meds and I am monitoring all of them, making sure they are eating and drinking.
It feels good to be helping these kitties. They were not stray kittens but born to an unaltered mom and the owner could not care for them all. Some of the kittens and cats that SOS rescues look pretty beat up and in dire straits. These boys came from another family environment and are so snuggly, which has been good for the soul.
One thing we wondered is how were there three ginger kitties and one black one from the same litter?
Fun fact: It depends on the genes they inherit from their mama and papa, with some being dominant and others recessive affecting their colouring. BUT also, more than one male cat (tomcats) can impregnate the female when she’s in heat – known as heteropaternal superfecundation – resulting in kitties with different coat colours.
But on a more serious note, if you decide to adopt or bring a kitty into your home, please be responsible and have them spayed or neutered. An unaltered female cat can produce up to three litters per year, with an average of four to six kittens per litter.
As cute as they are, they can’t fend for themselves.
If you are able, please consider opening your heart and home to a foster kitty or two.
