Bye Bye Babies

I'm finally back again. Thanks for being patient. I'm not sure why I just couldn't bring myself to post anything but one reason was that September was frightfully busy with events - both shelter and Hurricane Katrina related. Tonight is my last night with my three foster kittens- Bentley, Bonnie and Tomah. The bad thing about fostering animals is that you are so excited to take them that you forget how hard it is to give them back. My tear ducts will get a good work out tonight and tomorrow. Bentley and Bonnie were found in a local cemetery at about 6 weeks old. I had first seen them in our stray/intake room a week prior to taking them home. They were climbing their cage door, meowing for attention. No one will ever know how they got to be where they were or where Mom was. I'm amazed they weren't feral. Tomah was dropped off at my office by a young woman who had been told he was an 8 month old "miniature cat". Her landlord said no anyway. Turns out he was a 7 week old kitten. As you can see by the pictures above, they are black and whites and black. Despite the heartbreak of returning them for adoption, fostering kittens, puppies or dogs is an experience I would recommend to almost anyone. Kittens, and more rarely puppies, often come in to a shelter very young and may need to be bottle fed. Fostering the babies gets them out of the shelter and away from disease. Being fostered also gives the babies the human socialization that makes them much better pets. I feel sorry for the kittens shelters have that never get the chance to be handled, cuddled and played with every day like mine were. Tomorrow night I'll talk about what you need to be a foster parent. Here's a hint. If you're a female and you foster kittens, stock up on pantyhose because they wreck them as fast as you can get 'em out of the package. So in a few minutes I'll head off to bed. My own three cats will find their usual sleeping spots and for one last night my three not-so-little anymore kittens will all snuggle near me, purring in my ear. I'll be sad but satisfied to know that they will have a chance to bring as much happiness into someone else's life as they have into mine.