Did you have any concerns or hesitation before you began fostering, and if so, how has it played out for you?
I wanted to foster bottle babies, and was thrilled to get the opportunity, but a little nervous about the responsibility. My mentors were (and still are) incredibly helpful. I am lucky to have a good friend who is a veterinarian who will take my calls when unexpected things happen, and I’ve learned a lot from online resources as well.
What kind of support do you receive from CARE?
The resources at CARE for support have been wonderful. Since everyone is a volunteer, it’s important to keep lines of communication open and alert people if you’re having trouble or need help. I have been really happy with the resources that are provided to me.
What’s your favorite aspect about fostering? Why do you do it?
Watching a sick/tiny kitten blossom into a happy and healthy kitty. Sometimes it takes a LOT of work to get there, but the journey is really fun (and exhausting).
What advice would you give to someone considering foster caregiving?
Be patient, take care of yourself too, and ask for help when you need it.
What’s your favorite story about one of your foster animals?
Delilah was a tiny dilute calico kitten that came to me with a severe upper respiratory infection, including damage to her eyes. I was determined to save as much of her sight as possible. I noted that her eyes weren’t improving within 24 hours like they usually do with these sick kittens, so I called in some favors and got her into NCSU ophthalmology late on a Friday afternoon. We quickly put her on topical and systemic antiviral and antibiotic medications, and we were able to save some of her vision. Unfortunately, a large portion of both corneas had irreversible scarring. At around this same time, I received another foster kitten, Margaret, who was a spunky little tortoiseshell girl. She was much smaller than Delilah, but ended up being the perfect match as her companion. Margaret took her duty as Delilah’s “seeing eye kitten” very seriously, always making sure that Delilah was safe. These two girls were adopted into the perfect home together.