Can’t Adopt? Foster!

To celebrate our gaining 111 followers on instagram, entering our 3rd year of fostering and the re-homing of our latest litter of kittens, my mum and I thought we would share some of our favourite memories with you all in the hopes that maybe one day you to will adopt an animal from a shelter or even take up fostering yourself!

A little bit of our story…

Two years ago, my mum and I were having a conversation – I wanted a kitten but as we already had four cats of our own, it simply was something we could do.

All our cats are rescues and as a result, we knew how overwhelmed shelters were with animals. We also knew, having had cats all our lives, how important it was that animals be socialised from a young age.

Somehow we came to the decision to foster kittens from our local shelter, CHAT, started by former super model Celia Hammond.

And now here we are, numerous litters later, safe in the knowledge that all have had the best start to life and are now in warm, loving homes.

So why foster, I hear you ask….

1. As in our case, you get the joy of kittens without the long term cost and responsibility – most shelters supply everything from food, vet care and litter to bedding should you need it.

2. You are taking a lot of pressure off of the shelter. During kitten season, hundreds of mums and their kittens are brought to homing centres for a number of different reasons. This puts strain on the shelters, not only in regard to resources, but space.

3. Socialising a kitten is what allows them to grow up confident, friendly and happy. This has to be done before a certain age (normally before 11 weeks, though through patience it can be achieved later). Being raised in a home environment means they can grow up used to the sound of a television or hoover for example. It teaches them ground rules such as litter box training and that certain things are off limits.

It is hard work, both physically and emotionally (not all kittens survive in extreme cases). It’s even harder to let them go when the time comes. However, I have never done anything more rewarding and could not imagine my life without fostering.

More info: Instagram

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