The Providence Animal Center’s Foster Program has grown tremendously in recent months, buy and we couldn’t be more appreciative to everyone who temporarily opens up their homes to our needy animals. Every person who fosters an animal opens up a kennel space, hospital allowing the organization to save another homeless dog or cat.
Fostering animals is not the same for everyone; the experience can be significantly different depending on what kind of animal is in the home. Adult dogs, cat, puppies, senior animals, bottle babies that need round-the-clock attention – the type of care that is required varies greatly from one category to the next.
The category that has not expanded as much as the others recently is fostering a mom cat with her unweaned babies. Perhaps it seems like a daunting task – taking in babies who can’t care for themselves is challenging enough, and caring for the mother sounds like just another responsibility and therefore more time and effort that some fosters might not have. One account from a brand-new foster, Rebecca Abrahams, sheds some light on why those assumptions might not be correct.
Rebecca says:
“I do not understand why more folks aren’t beating down the doors to foster pregnant cats/ new mommies! I love knowing that providing a comfortable home for my fostered momma cat will let her focus on taking care of her kittens, worry-free. The only real expense is extra cat food for a hungry momma, and extra cat litter. That’s it. The momma cat does all of the kitten care, and I become more like the doting grandma – I bring treats for mommy, I hold the babies, pet the mommy, and just watch them all interact. It is great. It is a LOT easier than fostering abandoned kittens, because mommy cat does all the work.”
Rebecca continues, “Fostering allows us weeks to get to know each of the kittens. What I didn’t plan on was how much I would adore the mommy. She is so sweet and affectionate; she is a great momma, cleaning her babies constantly, feeding them, keeping them safe.”
How could you resist taking in a mom and her sweet babies after reading that? If you’re ready to open your heart and home to a little family of felines, contact Providence Animal Center’s Foster Coordinator, Mark, at
mwalker@delcospca.org. He would love to get more fosters on board!
