Some specific memories that have stuck with me from early childhood are the ones about cats. Until about two years ago, there has always been a cat living with my family, whether they were temporary or not. Luna was the cat we had the longest. My parents got her as a kitten before my older sister was born, so she lived with me until she was around 16 years old, 2 years ago. She was what stemmed my love for cats, and after she had a litter of kittens my love grew even bigger. Sadly Stevie, part of Luna’s litter and the kitten we kept, sadly passed away when she was a younger age. In addition to cats, my family also has one dog that is 4 years old, who is the light of our lives.
When I was around two or three years old we fostered our first litter of kittens and from then on it was rare for my family to not have fostered at least one litter of kittens each year. Each litter of kittens was very different. From the size of the litter, to the kittens age, size, and socialization, we enjoyed every bit. One year we fostered a litter of two kittens that needed to be bottle fed while the next year the little was three times the size, with 6 playful kittens that had no fear.
A special fostering experience that really stuck out to me was when one small malnourished kitten was given to us to foster. He was a very sweet cat that we named Mr. Mr. and we took extra time adjusting him to the greater world. We introduced Mr. Mr. to our renters at the time and they too fell in love, and ended up adopting him. We had gone to see him multiple times at his new home and we got to see him grow and gain even more of a personality.
One of my favorite parts about fostering kittens is getting to see their transformations. From coming to us tucked at the back of a cat carrier afraid and malnourished to when we are putting them back into the same carrier a couple weeks later, taking them back to the shelter to get adopted, with full tummies and as playful and sweet as ever.
In recent years we have fostered less kittens since we have since gotten a dog and were worried about managing him and the kittens at once. But, my family is planning to foster more kittens when there is a need. I think that when I am older and have my own house I will definitely want a cat or to at least foster kittens from time to time. I really value getting the opportunity to learn about cats and kittens and help get them better adjusted to being around people so that they are more likely to get adopted. For the entirety of my life so far, I have grown up with at least one animal present. And for that I am grateful.
