The July crop of foster kittens
So far there’s been two groups of foster kittens up here.
The first was a pair of boys, Nathan and Terry. They were only here for two weeks and tore up the place and had a good time. They made their two-pound goal and went back to the shelter.
I was there when they weighed in and the technician asked me if I was ready for another foster but this one was more tricky – a mother cat and four kittens. I said goodbye to Nathan and Terry (who scarcely looked back at me as they went to the adoption floor) and went to say hello to Biscuit and her kittens.
I’m a little gun-shy around Mama Cats lately. The two Mama Cats I had last year turned into Satan’s pussies and I still have scars from one of them. But Biscuit was a cool cat, totally chill and so with trepidation I brought them home.
Never turning my back on Biscuit, she settled into the kitten room.
Biscuit is a unique cat in that she ate more than any Mama Cat I’ve ever met. Four cans of Friskies a day and she licked the plates clean. Her special oddity was that she left human size poop in the litter box. Let me tell you, scooping poop that weighs almost a pound is disconcerting. She also turned the litter box into a swimming pool. More than a cup at a go and once I went in to the room and saw litter floating in a sea of cat pee. She stood by the litter box totally nonplussed.
Biscuits went back to the shelter yesterday and the kittens are a little vocal looking for her. When they squeak I go in and feed, pet and play with them. They’re super kittens and will be up for adoption in about three weeks. They weigh almost two pounds but aren’t old enough to be adopted so in the kitten room they will stay.
There are challenges with fostering animals. Dogs need a yard and let out several times a day. Dogs bite.
Cats and kittens need a room with litter boxes, food bowls, a water bowl and plenty of toys. Foothills pays for most everything but it’s a hassle to just run down there to pick stuff up so at times I buy my own stuff. With Biscuit the expense was litter.
Neighbors came over to the house to see the kittens and one of them commented that they could tell I had cats in the house. Ouch.
Here’s a tip I figured out: Buy Jonny Cat in the 20-pound bag. When you scoop from the litter box, put the scooped stuff in an empty Jonny Cat bag. Fold over the top of the bag and clip it. The bag is strong and will keep the smell of cat shit to a minimum. You can’t put that stuff in a trash can let alone put it in the trash container outside. Because of Biscuit I ordered a bear-proof trash can. It was that bad.