To Foster or Not to Foster

Fostering an animal from a shelter is a great act of compassion and love. By bringing a homeless animal into your home, you agree to give that pet love, care, and attention. Usually when you foster an animal, it is for a predetermined period (which can be a few days, a week, a few weeks, or even a month or longer, times vary) or until the pet is ready to be adopted into a forever home.

Why is there a need for foster homes?

Space issues. A shelter or adoption group may lack sufficient space to house all the animals brought to them. Fostering an animal frees up space in the facility, enabling the organization to take in another animal in need of care and a home.
Special needs. There are many reasons why a foster home would be a safer place than a shelter: an animal recovering from surgery, illness, or injury; animals requiring subcutaneous fluids; animals requiring a course of medicine; motherless kittens or puppies that need to be bottle-fed; expectant mothers; stressed out or shelter-shocked animals.
Too young. Kittens should be at least 2 lbs. and eight weeks of age before going up for adoption. If taken from their mothers too early, they should be socialized with other cats as well as humans. They need to learn what it is to be a cat.
Socialization. Kittens born into feral or semi-feral cat families will need to slowly be introduced to humans. This should happen between four and eight weeks of age. Puppies also should be introduced to other dogs and children with supervision.
Training. Puppies and dogs are more likely to be adopted if they have received some basic training. The better behaved and house trained, the more likely they are to find a home.
Emergencies. For example, when Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hit Texas, Louisiana, and Florida in 2017, thousands of pets were displaced. Animal shelters, the ASPCA, the Humane Society, and other groups remained in flooded areas rescuing animals trapped in very precarious areas, including horses, pigs, cattle, dogs, and a hawk. Many of these animals were temporarily housed in shelters (some across the country), rescue groups, numerous facilities, and foster homes. In the event of natural disasters, many rescue groups and shelters are in desperate need of fosters to free up much-needed space. This ensures that all animals, both shelter and displaced alike, can receive care until they are reunited with their owners (in the case of evacuated animals) or adopted.

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Reasons to foster

Time. Shelter animals need time to be ready for adopted.
Behavior. By fostering, you learn more about the animal’s needs and personality. Many shelter animals act differently in a shelter than they would in a home, and this is especially true for shy critters. This information is crucial in helping that animal find a truly suitable home.
TLC. Placing an animal in a home environment presents opportunities for much-needed socialization, love, and individualized care. Animals need time to be exposed to and accustomed to new people and pets. It is worthwhile to know, for example, whether a dog or cat does well with children or other pets or would be better suited to a single-pet or child-free home.

Do you need additional reasons to convince you to foster? Check out Petfinder and Vetstreet for more questions to consider.

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Brownie points if you know where the following quote comes from: “…Dogs and cats living together…mass hysteria!” 😉

Rainy Day Shelter Visit

Aaron decided to take the afternoon off to fix our garage door. We went to Home Depot to pick up parts and, while we were out, stopped at the Pflugerville Animal Shelter to visit the cat adoption room. What a lovely way to spend a gloppy afternoon!

Mau really enjoys his box. Here he is demonstrating the swishy magnificence of his tail.

While we were not able to get photos of it, Mau did come out of his box and we brushed him. He has thin patches of fur on his sides, likely evidence of stress-related overgrooming. While he apparently eats, he is quite skinny. Amazingly, he refuses to eat wet food and insists on dry food, even though that must hurt him. The volunteers I spoke to suspect he does so because that’s what he is used to eating. He reminds me of Garrus when we first got him. Aaron agreed with me that he looked sad, a bit scraggly, and in need of our help.

While we were there, two other volunteers, Carolyn and Grandma Jean came into the adoption room. Both had worked more with Mau than I have, so I asked them questions about his temperament. When he first came to the shelter a month ago, he was terrified (understandable). Gradually, he started softening and demonstrating that he is a calm but friendly cat who likes to be held and brushed. He has toe floof! Evidently he has been handled a lot more than Garrus was, so that’s a plus, but he’s also quite a bit older than Garrus and Charlie and presumably spent years with his previous owner.

Mau doesn’t like new environments so being taken out into the open space of the adoption room is overwhelming. Grandma Jean said that he does better in the small interaction rooms. As Carolyn reached into the condo to pet him, he started licking her hand repeatedly, which I thought was an odd quirk. When Aaron and I held a kitten, he didn’t seem to mind them at all, whereas his neighbor Chester growled at the the mere sight of the kittens.

As to if and when Aaron and I will be able to foster Mau, we’re waiting for him to be transferred from the shelter to Austin Pets Alive!, since he needs extensive dental work. I contacted both the shelter director and APA and have been approved as a foster (yay), and let APA know that I wanted to foster this particular cat from the Pflugerville Animal Shelter. In the interim I’ll visit and love on him.

Peace…for about 3 minutes!

Shortly after I took this photo, the grey tabbies woke up and started yammering for attention. Obviously we had to plunk on the floor and hold kittens because I couldn’t resist giving these babies lovies. (Who would?)

The tabbies had adorable spotted tummies (!), and all of them had eaten recently, so they had little fat bellies begging for rubs. The black kitten was calm and cuddly today and, mercifully, not so pointy after having his nails trimmed. The orange bicolor and grey bicolor were chatty and bold little explorers. They are clearly used to climbing into volunteers’ laps and being adored. The orange tabby was a genuine extrovert and threw a squeaky, wiggly tantrum until he was picked up again. Once held, he wanted to chill and started to doze off against my chest. There was much internal squeeing on my end.

Adult Cats Need Love Too

While it was easy to get sidetracked by the massive cuteness exuded by the seven kittens yesterday, I felt it was important to spend time visiting each of the three adult cats in the adoption room at the Pflugerville Animal Shelter. I’ve never seen the cat adoption room so empty but that’s a good thing!

This is Chester. Initially he was mislabeled a girl! He is slow to warm up and, when overstimulated, gets scared and poofy (perfectly understandable). He is decidedly not a fan of the kittens in the condo downstairs.

This is O’Rian, a total love bug and adoration sponge! He was chatty, frequently kneading on his bed, and greeted me by putting his paws on my shoulder when I opened the condo door. He loved to look around while being held and made air biscuits. Also note how handsome he is!

This is Mau. He is rather shy but sweet and loves to be brushed (which he needs, since I don’t think he’s grooming himself much). He was also a little chatty with me, which made my heart melt.

Given that Mau is 10 years old, somewhat timid (he seldom left his box), and has stomatitis, it is easy for him to be overlooked. He and his two housemates (who also have dental issues and possibly upper respiratory infections, and therefore are currently in isolation) were surrendered by their owner a month ago. Aaron and I have discussed fostering again and I think we could help this boy. I wanna love him!

Aaron and I can’t adopt all the cats but we want to help those who need a respite from the shelter and who might take longer to find a home due to age, need socialization, medical issues, or other factors.

Be Kind to Animals Week

The first full week of May is Be Kind to Animals Week. Did you know that Be Kind to Animals Week is the oldest commemorative week in US history and the nation’s longest-running human education campaign? Neat, isn’t it?

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Be Kind to Animals Week is an annual celebration that spotlights the crucial importance of kindness and compassion to all animals, pets and non-pets alike.

Photo courtesy of Pexels

Here are a few ways you can participate in this altruistic week year-round:

Volunteer and/or donate to an animal shelter or rescue group. Walk dogs. Socialize cats. Hold rabbits. Bottle-feed kittens or puppies and give the shelter employees a well-deserved break.
Foster a shelter animal. You can also pet-sit for a friend so said pet does not have to be boarded.
Use cruelty-free products.
Help out feral cats. You can do this by providing food, water, and even a shelter. You can also donate to a catch-spay/neuter-release program in your area.
Protect the environment. Recycle, reduce, reuse. Don’t litter because (a) it’s gross and (b) animals can get sick, injured, or die from eating or getting tangled in plastic or other materials. Recycle and dispose of toxins safely. Use safe dish detergents and paper instead of Styrofoam. Be mindful that a lot of our waste ends up in the sea.
Run a 5K or participate in a fundraiser that benefits animals. Ask your animal shelter or humane society for ways you get can get involved.
Leave wild animals in their natural homes. While it’s tempting to bring home a snail, lizard, snake, or baby bird for the sake of scientific curiosity, instead practice kindness and naturalistic observation (a la Sir David Attenborough).
Plant a garden. More specifically, plant a butterfly garden or other vegetation that attracts bees, hummingbirds, and other wildlife. Bonus: pretty colors.

“No act of kindness, not matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop

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World Kindness Day

Today is World Kindness Day! The world certainly could use more kindness, compassion, and altruism, especially toward ourselves and to others. On that note, here are a few different ways you can demonstrate genuine acts of kindness toward animals, and by extension, your community:

Care for pets. Learning how to gently and correctly handle pets is a crucial part of being a responsible pet ownership. It’s important that children know how to properly approach and handle pets for a number of reasons. Caring for a pet can also help children (as well as adults) develop a sense of empathy, compassion, and responsibility.
Take your pet shopping to pick out toys, food, or other supplies for the animals at your local animal shelter.
Put together a gift basket for somebody from your pet. Bonus points: make a paw-printed card to go with it. (Make sure it’s made with non-toxic ink or water-based paint.)
Foster a shelter animal.
If you have a sick or elderly friend or neighbor, offer to walk their dog or otherwise take care of their pet. If the owner has transportation issues, offer to help them transport their pet to the vet if they need it.
Volunteer at and visit an animal shelter, rescue organization, or sanctuary.
Walk or run a 5K that benefits a pet or wildlife charity organization.
Foster a military pet on behalf of a service man or woman while they are serving abroad.
Learn how to report animal cruelty. Depending on the state, police departments may handle these investigations while elsewhere it falls under the jurisdiction of animal control or municipal agencies.
Visit the zoo or aquarium. These organizations care deeply for the animals in their care and work hard to conserve endangered species.
Plant a butterfly garden.
Choose cruelty-free products.
Donate to a spay/neuter program in your area to help reduce the feral cat population in your area.
Leave wild animals in their natural homes. If you see or find an injured or obviously sick animal, or suspect a baby animal has been abandoned, contact your local wildlife rehabilitation organization to learn what to do next (if anything).
When out on a walk in the woods, by a stream, or on a beach, pick up plastic rings, bottles, and other litter that can harm animals.

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