After Shadow and Midnight were lice-free and back at the shelter, we had an empty house (okay, well, not exactly. We still had six people, a dog, and a bearded dragon! But no foster animals!). After about 24 hours, the kids started asking about when we could foster next. I was eager to jump back in as well.
A foster request email arrived! There were two kittens needing a simple growth foster period; they had been weaned and were needing a place to grow for a few weeks before they were old enough/big enough to be sterilized and ready for adoption. Yes!
We picked up the two kittens excitedly and opened their carrier in the master bathroom, where they would be spending their time (please, please let all the bleach I used have killed all the feline lice!). I had told the kids that the kittens would need some time and space to warm up to us, much like Shadow and Midnight. I was wrong! These two, one a little white fluffball female, the other a white and tabby male, were the friendliest, most attention seeking kittens we had ever met! They immediately ran up to us. They wanted to play with whatever toys were on hand, get whatever pets were offered, and then curl up in any warm lap!
Andrew and Mae had named Shadow and Midnight, so it was Dane and Nora’s turn to name a foster. Dane picked Daisy for the white female and Nora named the tabby male Beans. These two looked so different. Were they really part of the same litter or just two similarly aged kittens paired together through circumstance? Who were their parents and what events had led the two of them to our house? Who had taught these babies that humans were the next best thing after a mama cat?! Had someone bottle fed them or snuggled them endlessly? Beans and Daisy came with their own set of unknowns.
We were so happy to have such sweet, playful kittens to end our first foster break. The house had felt empty. And now it was full once more. Beans and Daisy seemed like just a fun, easy foster need (it felt almost like cheating to have this volunteer work be so fun and easy!), but it would turn out to have its own challenges just like those before…
Learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Humane Society of Huron Valley in Ann Arbor, Michigan! Or search your local animal shelter and see what you can do to help…