How fosters save lives at HSHV

Coming to you from foster: meet Soadee Pop and her kittens! This mama cat came to us purring louder than a freight train, with her 4 itty bitty kittens in tow. She seemed delighted to have found a safe haven for her little family, and a special family too: most orange cats are male, but Soadee Pop and 3 of her kittens are rare orange ladies!

Soadee Pop and her babies are in foster until the wee ones are old enough for adoption. This time of year, when springtime babies begin to arrive, we rely heavily on our foster network to be a "shelter-outside-the-shelter." After a one-time orientation, foster parents are eligible to house animals anywhere from a few days to several months, depending on their availability. We provide extra training for special circumstances, like bottle feeding; most kittens aren't as lucky as Soadee Pop's, and are found as orphans who must be bottle-fed every couple of hours until they can eat on their own.

Above all, the role of a kitten foster is to help these fragile babies thrive. It takes round-the-clock care which can only be provided in a home: daily weight checks, monitoring their appetites and energy levels, responding to any signs of sickness. It isn't easy and can sometimes involve heartbreak, since these very delicate creatures sometimes don't make it despite all best efforts. We are so thankful to our resilient fosters for continuing this hard work, and helping us save hundreds of animals every year. Soadee Pop and her family are grateful too!

If you're interested in joining our dedicated team and helping orphaned kittens, puppies who need extra socialization, nursing mamas, dogs who need time away from their kennels, or animals with special medical or behavior needs, you can learn about fostering at hshv.org/foster!