My Foster Kittens

As soon as I heard that school would be closed for the remainder of the academic year, I was excited because that meant that I would have the time to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while: foster kittens! I’ve always been a bit of a crazy cat lady (even my Instagram handle has something to do with cats) and I had been researching ways to help cats in local shelters for quite some time.

I immediately signed up for foster programs at many local shelters and rescues, the LA SPCA, Zeus’ Rescues, Rolling River Ranch and Rescue, and more. It took a few weeks to hear back from them, and I started to think that there would never be any kittens for me to foster. However, one night, as I was watching a movie, I got a text from a seemingly frantic volunteer at Rolling River Ranch. She said that there were some kittens that needed foster homes urgently! Since it was my first time fostering, I initially planned on taking in only one baby, but the volunteer texted me, “I don’t suppose we could convince you to take three?” They convinced me.

The next day I brought home three two-week-old kittens. A little tabby, a tuxedo, and a gray baby. I named them Sam, Bill, and Harry after the dads in the musical Mamma Mia! I had been in a production of the show in Slidell last April and was reminded of a song from the musical, “Take a Chance on Me,” as I was taking a big chance on these cuties.

The first few days were really hard. The kittens had never eaten from a bottle before and it was very difficult to get them to eat even a few millimeters of kitten formula. My mom, being the biggest help, was able to assist me in getting them all to eat the right amount, and soon enough they were all eating a ton! Kittens gain so much weight every day in the first few months of their lives, and it was awesome to see them get nice and chubby thanks to our help.

There were other challenges. Sam, Bill, and Harry all came to me with upper respiratory infections (URIs). Their eyes were crusted over and they were all sneezing. I quickly picked up some antibiotics and my mom helped me give them the medicine. I barely got any sleep the first two weeks; kittens that young have to be fed every two to three hours, which meant getting up in the middle of the night multiple times.

After two weeks the kittens were four weeks old and I had gotten through the “hard part” of their lives. They had all recovered from their URIs and were confidently eating formula from their bottles. At four weeks they only had to eat every four to five hours, which meant a lot more sleep. They started to look more like actual cats and not like little jelly beans. They also started to gain interest in toys and were eagerly exploring their playpen that they were living in.

Now, at the time I am writing this, they are six weeks old and getting to be big kitties! They are eating solid kitten food now, which they love, and they are perfecting their pounces and jumps. When they are two months old, they will be ready to be adopted, I can’t wait to see the families that Sam, Bill, and Harry will be going home to.

A lot of people have asked me if I will be sad to let them go. “How can you not want to keep them?” Sure, I’m going to miss my first foster kittens a lot, but I took these guys in because I wanted to help save lives, not because I wanted more cats in my house (I already have two). A big thing you learn through fostering animals is that you have to be able to love something or someone without possessing them. Sam, Bill, and Harry can’t stay with me forever, but my loving and caring for them has given them the chance to live a long life with a forever family, when otherwise they could have lived a short life on the street or been euthanized.

I encourage all animal lovers who have the means to foster. Millions of animals go into shelters every year, and when the shelters can’t take in any more animals due to overcrowding, cats and dogs are often euthanized or kept out on the street because the shelter does not have any way to help them. When you take in a foster pet, you aren’t just saving one animal’s life, you are helping others by freeing up space at a shelter for another homeless pet. You can take in adult dogs and cats who need loving homes until they get adopted, or you can take care of orphan neonatal puppies and kittens who desperately need around-the-clock attention and care. It’s a great way to help and to show love to the creatures we share this planet with.

If you are interested in fostering orphan neonatal kittens like I did, check out Hannah Shaw’s (aka Kitten Lady) YouTube channel as well as her book Tiny but Mighty. She is pretty much the queen of kitten fostering and has great videos and advice for anyone looking to save some kitten lives!

Maureen White is a 16-year-old sophomore at Lusher Charter School who is passionate about singing, cooking, filmmaking, and caring for animals. When she’s not in school, Maureen likes to watch and review movies, dance to her music, read YA novels, and cook meals from recipes in her favorite Italian cookbook.