Hazel [5]

Sandy and Matt say: Hazel and her brother Manny were feral kittens picked up by the county animal shelter. Unfortunately, the shelter tends to put feral cats and kittens to sleep, so we offered to foster and socialize these two kittens. They were not friendly at first, very hissy and scared. But with persistence and turkey-flavored baby food, we were able to win them over. After a few weeks, they were normal, social kittens. They loved playing with toys and romping around the house and following our three cats around. Hazel developed a bit of a crush on our six year old Himalayan, Edmund. He was not amused.

Once they were big enough and social and healthy, we returned them to the shelter, where they were quickly adopted. The experience was so fun and rewarding that we have gone on to foster two more sets of kittens, and plan to continue to foster. We jokingly refer to it as the Kitten of the Month Club. Our cats, ages 11, 10, and 6, are even getting pretty good about having kittens around.

Being foster parents has given us the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of many animals instead of just a few. If you have the resources to do so, we highly recommend fostering with your local rescue groups. It has its ups and downs but overall is extremely rewarding. :)