Monday, June 22, 2020

Foster Cats

Last year I visited Humane Rescue Alliance to see if I could find a suitable companion for Kimba, who has been the only cat in the house since I lost my cat Nick to cancer in 2018. I was in the market for an older male who would presumably have a compatible energy level. However the shelter was like a Golden Girls episode with mostly older females on display! The helpful adoption coordinator I spoke with succeeded in impressing upon me how badly they needed fosters during kitten season so I ended up applying for that role instead. In July 2019 I was matched with an 8-year-old black cat named Coco Rico. He was a former alley cat who had come into the shelter with an injury and was friendly enough that HRA decided to adopt him out as opposed to returning him to his TNR cat colony.  


In October I took him to an HRA event in which he was adopted on the spot. I had wandered away from the adoption truck and didn't get a chance to say goodbye. I was very surprised at how attached I had become to this cat, though Kimba didn't seem to care one way or another about his presence. 

Fast forward to April 2020, and I received an email from HRA that Coco Rico had been picked up as a stray and his adopters did not want to reclaim him. I was delighted to foster him again and get a chance to reunite him with his favorite toy. Cats are in such demand during quarantine that I only had him for a week before the perfect adopter emailed me. We did a virtual meet and greet over skype during which he did friendly head butts and showed  off his litter box manners. He is living his best life now as evidenced by adorable photos his new adopter sent me.


Next I was matched with Ander, an energetic, cute 6-month-old. Given that cats are practically flying off the shelves, my inbox was flooded the minute his profile went up and after 3 zoom meet and greets HRA informed me the first respondent had applied to adopt him. Although he initially hid from me his first evening, he became an absolute love bug and delightful zoom bomber. I only had Ander for 6 days before his new mom arrived for a contactless pickup. 

I am taking a break from fostering for the rest of the summer because my music studio/cat room/office gets a little too hot when I keep the door closed to separate the fosters from Kimba. I look forward to doing this again in the fall since Kimba doesn't seem to mind sharing the apartment with other cats.