Temporary Fosters: Meet Jack and Diane!

December 19, 2016December 19, 2016 Bernadette

Meet Jack and Diane, two young kittens living in the, no, not like the song and not as wild and crazy, in the woods in North Park, but someone cared enough to bring them in from the cold and have them vetted and socialize them for loving forever homes so they wouldn’t have to endure the cold, snow and ice. Their wonderful rescuer went away for a pre-planned holiday trip so they are spending their holidays in my bathroom. Jack is ready to be my friend but Diane is still keeping an eye on me.

Back in November a friend of a friend contacted me about a mother cat and her two kittens who lived in the woods at the edge of a large county park. She’d been feeding them, and she’d also fed others, trapped and socialized them and even adopted one. She was intent on getting the mother cat for our clinic at the beginning of December, but within hours of setting the trap she had the two kittens–at the same time! So they were packed up and taken off to the clinic for the full rescue cat package and she brought them home to begin socializing. I made a number of suggestions about socializing kittens at 10 to 12 weeks who had likely never seen humans in a positive light before, and she took every suggestion and put it to work, including purchasing a training cage and setting it up for them to have their own small space. It makes me so happy when rescuers do that, not that I need to be the boss, but certain things work best and others really don’t, and getting things wrong at the very beginning can backfire, with negative results for all involved.

We knew she had a holiday trip planned, and if the kittens weren’t socialized and/or adopted by then we’d have to find a foster. Finding a foster skilled with formerly feral kittens who doesn’t already have a house full at this time of the year is nearly impossible, but I had decided that if we didn’t find anyone, well, my bathroom is open for business, though that would mean 11 cats here, and one room in this tiny house, and a favorite room at that, closed off to the rest of them.

We are all doing fine! Jack and Diane hid for the first day, Saturday but Jack came out at night, and they both played noisily when I wasn’t in the room. Then Sunday they were quiet until dusk, then came out to play again and I had the chance to play with them both through the evening. Today only Jack played with me during daylight, but Diane was out for a bit.

I like to let new cats decompress and figure things out for themselves at first. Any attempt I make to try to convince them I’m their friend is not going to be heeded, but by always acting friendly and positive and offering play, they will begin to associate that with me as they grow accustomed to being in my house. I still have not touched them, but that will come. They will be here until at least the beginning of January.

I am not fostering Jack and Diane through Pittsburgh C.A.T. because our capabilities of providing food and veterinary care to more kittens are pretty well used up at the moment, but the clinic came in handy and I can also use my personal connections to help get them adopted, and also to get them into one of the shelters we work with when they are socialized.

Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.

Subscribe to my e-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter.

© 2022 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Weekly schedule of features:

Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life

Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters

Tuesday: Rescue Stories

Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork

Thursday: New Merchandise

Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy

Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats

And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS WEBSITE

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE| EMAIL | PATREON

HOME

Art and Gifts Featuring Cats You Know!

~~~

HCMT/Pittsburgh C.A.T. 2017 Calendar from Portraits of Animals!

I designed and am publishing this calendar on behalf of these two organizations for which I volunteer and support. All proceeds of sales of this calendar after costs will go directly to our work Making Life Better for Cats Every Day of the Year. Price includes shipping. You’ll find a box to enter your address or special instructions in your shopping cart.

Each month features a cat and its story who we rescued through TNR or rescue from abandonment, neglect or abuse, offered medical treatment, fostering, socialization, and a loving forever home that met their individual needs.

In addition, each month is sponsored with an ad from veterinarians, businesses and individuals who support HCMT and Pittsburgh C.A.T., including five of the veterinarians who regularly take a shift at our clinics to spay and neuter plus pet sitting and pet first aid training so you have ready resources for services you and your pets can use right at your fingertips.

—