Foster Kittens
I’ve had my cat Mei for almost 4 years now. She’s an absolute delight, but I adopted her from a friend well after she was old enough to put up with my foolishness when it came to taking her on walks, be it in a cat backpack or a cat leash.
I really want to have a cat I can take on walks, and eventually even take on camping trips and the like, so I started looking around but quickly ran into an issue. Mei has happily been ‘my’ cat for a while, with little to no interest in being anywhere close to other cats.
So how could I test out introducing her to other cats? The answer came from a friend of mine who is a vet. She mentioned that fostering is a great way to see how Mei would react to other cats being around, which cats she gets along best with, as well as of course providing a valuable service to the community.
A couple of weeks later I had transformed my workout room into a kittenry and my adventure had begun!
The Process
I foster kittens for the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. I generally focus on easier batches with a larger amount of kittens, focused on their socializing rather than intense medical needs (though of course if those come up I’ll support them there too.) I do this mostly because I have a great space for socializing specifically - the kittenry is right next to the catio so I can get them outside at a young age but in a controlled and safe environment. I also have a ton of neighbors and friends who come by regularly because of the chickens and trains, so the kittens get introduced to a lot of people very quickly.
For each batch I’ll just be posting photos with names, and when I’m preparing to give them up or adopt them I’ll post photos again as well as the summaries I give the shelter for when they are put up for adoption, as well as a brief coda on where they are at now.
Litter #1
I started with a batch of 5 kittens who arrived at my house at the ripe old age of 7 weeks (approximately, of course.) It was incredibly fun seeing how they grew up and developed their own personalities. They became pretty confident in the space within a few days, and were zooming around the room, catio, and house whenever I let them out.
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Geordie
Cuddle Buddy
Geordie is very social with both cats and humans. He spent many evenings snuggling up with myself, my housemate, or my mom during her visit. We were on the edge of adopting him, but I am really looking for a female cat. He's a heart-melter. He also loves to be held in a cashew shape, and will gladly be carried around in that way while being petted. He tried to befriend my cat many times, and would always put himself in a deferential position around her, even though she wasn't particularly interested.
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Milkshake
Bringin’ all the boys to the yard
Milkshake is the most rambunctious of all the cats. He loves to play with everything, including your arm, any dangling thing, every other cat around him, and anything else that moves. As such he didn't really get along well with my cat as all, since she is a much more low-key cat, but he got good at backing off if she didn't want any of his nonsense.
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Gracie
Faithful companion - at a distance
Gracie was the second most social cat in terms of playfulness with the other kittens as well as people. She isn't much of a cuddler, but she loves being near people. She can get the zoomies and get a little rambunctious, and she loves playing with anything that dangles pretty much all of the time. She got comfortable enough to chase my cat around, which is one reason I didn't keep her, but when my cat pawed at her she backed off.
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Frankie
Frankie dear, I don’t give a damn
Frankie started as the most immediately comfortable and social of the kittens, coming up to the gate of the room from day one while the other kittens mostly found corners to hide in, but she, like Gracie, isn't a cuddler, she just always wants to be near her people. She tended to challenge my cat pretty directly, but never in a violent way, she just was willing to challenge for space. -
Iroh
Big Chillin’
Iroh is shy and usually the last one to take part in group activities, but he's incredibly cuddly and loves one on one time with humans, once he gets over his initial shyness. He loves to watch things from a distance and assess. He hasn't had much one on one time with my cat, but his shyness meant that she didn't mind being around him.
Litter #1 Coda
Iroh was adopted by a friend of mine, and lives a very coddled life full of cuddling and love.
The other 4 went back to the shelter and were adopted by noon the next day, with Frankie and Geordie going to a new home together!
Litter #2
My second litter was 4 incredibly cute 5-week-olds (again, approximately.) Not only were they much smaller and less coordinated than the first litter, but they were a much more low-key litter. Even at the time of writing when they are almost 8 weeks old they still stick together very closely and tend to find places to cuddle together.
Mei, having built up confidence with the last litter, starting walking straight into their room within a week or so, so unlike the previous litter, I’ve let all 4 into the house at the same time. They have been great about getting out of Mei’s way when she wants that, and meeting her slowly when she does want that, so it’s been an awesome experience so far.
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Pepper (Nee Monster)
Fluff Monster
Pepper is the most inquisitive of the second litter. She’s always poking around looking for nooks and crannies to explore.
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Reggie
That’s Sir Reginald to you
Reggie is probably the most energetic of the kittens. Since this is a very chill batch he’s still very relaxed, but when the litter is roaming around together he’s often in the lead.
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Luna
Shy and still learning
Luna is the most timid of the litter. She’ll still shy away from people picking her up or getting to close when she isn’t in the mood. She’s also been struggling a bit more with using the litter box when out and about in the house, so for now she’s mostly on kittenry duty. That said, she’s very cuddly once she’s comfortable.
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Phantom
The phaaaaantom of the kittenry is there
Phantom is the runt of the litter. She came in a few ounces under her siblings, and they have grown more quickly than she has, though giving her her own space to eat food without completing with her siblings helped her begin to catch up a bit. She follows me everywhere, and whenever I stop to do something she’ll just lie down on the floor, look up at me, and then fall asleep. She is the cuddliest by far.
Litter #2 Coda
Phantom and Monster ended up getting along so well with Mei that I adopted both of them. The other two were, like the previous litters, all adopted within a day of being put up.