When Lindsay Wheaton brought Mr. Sox back to the Humane Society of Utah, she wasn’t ready to let this gentle Ragdoll kitten go. So she stayed for about an hour, cradling her favorite foster kitten, before returning him to the organization that would find him a permanent home.
After all, foster moms are only temporary, and it was time to let Mr. Sox (along with his siblings, Boots and Mittens) grow up, away from her Murray home.
Volunteers, like Wheaton, are needed to care for the youngest kittens or puppies before they’re old enough to be placed in a permanent home. That may mean bottle feeding every three hours, or feeding with a syringe five times a day when the animal is sick. They need to be kept dry, warm and socialized so that the kitten or puppy is ready to mingle in the real world after the few weeks or months it remains in the foster home.
Although most of the 2,500 foster animals in the Humane Society of Utah’s program are cats or dogs, occasionally rabbits, guinea pigs and gerbils are part of the mix at the 100 foster homes throughout the region.
One huge benefit is that foster families act as ambassadors for adoption by spreading the word about the need.
“They let friends know what they’re doing, and you’re drawing in a potential adoption base,” said Barbara Conrad, the Humane Society’s foster coordinator.
Were it not for the program, most of these animals would end up euthanized, she said.
That’s because the shelter would probably not have the space to keep the young litters. Sick animals may not be able to recover there.
Now in her third year of fostering kittens, Wheaton estimates she has cared for about 30 animals.
The latest two, Snickerdoodle and Skippyjon Jones, which she has had since they were about four weeks old, required soft food syringed into their mouths.
“Every animal deserves a chance to have a good life and live in a good home,” said Wheaton, 25, who lives with her parents and 6-year-old daughter, all of whom help with the animals.
One of the only challenges is the household’s territorial adult cats, that aren’t thrilled about the bold kittens.
Conrad encourages both single people and families to consider fostering an animal.
One benefit of a house with children is that the atmosphere can help the creatures become acclimated to the noise and chaos of a potential adoptive family.
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