3 years, 66 lives saved.

This was 3 years ago today. And with this sweet kitty, I stumbled into what has been one of the most positive experiences of my life -- cat and kitten fostering. I have never felt more needed, more valued, more loved than I do when I look into the eyes of the sweet kitties with whom I share my home for their brief moments of need. And I never feel more fulfilled than when one of my babies goes home forever with a loving family.

I could not speak more highly of the community of cat people with whom I work at Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters. I am so grateful that God used Sunflower (aka Panther, pictured below) to lead me to Furkids and to my favorite hobby -- saving lives.

My fostering stats: 3 years, 66 lives saved.

-mo

Hershey & Dusty's Thanksgiving message

This note in the Furkids Thanksgiving Newsletter made me cry. I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be part of caring for so many of His precious babies. Hershey and Dusty are not my fosters, but Salem, Harlow, Caspar, and Zachary are snuggled in my bed as I type this. I am sure they would agree whole- and warm-heartedly with Hershey and Dusty's Thanksgiving message.

-mo

Best friends, Hershey the puppy and Dusty the kitten, say Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Here is their message:
We didn't really understand what it meant to be 'thankful' until our foster mommy explained it to us. We are just babies you know and have much to learn. She said there are lots of others kittens and puppies in the world that don't get tasty treats, snuggle time or kitty trees to play on. It makes us sad to know there are friends that don't have a home, food or a warm bed tonight. Foster mommy says we feel thankful because we are lucky to be safe and loved.

On this day, Thanksgiving Day, and every day, we express our gratitude for the many blessings in our life, including our friends like you. 
Without kind people like you, puppies and kittens like us would not be given shelter, medical care, and food to keep our tummies full.
Today we are safe. We are loved. We are warm. And we will have a safe haven for life with Furkids because of YOUR help. We express our thanks to you on this wonderful day. We hope you each enjoy a special time with your family and friends! Know that we are so happy to be alive today because of what you have done for us and so many of our friends.
Warmly and appreciatively,
Dusty, Hershey and the 1,500 cats and dogs Furkids has saved in 2013!

If you want to give toward the care of Dusty, Hershey and the 600 hundred other animals in our care today, visit Furkids.org to make a donation. Thank you!

stack o kittens

Meet my foster babies. Top to bottom: Harlow (male, 11weeks), Zachary (male, 5weeks), and Caspar (female, 6weeks).

They were dumped together at the Furkids shelter in the middle of a cold, rainy night and left til morning.

Although their dumper feels she is doing the right thing, dumping animals at a shelter is against the law in Georgia. It puts undue strain on a system that is designed to save as many animals as possible. It creates inefficiencies in the system and hinders the work that shelters like Furkids do so well.

For these babies, though, a story that began with dark, cold, and loneliness will have a bright, warm, happy ending. :)
-mo

Halloween kitties

New fosters. All different ages but dumped together at the shelter. All super lubby. Harlow, black and white male, 10 weeks, shy but loving when you earn his trust. Caspar, solid black female, 5-6 weeks, never meets a stranger, plays with anybody and everybody and all the time. Zachary, brown tabby male, 4-5 weeks, sweet baby who loves to follow me anywhere I go.

so I have a hobby

I have always anxiously feared the question, "what do you do outside of school/work?" I have generally just enjoyed what I do inside school/work so much that I have not really done much else. And, to be honest, I kinda like doing nothing or nothing-like things when I am not being held accountable for doing something. So, I have never had a hobby.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom pointed out that I now have a hobby. I have an answer to the question of what I do outside school/work. My new answer may not be any more socially acceptable than my old answer, but my new something is much more fulfilling than my old nothing.

So, what do I do outside school/work, you ask? I am a cat lady. I am a foster mom. I keep kittens alive. I wake up at random hours of the night and rush home at random hours of the day to feed or medicate little fur babies. I give away pieces of my heart to itty bitty orphans who need nothing more - or less - than those pieces.

What do I do outside school/work? I have a hobby. My hobby is love. And I love love.

-mo

more babies lubbin babies

babies lubbin babies

Newest Babies

In the pic of 4, l-r: Mary Anne, Lovey, Minnow, Gilligan. These 4 came to me 3ish weeks ago and a few days later developed symptoms of a common kitten virus. The virus got the best of little Lovey, and she died last Wednesday. My first fostering loss. I cried for hours.
The next day, Mary Anne developed bad mouth sores and stopped eating. I took her and her siblings to the vet on Friday to figure out exactly what was going on and was prescribed 5 different medications.
I am relieved to report they are doing great now. Mary Anne is eating on her own again, and everybody is enjoying pouncing like healthy babies. The single pics were taken last night of Minnow (Brown Tabby), Gilligan (Orange Tabby), and Mary Anne (Tabby with white chest).

In loving memory of sweet little Lovey...
-mo

this is my life... thanks, mom!

it's 1130, and i'm sitting down to eat the supper i cooked 4 hours ago. here's the story:

my mom knows nothing of this story yet, but she is to blame. why? because she passed on the gene. the gene that attracts every homeless, hungry, or hurt kitten from miles around. the gene has been hard at work today.

today's story really starts months ago when the gene attracted a little gray kitten named Panther. I own 2 cats and can't afford the space or the $$$ for another, so when Panther came along, I did what I had to do to get her accepted into the adoption program at a local organization called FurKids. What I had to do... become a foster parent with FurKids.

I have loved fostering! I have now fostered two litters, a pair, and a single - 15 cats in all.

This morning, as I prepared to take the last kitten from my last litter into a store to be adopted, I emailed the lady in charge and told her I needed a short break to get my house cleaned and to love on my own cats some before accepting my next fosters.

Ha! God had other plans...

On my way home from dropping off that kitten, the car in front of me swerved to miss a little ball of black fur in the road. Then I swerved. Then the car behind me swerved. And the little ball barely moved. I could tell the little ball was struggling.

I looked over at the empty pet carrier in the passenger seat of my car and sighed. So much for that break... I pulled over, scooped up the little ball of black fur, and drove her home.

I got her home and left her alone in my bathroom with some food while I went downstairs to prepare my own supper.  While my brussels sprouts baked, I went back upstairs to check on the little fluffer and found she had eaten nothing. I picked her up and began checking her out. I found she had several deep wounds (about the size of k9 fangs) and that her wounds were covered in maggots. She couldn't wait for medical attention.

I loaded her up, took her to an emergency vet, and got her the little bit of treatment she needed to make it through the night. I emailed my friends at Furkids, who agreed to check her out in the morning.

Back home, I bathed her and wrapped her in a towel for the night.

Now, it's 1130, and i'm sitting down to eat the supper i cooked 4 hours ago.

this is my life... thanks, mom!

-mo

More Babies!

New set of foster kitts. These are the travel sites babies, Priceline, Hotwire, Orbitz, Expedia, and Kayak.

They have had a rough first 4 weeks of life and come to me sick and malnourished. We are quickly resolving these issues, though, eating wet and dry food and bottle feeding twice a day. They will be fit for adoption in no time!

the crew

On Tuesday, the crew will be split into separate homes. Sad, but a necessary next step in finding them forever families!

pile o babies

6 weeks old