HAP

Bottle Babies

Bottle Babies

April 16, 2021

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HAP

I started my foster experience up north, in Pennsylvania.  The local S.P.C.A. reached out to me one day while I was visiting.  I recently lost my own cat of 20 years, so I was just there looking around.  I had never heard of kitten fostering, but the employee on duty explained the details of their program.  I considered it for a bit and went back to them and got started! 

I will never forget my first bottle baby, named Baby, of course.  No tail, maybe 6oz., single, sick and a purr bucket!  When Baby got to be big enough, I went to the shelter and took home two more kittens to help teach her how to be a kitten.  

Having bottle babies or a single bottle baby, it changes everything.  Your life is scheduled around the next feeding and catering to the needs of the kittens.  Our kitchen area is the bottle baby area with a tent and heating pad and of course the feeding station. Our office becomes the “Kitty Cave” when they are old enough.  It is by far the most rewarding hobby / job I have ever had!  I love it and we will continue to foster as long as we can.  We keep a log of the kitten names, and to date we have taken care of 106 bottle babies. 

It is very hard to give the babies back to the shelter at 2 lbs, but very rewarding to know that the shelter is able to find them forever homes because we helped them.  When we moved to Florida in 2014,  I was told about Cat Depot almost right away.  I went and signed up right away.  There are so many wonderful people in this organization and the Facebook Foster Page (available to registered foster volunteers) has been extremely helpful in many ways as far as having a support system to help each other through the process!

Our Foster Failure was #51, Norman.  We adopted him up north, although he was not a baby, he was 5.  He loves Florida and has gotten used to the Fosters that we bring in.  Norman is an ” only ” cat kind of guy, so when we bring in the babies, he doesn’t care until they start running around.  They have taught him how to play and it has been fun watching Norman learn from the babies as well! We don’t think he has ever seen another cat/kitten until he met the foster kittens.  I guess we would say that Norman, our Foster failure is our most memorable since we ended up adopting him.

Renee McFadden
Foster Volunteer

Read more Foster Stories:
Caring for cats until they’re ready for a forever home is not only enormously satisfying, it helps save lives. To start your foster journey today with Cat Depot, email volunteer@catdepot.org for more information. 
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Bo and Titan: A Journey From Fear to Foster

Bo and Titan: A Journey From Fear to Foster

April 1, 2021

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Titan – Before Foster

Titan – After Foster

Bo – Before Foster

Bo – After Foster

Bo and Titan’s story began November 25, 2020, when they were transferred to Cat Depot from another shelter. Not much is known about them prior to coming to Cat Depot, other than they were found wandering together. We can guess that they had lived with someone as they were both microchipped, but unfortunately their chips were never registered so they could not be reunified with their owner. Despite appearing different, with Bo being a brown tabby with white markings and Titan being a classic grey tabby, when you look close, you realize that their body shape and size is very similar to each other, making us guess that they are brothers, approximately five years old.

When they first arrived at Cat Depot, Bo and Titan were scared, which is a normal reaction for any cat coming into a shelter setting, however, as time went by, we realized that they simply were not adjusting to their new environment. We never saw Bo and Titan during the day as they were always hiding underneath blankets, sometimes together, and sometimes apart. After hours, when the shelter was quiet, Bo and Titan would quietly come out, eat, do their business, and then return to the safety of their blankets before staff arrived the next day.

In an effort to reduce their fear, Adoptions Manager Lisa Voigt took Bo and Titan to her home, giving them first one room, and then several rooms, to roam and be happier cats. Almost immediately, Bo and Titan started coming out of their shells, greeting Lisa when she fed them their meals and letting her pet them while they ate. Bo and Titan slowly began to realize that there was more house to see as well as other cats to meet, and embarked upon a mission to explore the entire home. At first the excursions were short lived, with Lisa rounding up Bo and Titan and herding them back to their part of the home, but as time went by, and as all the cats in the home grew used to each other, Bo and Titan’s visits grew longer.

With the increased freedom came individual personalities. Titan would spend hours on the front porch, watching the world go by. Bo would wander the home, seeking a friend to play with – usually the kitten in the home – and trying to secure a spot on the couch next to Lisa.

Lisa would allow Bo and Titan longer visits, eventually allowing a few overnight slumber parties. Bo and Titan proved to be great guests, with Titan lounging at the foot of the bed, and Bo slowing moving from the bottom of the bed, to the middle, to curling up next to Lisa and sleeping with her all night. Unfortunately, Lisa’s cats were a bit perturbed with the sleeping arrangements, so Bo and Titan now spend their nights in their private quarters.

Despite their ease with Lisa, Bo and Titan remain nervous around other people and become invisible cats when someone is visiting. Lisa will attest that Bo and Titan are great guests – always using their litter box with no accidents. They LOVE their food – they are both a bit chubby and are on a diet right now.

While Bo and Titan have advocated to become full time residents at Lisa’s house, kitten foster season is coming and they desperately need to find a home of their own, where they can blossom and be loved. Preferably a quiet home, and one where they won’t have to share their human with a bunch of other pets. Lisa believes both Bo and Titan will always be a bit shy but will warm up to their human roommate, will snuggle all night long, and be quiet, gentle company for years to come.

If you are interested in learning more about Bo and Titan, please call Cat Depot at 941-366-2404 and ask to speak with Lisa or any of the Adoption Counselors.

Lisa Voigt
Adoptions Manager / Foster Mom to Bo & Titan

Read more Foster Stories:
Caring for cats until they’re ready for a forever home is not only enormously satisfying, it helps save lives. To start your foster journey today with Cat Depot, email volunteer@catdepot.org for more information. 
Bimini and kittens

From TNVR to Fostering – How did I get here?

From TNVR to Fostering - How did I get here?

March 1, 2021

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Bimini and kittens
Goldie and Gang

I have been a foster parent for Cat Depot for probably 7 years. My story began when I contacted Cat Depot for help TNVR-ing a cat colony on Siesta Key. Cat Depot really helped guide me in best practices for maintaining community cat populations. In the end, between Cat Depot and ARC, we were able to spay and neuter more than 20 cats and kittens!  I ended up with 10 kittens living in my little bathroom at one time, along with one mom, Bimini (pictured left). Bimini had at least 5 of her own kittens, but then we found 5 more, and eventually she took them on too. But let me tell you…getting Bimini was also a story in itself! Thank goodness for Bimini, there would have been no way I could have bottle fed all those babies myself. Eventually, she was TNVR’d and rejoined her colony. That is where my foster story began. 

I have not had any “foster fails” (yet!) but I did end up adopting another cat, Monty (was Monster), from Cat Depot when I was bringing in a few of my fosters for their medical exams. Monty is an older cat, who just had his leg amputated. I tried to give other potential adopters a chance, but people just weren’t seeing what a beautiful cat he would become once his hair grew back. My gain! And he is awesome.

I have easily fostered more than 50 cats and kittens at this point. Usually, I prefer to foster a group for a few months, then need a break for a few months. I only have one truly sad story, one kitten didn’t make it due to a rare heart condition. I learned a lot during that situation. When COVID hit in 2020, I took on my first mom and babies since Bimini. I have two male cats of my own, so I was a little nervous in having a mom who may want to venture out of the bathroom. It turned out to be a fantastic experience! The kittens were just hours old when we got them and they stayed with me for more than two months. It was so much fun watching them grow from tiny, helpless little creatures, into playful kittens!

I prefer to foster more than one at a time. Otherwise, I worry I might get too attached, or feel guilty leaving the kitten alone when I go to work. But, the times that I do foster a single kitten also tend to be the ones where I remember their names and have more memories to share. Fostering and working with Cat Depot has been an amazing experience.

Darbi Bossman
Foster Volunteer

Read more Foster Stories:
Caring for cats until they’re ready for a forever home is not only enormously satisfying, it helps save lives. To start your foster journey today with Cat Depot, email volunteer@catdepot.org for more information. 
Ian & foster cat

Why do we foster?

Why do we foster?

February 1, 2021

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Ian & foster cat
foster cats

We both love cats, and always had at least one (sometimes two or three) from when we got married in 1970 until we retired in 2008.  Since retirement, we’ve travelled a lot and lived in different countries. We now have a home in Sarasota, and normally spend the winter months there; but our summers are based in the UK, so it is no longer possible for us to have a cat of our own. 

In 2016 we spotted a Cat Depot stall outside Whole Foods.  After talking to the Cat Depot representative and  explaining our situation, he suggested that we look into to fostering cats.  This was something we’d never heard of – but it sounded ideal – so Sandie got in touch with Cat Depot and we completed all the necessary training.  Sandie also volunteers in other ways there by visiting with the cats and working at the front desk.

Since then, we have fostered nine cats, for varying lengths of time.  They are usually older cats who are recovering from an operation, or for different reasons are not ready for adoption.  We are grateful to Cat Depot for allowing us to enjoy their company, even if it is only for a short time.    

Ian and Sandie
Foster Volunteers

Andy

Andy

Andy

January 7, 2021

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We got Andy as a foster when he was 8 weeks old. He appeared to have a development problem of some sort; he was lethargic, weak and did not walk, he simply sat in the corner and would stare into space and very slowly moved his head from side to side. He acted more like a 4 week old kitten. He was sleeping a lot more than other foster kittens we have had over the years.

We set him up in our second bathroom with a comfy bed and loads of toys, including a ball with a bell in it. On the first night, we heard the bell move a little bit. On the second day, I took him on the sofa with me to read and he seemed a bit more alert. By the third day, the staring seemed to disappear and he was a little more confident. We often heard him playing with his ball. In the evenings he would watch TV with us and get down and walk around, exploring under the Christmas tree. His favorite pastime became sitting with me, kneading and sleeping, we are experts in this now.

Over the past three weeks, he has become a pretty special kitten. He has gotten a bit bigger but he still cannot jump or get up on the sofa himself and when he jumps down, he face plants – he can’t stick a landing. I set up the cushions so he can get up onto the sofa with me and he runs up and down now. He also runs around the house, plays with his toys, purrs, loves belly rubs and when he gets excited, he makes a squeaking noise that is adorable.

We’d say he is a perfect kitten. 

Kristine and David
Foster Volunteers