Hello everyone,
I have been fostering kittens for my local city shelter since they were 1 week old. I started with 7 kittens and lost 4. 3 survived and just today at 9 weeks old, I took them back to the shelter so they can be adopted. I expected to get attached and I expected this process to be tough, but today was heart breaking. These little kittens have been running all around my home with freedom and space. I have made sure they had good food and were healthy as well as happy. Today I watched them get placed into a tiny cage (thankfully in a quiet room), where they were obviously nervous and stressed. I felt terrible as I left, like I was completely abandoning them. I have been there person for 8 weeks and now I’m gone... I talked to one of the workers about one of my kitten’s constipation issues and left them extra kitten food that I have been feeding them. But she was busy and I could tell not particularly interested in what I had to say. She mentioned giving them their third round of booster vaccines which they are not due for, so I quickly intervened and told her I had just brought them in a week ago and are not due again until the 11th. All of this to say, I could use some encouragement for those of you who foster and go through this emotional pain when saying goodbye. I really would feel better if I was handing them off to new homes, but returning them to the shelter was gut wrenching.
Secondly, I don’t know that I could do this again for my city shelter. I don’t feel they pay enough attention to the kitten’s health because they are so overwhelmed with animals. Nor did they keep any contact with me as a foster home or express interest in hearing information about the kittens when I returned them. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Are your shelters more supportive/intentional with the kittens and foster homes? Should I expect this with most shelters? I want to help out in this way again, but if this is normal I don’t know that I can. Thanks for reading and any words of wisdom.
I have been fostering kittens for my local city shelter since they were 1 week old. I started with 7 kittens and lost 4. 3 survived and just today at 9 weeks old, I took them back to the shelter so they can be adopted. I expected to get attached and I expected this process to be tough, but today was heart breaking. These little kittens have been running all around my home with freedom and space. I have made sure they had good food and were healthy as well as happy. Today I watched them get placed into a tiny cage (thankfully in a quiet room), where they were obviously nervous and stressed. I felt terrible as I left, like I was completely abandoning them. I have been there person for 8 weeks and now I’m gone... I talked to one of the workers about one of my kitten’s constipation issues and left them extra kitten food that I have been feeding them. But she was busy and I could tell not particularly interested in what I had to say. She mentioned giving them their third round of booster vaccines which they are not due for, so I quickly intervened and told her I had just brought them in a week ago and are not due again until the 11th. All of this to say, I could use some encouragement for those of you who foster and go through this emotional pain when saying goodbye. I really would feel better if I was handing them off to new homes, but returning them to the shelter was gut wrenching.
Secondly, I don’t know that I could do this again for my city shelter. I don’t feel they pay enough attention to the kitten’s health because they are so overwhelmed with animals. Nor did they keep any contact with me as a foster home or express interest in hearing information about the kittens when I returned them. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Are your shelters more supportive/intentional with the kittens and foster homes? Should I expect this with most shelters? I want to help out in this way again, but if this is normal I don’t know that I can. Thanks for reading and any words of wisdom.