Hey guys, I need some advice about my foster girl, Maggie. In case you aren't already familiar with her situation, she and her brother Sylvester, were abandoned by their owner, who lives next door to me. I was fostering a kitten at the time and didn't have the space to take either one of them in, but did put out food and water for them.
The weekend before last a local no-kill shelter/rescue offered to take Sylvester, the more outgoing of the two, and he has settled in just fine. Maggie was much more traumatized by being put out than her brother and wouldn't come near me, so I had to trap her. Since my foster kitten has been adopted, I now have the space for Maggie in my spare bedroom.
Since the shelter director indicated they didn't currently have the space to take Maggie too, I had pretty much resigned myself to foster her and find her a home on my own. She's much more shy than her brother and I was also concerned about how she'd do in a shelter environment, even though it's cageless and a really nice place. She and her brother aren't closely bonded, so it's fine that they've been separated.
I just got an email from the director that they've had a couple of adoptions and now have the space to take Maggie by the end of the week. Here's where I'm torn. I'm perfectly capable of fostering Maggie now and hate to take a space at the shelter away from a cat that's truly in need. There's also the fact that she's still pretty traumatized, although very sweet, by everything she's been through and another change might make it worse. On the other hand, you guys know I've been fostering one kitty or another for the past sixth months, with only about two weeks that there wasn't a foster kitty in the house and am really feeling like I need a break to devote more time to my own kitties.
Those of you who have come to know me can probably guess which direction I'm leaning. Like I said, I'm really torn about this. Please let me know what you think. I need to make a decision sooner rather than later and let the shelter know.
Thanks.
The weekend before last a local no-kill shelter/rescue offered to take Sylvester, the more outgoing of the two, and he has settled in just fine. Maggie was much more traumatized by being put out than her brother and wouldn't come near me, so I had to trap her. Since my foster kitten has been adopted, I now have the space for Maggie in my spare bedroom.
Since the shelter director indicated they didn't currently have the space to take Maggie too, I had pretty much resigned myself to foster her and find her a home on my own. She's much more shy than her brother and I was also concerned about how she'd do in a shelter environment, even though it's cageless and a really nice place. She and her brother aren't closely bonded, so it's fine that they've been separated.
I just got an email from the director that they've had a couple of adoptions and now have the space to take Maggie by the end of the week. Here's where I'm torn. I'm perfectly capable of fostering Maggie now and hate to take a space at the shelter away from a cat that's truly in need. There's also the fact that she's still pretty traumatized, although very sweet, by everything she's been through and another change might make it worse. On the other hand, you guys know I've been fostering one kitty or another for the past sixth months, with only about two weeks that there wasn't a foster kitty in the house and am really feeling like I need a break to devote more time to my own kitties.
Those of you who have come to know me can probably guess which direction I'm leaning. Like I said, I'm really torn about this. Please let me know what you think. I need to make a decision sooner rather than later and let the shelter know.
Thanks.