I'd love to "meet" your fosters from this season!

So we've recently started fostering kittens for one of our local rescue groups.  We've only been doing it for about 3 weeks, but it's already been an amazing and rewarding experience!  I thought it would be fun to start a thread introducing our foster kittens/cats from this season, with pictures, of course

Now we have our second foster, Hugo.  He is approximately 4-5 months old.  He's an all black DSH with a small white bib patch on his chest and he has one of the half tails, known here at the Oahu Crooked Tail, from the inbreeding that happens in the colonies.  He was trapped from a bad neighborhood with people that generally don't care about animals, and some people try to hurt the colony cats there

Here's Hugo, sorry for the bad quality, this was taken with my iPod Touch.


I was afraid that he'd never warm up to us because he was actually in a different foster home for about 6 weeks before coming here and he never really came around while there.  The foster mom there has to work a lot and unfortunately didn't have enough time to spend with him to really be able to socialize him, so she wanted to find a home that could give him more one on one time.  Luckily I only work part time, so I have lots of time to spend with the kitties.

Hugo is very timid, but he's desperate for affection, attention and play time, so it really only took me about a day and a half to gain his trust.  Now he greets me with little squeaks for meows, purrs a lot, loves to give me head butts, and while I'm petting him he'll knead the floor with all four little paws so that it looks like he's dancing
I need some advice about Hugo though.  One of the things that is holding him back from taking him to an adoption event is that he goes into panic mode if you try to pick him up.  Since people want to be able to hold and cuddle their kitten it makes it more likely that he'd be overlooked at one of the adoption events  Plus he'll most likely just cower in the corner of the pop up the whole time he's there since he's terrified of new people and because those Petco adoption events get really busy and crowded.  I've been trying to get him more comfortable with being picked up by just putting my hands in position, with one under his chest and applying light pressure up as if I'm about to pick him up.  This didn't bother him, so then I moved onto just slightly lifting him and basically just scooting him from one place to another a few inches away.  When I scoot him I really only lift his front paws a tiny bit off of the ground and his back stay in contact with the floor.  He's okay with this too.  I can also pull him from leaning against my leg to up in my lap with no problem.  But he still goes into an absolute frozen panic if you try to lift him straight up.  I don't know what else to try than what I've been doing.  I know that some cats never want to be picked up, but it still might make it hard to get him adopted.

As far as him getting used to other people, he has slowly warmed up to my husband.  He will now play with him and let him pet him, but he never seeks him out for affection and attention and sometimes still runs away when my husband comes into the room.  He's gotten a lot better with that, though, so I think it'll just take some extra time with him (hubby's in the Army so he doesn't have a lot of time to spend with him each day, so we knew it would be a slower process with him).  We plan to have a couple of friends over to expose him to other people to get him more used to that, but I just know he's going to hide the whole time they're here.

My other concern is that Hugo spends all day in his "safe room" and he likes to burrow under and hide under the covers on the bed.  He'll come out from under the covers when I come in the room and call him, or if he's sleeping somewhere cuddled up with Archer he's fine, but otherwise he'll hide under there all day if you'd let him.  At the same time, I don't really think he's hiding under there so much as he's just comfortable and feels secure under there to be able to sleep.  At night time he's much more active and he's more brave at night as well.  At night time he'll come out of his room and explore the rest of the house and come out into the living room to play.  I don't know what to do to help him feel more secure in the day time to come out of his safe room then as well.  Maybe he's just on a fully nocturnal schedule and that's why he sleeps burrowed under the covers all day and comes out once the sun goes down?

At this point the rescue isn't sure Hugo will ever be adoptable.  A lot of people don't want a cat that you can't pick up, that's terrified of new people and that hides all day and is generally just so timid  People just don't seem to understand that given enough time and patience, that these cats will be wonderful pets just like the really outgoing ones!  Given enough time Hugo might even come out of his shell and actually turn into an outgoing kitty.  He just needs to feel secure and that it's okay for him to be this way.  He's bonded to me and to Archer so well that it's going to be really hard to give him up.  If we can find the right home for him with someone who can spend a lot of time with him and be really patient with him then I'll feel better about it.  However, my husband and I have decided that if the rescue decides that he's just not adoptable, or if the right home can't be found for him because of his "special needs" that we will keep him.   

I am afraid that once/if he's adopted that it will undo all of the progress that's been made because of being uprooted, having to go live with strangers again and because he's so bonded to Archer and to me.  Any of you who have dealt with a similar experience, how did you deal with this?  I actually feel guilty about trying to find him another home, as if I'm building this trust only to break it by then "sending him away."  Then I also feel guilty about wanting to keep him since the whole idea is that we're fostering them to be put up for adoption later.  Even if we become "foster failures" with Hugo we can still continue to foster kittens because we do have the room and I have the time.  We're really torn about it, so we've decided to let the chips fall where they will and if he's able to find a home elsewhere then that's meant to be, but if he can't find a different home then he's meant to be here with us.  

Anyway, sorry for the super long post.  I'd appreciate any advice about how we can better help Hugo.  And if anyone else wants to introduce their fosters please do so!  

(I'm sorry if I'm posting all of this in the wrong spot btw.  If it's in the wrong spot please feel free to move it.  Thanks!)

  A lot of people don't want a cat that you can't pick up, that's terrified of new people and that hides all day and is generally just so timid  People just don't seem to understand that given enough time and patience, that these cats will be wonderful pets just like the really outgoing ones!  ....  He just needs to feel secure and that it's okay for him to be this way.  He's bonded to me and to Archer so well that it's going to be really hard to give him up.  If we can find the right home for him with someone who can spend a lot of time with him and be really patient with him then I'll feel better about it.  However, my husband and I have decided that if the rescue decides that he's just not adoptable, or if the right home can't be found for him because of his "special needs" that we will keep him.   

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Now, you dont need "a lot of people".  You do need just ONE family who accepts his style.  And there are such people!!!.  When we buyed our resident, a russian blue, we KNEW from the beginning they are supposed to be nice to their own folks, but timid and shy to visitors and strangers.  But we knew he would be better with time.  And so it was. Ours is still shy to visitors, but a loving yes fanastic family cat.  More and more pet loving as he got older too. 

I myself see it as a big advantage of such a shy cat.  I know him showing  his love is not because it is thursday today. It is because he trust you, because you had earned his love and trust...

Friendly, social and pettable cats are nice, but such a shy cat who do accepted you is an extra dimension....  

(Why a RB? we wanted a cat who would be happy with a life only indoors. So it must be a purebreed. And russian blue because they were the mostly alike pretty moggies. We didnt knew at that time "moggies" and especielly rescued moggies, may also be very happy with 100% indoors life.  Got into rescuing and semiferales I did later, but this him being shy helped me much to understand other shy cats and their behavior.)

And yes, he loved warmth as young, and tended to be nocturnal.  AND hated to be lifted up, although he did allowed it.

I dont think this Petco adoption event is working for him. I think you must try to find an adopter some other way.  Make a lot of good pics, preferably so he looks sweet / handsome, and cozy.

And tell about him. Essentially a rewritten version of your text here. Make an album of this.  And or a big poster,  2x4 feet /70x120 centimeters.  Perhaps have this poster + album at the Petco event?. 

And or phone around your friends, work collegues, acquistances. If somebody is interested, mail over this album.  Or go around to them seeing them face to face, with this album in hand or on a USB-memory.   Dont forget some adoption fee. If it feels awkward to ask for money, let them pay a donation to some nice and worthy cause, IN THE CATS NAME.

IF you try to bring him to this Petco.  a) have Feliway spray with you, and spray around him...

b) Let him lie on his bed / blanket on a table, and let them pet him while he lies comfortably there...

So did your Muskis. He didnt liked to be petted on the floor, and he didnt liked to be lifted up. But to be petted lying on a sofa was OK...   After a while, when he saw me looking lovingly at him and recognizing apparently me wanting to pet him, he jumped on a sofa, layed down there - and let him be petted...

Good luck!

StefanZ said:

I know him showing  his love is not because it is thursday today. It is because he trust you, because you had earned his love and trust...Friendly, social and pettable cats are nice, but such a shy cat who do accepted you is an extra dimension....  

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I just love this thought

Thank you for your reply StefanZ.  We will continue to work with Hugo, and you're right we only need that one right person, or family, that accepts and understands him for who he is to find him and take him home   Thank you for telling me about Muskis and how he adored you and your family once you gained his trust and learned his quirks.  It's so true that earning the trust of a shy cat and being accepted by them seems to really add something to the relationship.  Luckily, even though Hugo is very shy and hates being picked up he's also very friendly and loving once he trusts you.  He loves being pet, but gets overstimulated quickly if you try to pet his head or under his chin.  He does much better with full body pets from neck to tail, then you could pet him all day

As far as the adoption event stuff goes, I'm working with a local rescue group here in Hawaii and they do their adoption events at Petco.  They do have a few adult cats in foster homes that don't get taken to Petco because 2 of them are FIV+ and 2 of them were traumatized every time they were exposed to it.  These four cats are listed on their Petfinder site, on their Facebook page and on Craigslist, so they do have a plan in place for cats that can't be taken to the adoption events.  However, the ones that go to the events tend to get adopted faster than the ones posted online since people can meet the cats and kittens face to face.  The adopters don't go to the fosters' homes because that is how the rescue is set up.  If these cats that aren't able to go to Petco get adopted I think the plan is that they would still be brought there just long enough to be picked up by the adoptive family and for them to turn in their paperwork and adoption fee.  I really don't know for certain, though, what the actual plan in place is.  If Hugo ends up not being able to go the the events I guess I'll find out more then.  He's actually never been to one of the events yet because he's been in foster care trying to get socialized and to trust people.  One of the things I like about the adoption events is that I get a chance to meet the potential adopters and can tell them all about the different quirks of the kitty.  However, some cats and kittens just don't do well in that type of setting, so I am glad that they have an alternative plan in place, even if it needs some work to make it better.

Writing up the bio sheet about them with lots of pictures is a great idea.  I actually did that for the first kitten we fostered and then the bio sheet and a DVD of pictures and videos went home with the adoptive family.  I also think the idea of the poster with photos and a brief fact sheet at the Petco event is a really good idea.  I'm going to suggest it to the adoption coordinator for the cats and kittens that can't be taken to the events.  I know they have a binder with this type of thing, but I don't think the potential adopters even know it's there.  If people saw the posters it would, hopefully, increase interest about these other cats and finally find them their forever homes

Don't worry about the adoption fee.  That's all coordinated by the rescue, so fortunately I never have to ask anyone for money.  You're right that it would feel a bit awkward, but I understand why it's necessary to weed out the not so nice people out there.

Thank you again for your reply.  It's encouraging to hear other stories about shy kitties that came out of their shell and turned into total love bugs