Clementyne's Cuties

Clementyne, a pregnant kitty brought to our shelter, has settled in nicely at her foster home and delivered 4 beautiful babies last week.

Feline Rescue's Foster Program has dozens of young kittens being cared for in foster homes. Check out our Kitten Supply Wish List or donate to our foster program.

For more information about our foster program read our Foster Program Frequently Asked Questions and if interested in becoming a foster caregiver please fill out our online Foster Volunteer Application.

Please spay and neuter your pets to prevent unwanted litters.

Help! It's Kitten Season Once Again

Same time each year Feline Rescue is inundated with orphaned kittens, pregnant cats and moms with babies.  Kittens are cute, innocent and happy.  They are so much fun. We love to view photos and videos of their silly antics, but unfortunately there are too many of them being born to homeless or abandoned cats.

Our foster homes are already filling up and Kitten Season has just begun.  The season began with momma cats coming in with their newborn babies and now the urgent pleas from local animal control facilities as orphaned kittens some too young to eat on their own are in need of rescue.

Yesterday a VERY pregnant momma cat was left at our shelter and two six week old kittens were rescued from an animal control facility while just days before a two week old kitten and a four week old kitten were quickly taken into our care from another animal control facility.

VERY pregnant momma, now named Clementyne, shortly after rescue

Before and after photos for recent orphaned kittens rescued from animal control facilities.

Chip

Jumpin' Jack Flash

Bibi and Bibbles

So how can you help?  Not everyone is able to open their home to provide foster care for cats and kittens but Feline Rescue is always in need of supplies and funds to pay for medical care.  Check out our Kitten Supply Wish List or donate to our foster program.

For more information about our foster program read our Foster Program Frequently Asked Questions and if interested in becoming a foster caregiver please fill out our online Foster Volunteer Application.

Please spay and neuter your pets to prevent unwanted litters.

Sister Mama cats & kittens journey to Feline Rescue

On March 29, WE R Furr Feline Rescue, on the White Earth Reservation, posted this note with a video on their Facebook page:

 

Picked up this brood tonight. These are 2 sister cats that each had 5 kittens a week apart. One group is a week old & the other group is 2 weeks old. The moms take turns feeding the kittens. They will be going to a foster home tomorrow. Then when the kittens are old enough, everyone will be spayed/neutered, shots etc. & be adopted out to good homes. With this addition to the rescue tonight, we are at our highest number so far.

SISTER MAMAS AND BROOD AT PET HAVEN

 

I wasn't surprised when I saw that Red Lake Rosie's Rescue stepped up to help find placement for this large group. Both Pet Haven and Feline Rescue offered to take them. Then we got word from White Earth that a group of six small orphaned kittens had been turned in to them. So the Sister Mamas traveled from White Earth to Red Lake to Pet Haven just briefly and then to their foster home with Feline Rescue. The six orphans are headed to Pet Haven.

SISTER MAMAS & BROOD AT FELINE RESCUE FOSTER HOME

A Foster "Tail"

Feline Rescue volunteer Mike became a foster caregiver after helping to rescue a momma cat and kittens last fall. Mike has fostered some challenging kitties, who might not have had a chance otherwise. He shares his experience:

Momma cat Carmelita

Baby-steps...little moments that make you smile and breathe with a little more purpose. That is what I call those moments when slowly, but ever so surely, the cats/kittens will give you glimpses of who they are. In time, they will all shine.

For me, it all started in November of last year. As I was driving home during rush hour on a Friday night, I saw something move, rather scurry, to the curb. What could have been such a disturbing evening in my life became one of the most cherished and rewarding. Instead of watching a mom cat and kittens get hit by the cars rushing by, I contacted Feline Rescue volunteer Molly, and we were able to trap the mom and kittens. Since I got her involved in the first place, I told Molly that I would like to be more accountable for the care of this mom and kittens.

Carmelita and baby Lulu

So that is how my adventure of fostering started. I asked my two cats Belle and Haley if they would mind if I "babysat" a few cats/kittens from time-to-time. They didn't seem real enthused one way or the other. I cleared out one room and kitty-proofed it, then "left the light on for them," figuring I'd "get it ready and they will come."  I decided to view myself as “Uncle Buck”:  I was inexperienced with "babysitting" kittens, but my heart was in the right place, and I figured I would learn as I go. The first hurdle: Belle and Haley. Would they be stressed out by having other cats in a room that they used to have access to? After a few stares at the closed door and peeking underneath, they seemed resigned to opening their home to their kind. I think they understood, since Belle was adopted from the Humane Society and Haley from Feline Rescue.

There are SO many moments that make me laugh or smile—ask me sometime and I will gladly tell you. I am blessed to witness the transformation of mom and kittens from scared, confused, hungry and thirsty, to enjoying being kittens, playing with their toys or their siblings' tails. Although I may not be moving mountains, in my own way, I am moving little hills of kitty litter. If you are able and willing to open up a room for them, care for them, interact with them, be patient with them…they just might make you so happy that you did.

Lulu and Hughie

But be prepared!  When it comes time for them to go to their adopted home, it is hard to see them go. What a small price to pay for giving them a chance to live their lives! What I didn't realize is that I am potentially helping out people as well. I think of how these little beasts have made my life so much more enjoyable and helped me through some of life's challenges. Now they will have the chance to bring solace and love to other humans.

Billy and Elliot

You see, fostering isn't so much about me helping cats/kittens in need; I am doing it for me...selfish, but true.  When I first started visiting Feline Rescue, I thought I was doing it for the cats. Then, on certain days when I wasn't able to visit, my afternoons didn't seem as rewarding, nor was I as content. I would hear volunteers say, "what great therapy" it is to be with the cats. Now I get what they mean!  I am also impressed with the dedication, respect, hard work and compassion that the volunteers at Feline Rescue show toward the cats in their care.

There are many amazing cats of all ages that need a place to stay. Adoption centers can't house them all. Fostering allows more cats to be given a second chance. Of the cats that I have gotten to know that are the sweetest ones around, I am amazed when I read their background information. What stories they would tell if they could, but many would probably not want to relive those moments.  

Foster kitten Eliza

I don't expect everyone to feel as I do. But, if you have ever thought of fostering a cat or cats until they can find a good home, you should look into it.  Or if you know of someone who could, maybe bring it up to them.  What have you got to lose – except maybe a little piece of your heart?

Foster kitten Joey

These cats were all given a second chance thanks to the efforts of Mike and many other volunteers and with the support of Feline Rescue's Outreach Program. Catching Carmelita and her kittens was a challenge, and then the kittens needed socialization as well. Hughey, Billy and Elliot were scared kittens spared from Animal Control, who learned to trust and then found good homes. Amber's kittens (Joey, Sophie, Emma and Eliza) were strays rescued by volunteers and lucky enough to be socialized so they could become house cats. Emma, Joey, and Eliza are still looking for great homes.

Update on Eliza

Eliza’s mom was a stray who showed up, with kittens in tow, at the home of some Feline Rescue volunteers.  Eliza’s siblings Emma, Joey, and Sophie were rescued first, but it took a few extra weeks to catch up with Eliza. So she spent some time out on her own in the cold. She did OK with her big, fluffy coat. 

After coming inside, Eliza needed surgery to remove a damaged eye. She also lost part of an ear to frostbite or injury. While she was recuperating in her kennel for the first few days, her siblings would pass toys to her. Now she has recovered well and is out romping around with her siblings. She is SO happy to be reunited with them.

 

Eliza and her siblings are very sweet but still on the shy side because of their background. They make progress every day in their foster home and will make perfect companions for patient adopters who can take time to build trust.  Toys, treats, and plenty of pets are the ways to these kittens’ hearts.  

Eliza would love to find a forever home with her sister Emma, brother Joey... or both! Call Molly for more information: 651-295-3758.