Fostering a litter of kittens has two difficult parts: taking them in, and giving them up again.
CARES, a Langley cat shelter, is looking to build up its base of volunteer foster homes for young kittens.
CARES takes in cats and kittens all year round, and recently had a glut of 25 kittens, said Lauralee Porter, who heads up adoptions for the group.
Sometimes they can find themselves with up to 50 kittens at once.
“We always need foster homes,” Porter said.
Typically there are more kittens during warm months, but it never really stops.
“We find there’s no such thing as ‘kitten season’ anymore,” Porter said.
The kittens come in after being found all around the community.
“The last two were found in a dumpster,” Porter said.
They are looking for homes in the Langley and Cloverdale area, close to the Milner-based shelter and the local vets who look after CARES cats.
The kittens sent to foster homes are weaned, but need some more care. They may come with their mom as well, Porter said.
“For the first while, mom does all the work,” Porter said.
The responsibility of a cat fostering home is to make sure the kittens learn to use a litter box, to keep them healthy and make sure they’re growing the way they should, and to take them to a vet for their shots.
One of the most important duties is to socialize them to people, so they can be successfully adopted.
Fostering takes between two and six weeks.
“It depends on the age of the kittens when we get them,” Porter said.
They see kittens of all ages, but CARES volunteers takes care of abandoned kittens who need bottle feeding until they’re weaned.
For more information on the CARES kitten fostering project, contact Porter through adoptions@carescatshelter.com or at 604-532-5632.