Fostering with RAPS

New to the scary but safe world of RAPS   (LBF)

Visitors who arrive at the weekend for an hour with the cats are frequently blown away with the concept of 400 felines in one place – though they also have to come to terms with the fact that many of those cats are feral and will hide any time there are strangers around.  What the majority of the visitors will not see is that the Sanctuary cats are the visible portion of a much larger organization.

Good momma with babies   (LBF)

The Adoption Centre is the first building you encounter as you come up the lane to the Sanctuary. Access is limited, and it’s best to call and make an appointment, though weekend visitors can get access as long as it’s not too crowded. The inhabitants change – at some times of the year the kitten room is full of fuzzy adventurers, each one cuter than the last. When older cats are surrendered they are usually kept in a quieter area – able to roam if they’re sociable. What the general public is not aware of is the dedicated team of foster-parents who work in the background.

So scared - but it will get better!  (LBF)

Most of the kittens who come in are escaping a life that, without us, would probably be very short. When we are made aware of a feral colony, or a situation in which there are pregnant females, Ken and Lisa spring into action. This is not a “set a trap and see what you catch” situation. Being trapped is stressful for cats, and responsible rescuers remain on hand to cover the traps and transfer the trapped animals as soon as possible. When kittens are concerned, drop traps are usually the best way to go, manually triggered to get the maximum number of kittens (and their mom) simultaneously. But it’s not always about trapping; Ken and Lisa have lifted kittens out of machinery, from holes in walls, and from between floorboards.

Ken & Lisa rescuing kittens

And kittens living in those sort of situations are not always healthy kittens – so for many of them, the first trip is to the hospital for the treatment of flea infestations, eye infections and the like. Once their health is stabilized, they can go to foster-care, where they will get fed, weighed, and socialized; their first visit to RAPS may be at around 8-10 weeks for their first vaccines.  If they were caught with their mothers, they may be kept together, but it will depend on how feral mama is;  if she hates us all (and some do!) she will make it very difficult to socialize the kittens, and they may need to be separated from her. It’s a delicate balancing act; they will get best immunity if they are still nursing from her, but she may teach them that humans cannot be trusted.

Thyme, Sage, Rosemary & Mint have been
bottle-fed since day 2; now 4 weeks old  (KDG)

Kati is the foster-mother who most frequently gets the pregnant moms, oversees the birth of kittens (occasionally rushing them in for emergency care) and sheds blood in extracting kittens from protective mama-cats in order to assess and weigh them regularly. Many of the female cats at the Sanctuary have been feral moms who have had to be separated from their kittens; Carly and Celine, Harbour and Vonda, and many others have had kittens who have settled happily in their own homes, while their moms have taken much longer to accept humans.

The young Dr Flint in fosterage, wary and suspicious;
you may look at me, but not touch!   (KC)

Older kittens will sometimes go into fosterage, to get some more concentrated handling. It’s a truism that kittens can be tamed if you can do so early enough; 8-10 weeks usually sees the ones who come in very young as being comfortable with humans by the time they are in the kitten room. The older they come to us, the more likely it will be that they need extra fosterage time. Dr Flint came into our care when he was c.6 months old and went into foster with Kate, who is one of the Kitty Comforters. She gave him his own room (away from her own cat) and spent a lot of time with him, coaxing him to eat from her hand, and to play with wand toys. He was a typical rebellious teenager, and resisted all the way. It was decided that he was not currently adoptable, and came to the Sanctuary where he vanished in the back pens.  Every time Kate visited, she looked for him, offering him tidbits – but he mostly stayed out of the way.  Then gradually he began to be spotted nearer the Tea-Room, looking for treats, and starting to accept touch. Volunteer Marty accepted the challenge at that point, and now Dr Flint has become Dr Flirt, looking for petting, allowing himself to be handled not only by Kate but by others.

All grown up;  perhaps not really tame,
but ready for contact  (BC)

What do you need, in order to offer foster-care? Especially if you already have a cat, you need a separate room – spare bedroom, office, second bathroom – where you can set up litter-box and bedding. You need to be able to sit with them and interact as needed – perhaps hand-feeding or offering treats, perhaps playing with wand-toys and teaching them that fingers are not for biting, perhaps just sitting and reading aloud so they have the sound of a voice. If you take younger kittens, you need space for a cage, so that they are only out when supervised. You monitor how much they’re eating, how their weight goes, what their bathroom habits are, and you stay in touch with the Adoption Centre. You can get supplies from there and you bring them in as needed for vaccinations. Fostering kittens is finite, which is why it appeals to some people – you get an intense dose of kitten cuteness for a few months, and then you’re done. If you already have a cat and are looking for another one, short-term fostering may tell you how well the resident cat will accept an invader – supervised and limited introductions may lead to acceptance, or tell you that your cat prefers to remain an “only”.

Now caged for a specific diet, Atari longs to get
loving attention from someone  (AM)

Kittens are not the only ones in need of fosterage, and much the same conditions apply with other cats. It may be an older cat (like Chloe in the SingleWide) who is not doing well among all the other Sanctuary cats, and really needs their own space. It may be a cat (like sweet Atari or spicy Thor) who needs to be on a limited diet because of allergens or gastric problems. My own boy, McCormick, is obviously reactive to something in spring, because he scratches himself silly unless I’m careful about keeping doors and windows closed; he came to me first as a foster. If the cat needs a limited diet, the fosterer can get supplies from RAPS, and all medical care is through the Hospital. Some of our fosters take the end-of-life cats for comfort-care; others love the young ones but feel themselves too old to take on a 15-20 year commitment; an older cat or a short-term younger one may meet everyone’s needs, including the cat's

.

For more information about fostering, check the website or call 604-275-2036 and talk with one of the staff about all that’s involved.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Kate Clark,
Brigid Coult, Kati DeGraaf, Anne Marchetti