Interview with a Fosterer - The Critter Room

Today's interview comes from John, of  The Critter Room.  I first became aware of The Critter Room though his totally awesome web cam.  With nearly 18,000 facebook fans and 24,000 followers to his Livestream webcam, you know he's doing something amazingly adorable!  I want to thank John for taking the time to participate!  (and I admire and am amazed at the fact you kept your word on not adopting!!)

Introduce yourself and where do you hail from?
My name is John and you could say I'm from the Army. Grew up an Army Brat and then joined the Air Force. When asked, I say that I hail from the Pacific Northwest mainly because it's where I've lived the most (4x) and the longest (currently 12 years).
What rescue group, shelter or sanctuary do you foster for?
I foster for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat only sanctuary north of Seattle, WA. www.purrfectpals.org
What kinds of animals do you normally foster?
I foster only cats and kittens.  
How did your adventure being a fosterer begin?
An old friend of mine's cat had kittens and since she lived in an apartment with a pet limitation, she asked me if I could foster them for her. I agreed. That got fostering in my blood and I never could shake it. Five years later in 2008, I contacted Purrfect Pals.
How do you keep yourself from becoming too attached to the fosters you help?
There's no way you don't get attached. They always manage to worm their way into your heart and even more so for the ones that were especially sick. I made a promise to myself never to adopt a foster and 35 litters later, I've kept that word - though it wasn't easy to do so more than once.
What is most frustrating for you as a foster?
When they're sick. You want them to get better but sometimes that's just not in the cards.
What is most rewarding?
Getting updates on cats & kittens I've fostered. It's a special treat to see them grown up.
Do you have pets of your own? How do they respond to the foster animals?
I do have cats of my own - and they pretty much ignore the door. Sometimes there will be a paw that slides under the door and that tends to lead to either a hiss & a swat (from either side) or a game of whack-a-paw.

What advice can you give to someone who might be wanting to become a foster?
Fostering isn't easy. It's hard to give them back to the shelter to be adopted. If you have pets of your own, I'd highly recommend dedicating a room just to the fosters. As newborn kittens aren't born litterbox trained, a room without a carpet is best but you can use scrap carpet, rugs, or floor tiles to protect the carpet. Wal-Mart also sells really cheap towels which are good for protecting the floor and helping to litter train. Buy their entire stock.
When you are not saving animals what do you like to do? Inside, I'm a big computer geek - I like building, fixing, and upgrading PC's. Then there's playing games on the PC or PS3/XBox, reading books (fantasy/sci-fi), and writing computer programs.
Outside, I like going for walks on sunny days, photography, sight-seeing, and riding my 2009 Harley-Davidson XL1200C Sportster

And now the questions from Inside the Actors Studio:

 What is your favorite word?

What is your least favorite word?

What turns you on? PC mods, new discoveries about outer space (I can get lost for hours on Wikipedia on gravity & black holes)

What turns you off?

What sound or noise do you love? A cat's chirp/murr. Hearing the sound of a train horn off in the distance can instantly relax me, reminds me of when I stayed at my Grandparents house as a kid.

What sound or noise do you hate? Cat fights!

What is your favorite curse word? 
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? I haven't really thought about it, I've been at my dream job my entire adult life - programming computers. I like being presented with a problem and figuring out a solution and that's exactly what programming is like.
What profession would you not like to do? Just about anything on Dirty Jobs. :)
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Greetings! There's x,xxx former fosters waiting to see you.