Gabbi, Geoff and Gina

Sometimes fostering doesn't go the way you want it to.  

I don't like to admit defeat and I'm pretty bad at admitting that something that fell like defeat really isn't. 

I know this post is starting as a downer, but you'll understand why I'm a bit. 

When I brought Arthur Dent to the shelter for his final checkup before being neutered, I asked for more kittens.  I was offered a pair of kittens: Geoff and Gina

and would I mind taking a third kitty. Gabbi was a young (six to eight months old) cat who demanded that the kittens be put with her.  I was happy to take the little family. 

Sadly, it wasn't that easy.  Gabbi was totally freaked out and hid on me immediately.  When I wasn't in the room she cried horribly, pooped on the middle of the floor and peed in the middle of the couch.  It was two days before she ate.  I was about to return her thinking it was damaging to her to be here.  I've fostered feral cats before, none of them were THIS upset. 

As I was considering it,  she ate.  I know it can take a few days, so I decided to give her two more days and if she wasn't showing signs of improvement I would reasses.

When finally

She decided I wasn't half bad.  She would still hide when I entered the room but she came out and was attention seeking.  I still had issues because her eyes were still "hard" (wide, round, unblinking) and she was twitchy. She would turn on me, never trying to bite but using that same motion. 

And that is when the real problem started. Last night I found this

She was literally chewing on the window.  I attempted to block it off overnight but she went right through it and was even more destructive. 

I don't blame her.  I feel horrid that she is being driven to it.  I can only assume that she's in heat and she was trying to "sneak out" and find a man.. (even though other cats in heat have not done this) 

Part of me feels selfish for sending her back so she stops tearing up my house.  You hear "people in rescue" tell people how mean they are for "giving up" on a cat because of a little disorder. That guilt spills out all over me making me feel like crap. It doesn't help that having her rip up the window had me thinking that is going to be stupid expensive to replace... if it has been just the sill that is easy to replace I probably wouldn't be feeling so bad...

But I have to focus on the fact that chewing up the wood was not good for her.  If she ate any of it, it could be bad.  It was clearly a sign she needed more than I could provide. I could have put her in a cage, but bringing her back and getting her spayed, logically seems like the kinder option.

I will remind you I'm in an area that no longer has an overabundance of unhomed cats and the shelters have the resources to do what is in her best interest. The chances of her being euthanized over this is minimal.  

More on the kittens later...

The Hitchhiker's Kitten

Several weeks ago I was asked to foster a singleton. A little kitten found on the side of the road. A hitchhiker's name seemed appropriate, so I named him Arthur Dent.

He was underweight, about a week behind in growth,  and had copious amounts of diarrhea.  Like "where on earth did you store all that" diarrhea. 

But he was a sweetheart 

As most single kittens are want to do,  he treated me like a sibling. While we did a lot of cuddling, he could not help himself when it came to play. He wanted to bite and wrestle with me constantly. He was much more persistent in this than the kittens I've dealt with in the past, save for Edgar the Obnoxious. After a while it was easier to snuggle him and he was less likely to put aggressive play when it was clear I wasn't interested 

I would redirect Arthur Dent to a sock monkey I had in the kitten room that was about his size that I named Zaphod.  He enjoyed beating him up and bunny kicking Zaphod silly. 

Arthur's diarrhea eventually cleared up and he continued to thrive and made weight. He was still a little small for his age,  so despite only being two pounds, I was comfortable sending him back to be adopted 

He was adopted today and is off to start his new life.