Introduce yourself and where do you hail from?
We are Colehaus Cats: Maxx, Miss Newton, Tessa, Pia Bean, Quint,
Olivia, Ruby, Zuzu and Viola with Dad Steve and Mom Carole. We hail from
rainy and beautiful Washington State in the Pacific Northwest area of
the United States.
What rescue group, shelter or sanctuary do you foster for?
For the last two years, we’ve been volunteering and fostering for the
West Columbia Gorge Humane Society, a no-kill shelter in the town of
Washougal located along the mighty Columbia River. Before that, we
fostered found cats and kittens on our own until we could wrangle up
forever homes.
What kinds of animals do you normally foster? Cats and kittens of all ages.
How did your adventure being a fosterer begin? Love
played a big part of it and an overly strong desire to make a
difference in the lives of animals that might otherwise have a rough go
of it. We always seemed to be “found” by cats who had been dumped or
turned out and needed temporary, and yes, sometime permanent shelter.
That goes back to the mid 1980’s. That undertaking turned serious when
in 1990, we easily found homes for a litter of kittens originally born
under difficult circumstances, followed by abandoned cats here and
there. A few years later, we bottle-raised six newborns that were not
expected to survive and found great homes for every last one. We were
hooked.
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| Cameron, Zooot, Queen Crits, G.B., Skitters and Ian |
How do you keep yourself from becoming too attached to the fosters you help?
Well, we did have one foster fail right around last year’s holidays but
if you’ve seen Viola, you might understand. We’ll always feel an
attachment to the kittens we’ve fostered no matter how far away they
move. But we also believe in the adage – You can’t have new kittens
until you find homes for the old kittens. Keeping that in mind helps!
Updates and photos from the forever families helps even more!
What is most frustrating for you as a foster?
Worry and lack of sleep? The constant cleaning? Finding just the right
adoptive parents? No, wait. Trying to keep from crying like a baby when
each goes to their forever home. That part’s the worst!
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| Ruby, AKA Pearl, just after recovering from a bad UR infection |
What is most rewarding? Seeing
lives change, develop and grow strong. When a feral finally accepts a
treat, a hand, a petting. When an older cat looks deep into your eyes
and you feel it in your heart. When a kitten climbs into your lap and
all the day’s stress and worry melts away.
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| The Niblets - 2013 |
What experience moved or inspired you the most?
Honestly, we have too many to list and picking one experience would be
like choosing a single favorite from all our cats. Each experience has
inspired us, each memory has, and continues to move us beyond words.
Do you have pets of your own? How do they respond to the foster animals? We’ve
always had cats of our own when each foster has come into our home. We
work very hard to create quiet, relatively stress-free zones for each to
explore and become comfortable in before introducing the others.
Sometimes, introductions go very well. Sometimes, less so but we employ a
few tricks here and there and we haven’t lost anyone yet!
What advice can you give to someone who might be wanting to become a foster?
Read. Read a lot! Look up fostering cats, kittens, dogs, whatever,
online first. Print out everything you can find and refer to those notes
and articles often. Educate yourself on what to expect and what may or
may not happen. Memorize the good and the bad. Talk to other fosterers.
All this will make all the difference in the world. These are lives you
will help shape. Put your fosters first, give them the best you have to
give and love them deeply. Good things will automatically follow.
When you are not saving animals what do you like to do? There
are other things?? Heheheh, while Dad Steve isn’t big on hobbies, he
watches lots of TV while Mom Carole gardens, keeps the Colehaus Cats
blog going, writes short fiction and attends writing conventions several
times a year. Sometimes, we even catch up on laundry!
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| The Niblets grown - 2013 |
And now the questions from Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Yes!
What is your least favorite word? No.
What turns you on? Beautiful surroundings.
What turns you off? Abusive people.
What sound or noise do you love? A kitten’s first purr.
What sound or noise do you hate? An abandoned dog’s barking.
What is your favorite curse word? Well, crap!
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Full-time (and well-paid) author/rock star.
What profession would you not like to do? Slaughterhouse worker.
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Thank goodness! My kittens have been expecting you!
