Okay, so my whole life I’ve wanted to foster kittens.  Maybe it was growing up with a babysitter who had about twenty cats running around her family farmhouse.  Those cats were always having kittens and as a kid I just could not wait to get out of school to see them.  Playing with those little bundles of sweet cuteness always seemed so magical to me.  I mean really, how could something be so cute?
When my roomie told me about the city shelters needing people to take care of kitties and suggested fostering, how could I say no?  The City of Albuquerque has declared June, “Animal Foster Month,” because so many moms and kittens come into the shelters at this time.

kittens nursing on mom

So, here they are, our foster kitties!  There’s a black kitten in there, too; she (or he) is just hard to see in the pictures because she blends in.  The mom is really sweet.  The flash on the camera kept making her blink, so I’ll try to get some pictures without it later.  At first we were worried she’d be a little hyper because she really wanted out of the cat carrier, but when we got home we fed her, and she was hungry!  She ate so much and so fast, I was a little worried she’d make herself sick.   She’s very thin, and very sweet and friendly.  She has settled into the laundry basket with the babies and has been there a while.  Jeez, she’s already won my heart.  And the kittens, of course, are so cute! The shelter staff says we have to keep them in a room with the door shut since sometimes we keep the windows open and there are so many ways out of the house. They don’t want the mom to run away.  I don’t think the kitties mind; I think they are enjoying the peace and quiet.  It must be a nice change from the shelter.

Our dog has licked the kittens, and really wants to play.  One of our cats smelled under the door & seems calm about it so far.

The shelter said we can look for people who might want to adopt if we want.  I think the kittens should have no problem finding a home, and I’m hoping the same for mommy.  She’s so young.  Well, we will know after their vet appointment in two weeks about how long we get to keep them, right now I’m just so happy they’re here.

Cleopatra and Sweetheart

UPDATE: Our beautiful kitties are so fun to play with.  We found out they are all girls!  We have named them all, Elphaba for the black kitty, Gwenevieve for the grey one, Cleo for the white one with Egyptian looking lines around her eyes, and Sweetheart for the other white kitty because she actually has a patch of grey fur on her back that looks like a heart!  We have named the mom Sweet Pea because she is so gentle and sweet.  We seal up our house and let her out of the laundry room for part of the day because she likes to be around us. She lets us carry her all over the place and never complains.  It took some squirting with the water bottle for her to realize that she is not allowed on the counter, and not supposed to be eating our butter, but she learned quickly.  And it’s hard to blame her considering how skinny & starving she was.  They are all gaining weight quickly though, so we’re not worried.  One of my favorite things to do is sit in the laundry room with them and let them run all over me.  This is not only fun, but it helps to get them used to people- and that helps them get adopted.   It’s gonna be hard to give them up, but they will be going to Lucky Paws in the mall, which is run buy the city of Albuquerque and looks like any other pet shop.  They have the best chances of being adopted there and that is a big relief.  We get to speak to the vet directly when we have problems, and that’s actually pretty amazing. So far, I’m really impressed with the program they have going here.

Guienevieve

Elphaba

Sweetheart

Guienevere

Cleo and Elphaba

Cleo- they grow so much in 5 weeks

Sweet Pea