I wondered how fostering would go in a house hold already full of cats and dogs but the AWL was in desparate need. So I fostered two 4 week old kittens a few weeks before Christmas. They were no bigger than the palm of my hand and were very timid and needed lot of care.
They spent the first 2 weeks with me in my spa bath… a perfect kitten play pen. As they grew the slippery sides kepts them confined and it was so easy to clean!
I came home after work one day to the doors wide open find the kittens gone! After a great hunt in the house I discovered them neatly tucked away under the Christmas tree with my male dog! Chewy had provided them with a nice cosey bed from the doona on the spare bed and had tucked his new babies in safe and sound. No one was going to touch his babies! He was caring for them as if they were his own. He would bathe them, bring food to them and protect them. I was the only one allowed any where near them. Over the next few weeks as they grew he continued to care for his babies. They followed him everywhere and he never let them out of his sight. I was fearing what would happen when they reached their goal weight and it was time for them to return to the AWL. Well this fear was realised when they went for desexing. I had one depressed fretting dog and apparently the AWL had 2 frightened and sad kittens. A call from the AWL to pick them up and take them back for a few more weeks helped. Now what was I going to do. I have the council approved cat numbers and it was obvious that the bond developed was so strong that we needed to find a solution. Luckily my neigbours came to the rescue and addopted the 2 kittens now named Ruby and Sapphire. Chewy had his babies and they had their Dad and my neighbour had the cats she had always secretly wanted. A win win for all. 18 months on and they are still Father and Daughters. Although they are now bigger than Dad they still groom him and he them. They sleep together and often spend the days exploring together. They have no idea they are cats! Interestingly I have fostered other cats since then and Chewy has had no interest in them. He just loved these two.
Marel Pike
