This journey began in 2012, and all the many litters since have been rewarding and exhausting, enriching and overwhelming.
I started fostering by accident almost. While dropping off a painted chair for a pet charity auction, I was asked if I had a spare room for 6 ginger kittens. I took them, really not knowing what to expect. They were crazy. One fetched a ball over and over like a labrador retriever. Another perched on my shoulder like a parrot, watching everything as I walked around the house. All were incredibly personable and human-oriented. At the auction, I asked what was up with the strange kittens. I was told of course, that they were bottle fed. That was intriguing, so I apprenticed with the woman who raised them for 6 months and started bottle feeding orphaned tiny kittens. That was 13 years and over 250 kittens ago. Most surprising was how different every kitten is. They must be taught to suckle a strange hard rubber nipple that feels and smells nothing like mama cat. They learn over hours, and if my hands tense, I have to relax and begin anew, learning the kitten as the kitten learns me. It’s also surprising how technical it is. I was trained as a chemical researcher, and bottlefeeding kittens call on many skills and art that are akin to science.
The most difficult thing is the kittens I lose. Every year I lose a few to illness, predator injury, congenital defect, or simply because the kitten was left too long without warmth, hydration, and nutrition. They need feeding every 3-4 hours, 24 hours per day, and their bodies are incapable of generating more than 12 degrees of heat above ambient. That means keeping them at about 86-87 degrees F. What I have learned is actually a lot about death and acceptance. No matter whether a living spirit has 3 days or 30 years or 90 years on this earth, what matters is the care that they felt in between birth and death. Even if a kitten dies, providing warmth and nutrition and care is central.
My favorite moments are when I hear from adopters and see how the cat has become an important family member, providing emotional support and companionship. The photos sent at Christmas every year are priceless. I have never kept a kitten. They make other families happy. That’s the job.
Fostering is important, so I’d encourage anyone to foster kittens or cats or dogs or whatever. Assess the amount of time you have, amount of mess you can tolerate, and physical environment you can provide before deciding what animal and age matches what you can provide. Giving back is a reward. If I were an RN, I’d help people, but this is something that I can do, so I do it.
You can follow Brenda’s journey bottle feeding kittens through her Facebook page: brendasbottlebabies.
Brenda has fostered with many organizations in North Carolina including: Vintage Racers for Rescues, Paws4ever, Orange County Animal Services, Animal Protection Society of Caswell County, Independent Animal Rescue, Safe Haven for Cats, Fluff Responders Animal Rescue, and Caswell Pet Lifeline. Reach out to them directly if you’re interested in fostering.
All images in this story are provided by the foster.
This story is part of a larger project The Highs & Lows of Fostering Animals where fosters share their stories in their own words.
