Boots came to me on a hot summer day in July, with five one-week old kittens. She was a gorgeous, but very tired, black and white short haired cat with striking green eyes. I learned from my foster care coordinator that Boots had given birth to her kittens on July fourth, and needed a quiet home to raise them and try to get a little rest herself.

Throughout the summer, my family got to see the kittens grow up and go through many firsts, like walking (then running), eating their first foods, learning to use the litter box, and finally, playing. Even though most of our attention was focused on the kittens, I was beginning to get a good sense of Boot’s personality as well.

For the first week or two, she only left the kittens to eat or use the litter box, but as the kittens grew less needy, I could see that Boots had interests of her own. Turns out that she loved to play just as much as her kittens did, and would jump in to grab a string or a toy just as readily as they did. She also liked to “read” over my shoulder, since I would often go into the room where I kept them to read or do work.

Then we decided to introduce her to our dog, Rusty. We let him in the room to meet her and she reached out a paw to touch his nose. From that day on, Rusty wanted to go with me every time I checked on Boots so that he could give her and her kittens a kiss hello.

Finally the time came when there was only Boots and her one remaining kitten, Layla. A woman had seen Layla on PetFinder and wanted to adopt her. I took both of the cats to PetSmart so that the woman could meet Layla, and it was love at first sight. Layla had found her forever home!

The shelter’s foster coordinator and I decided to leave Boots at PetSmart so that she could finally get a home of her own as well. Unfortunately, the combination of losing her last kitten and being in a new place was too much for Boots and she became depressed and wouldn’t eat.

I made the decision then to open my home back up to Boots, and today she is here with me while she waits for someone to choose her. She is being well-cared for, but she doesn’t have the run of the house because my other cat doesn’t like her, as much as Boots tries. She would love a permanent family and she gets along great with other animals and seems to love every person she comes across, as long as they will take a minute to give her a scratch behind the ears.

Well, as you can see by the pictures, they are still here…..I think we are starting week four. Still very active. Playful, eating a lot, running a lot, sleeping a lot, and using the litter box a lot. Just like us older cats, they do love to sleep together, all wrapped up in each other, as you can see in one of the photos. Sometimes they sleep alone, like on the window seat. And sometimes we’re not sure where they’re sleeping….And sometimes they look outside at the great world beyond and wonder what is going on and what the future holds for them.

Well, Dad SAYS they’re getting their eviction papers soon, but then he WAS sitting in there with them last night, letting them run all over him, literally!! They will probably stay here until adoption time. Even though I haven’t been the best of uncles, I really don’t mind them since we didn’t use that room anyway….And my sister Mazi is going to really miss them if they get adopted, as she has had the greatest time with them. I think she is even secretly supplying them with bags of catnip by the way they carry on at times!! We may just have to keep the last one that doesn’t get adopted – just to make Mazi happy.

And remember, fostering is all about food, water, and lots of love. Do you have some to spare?

If you are interested in becoming a foster family for the Hancock County Animal Shelter, please contact us!