Summer 2011 - Electra and Kittens
In late May 2011, a pregnant mom came to the shelter and before her new foster could pick her up, she delivered 6 beautiful kittens. About a month later, her original foster mom had to go out of town for a couple of weeks so I agreed to foster Electra and her babies. After I took them in, I set about naming the kittens and decided to name them after characters from the play Mourning Becomes Electra (for obvious reasons). So the kittens were named Orin, Ezra, Blake, Lavinia, Louisa and Hazel.
That summer the shelter was having a particularly difficult time adopting out the typical influx of kittens that happens at that time of year. With no room at the shelter, the kittens ended up staying with me far longer than they normally would. Frankly, I didn't mind. They were all sweet and adorable, just like their mom. Electra was a beautiful and affectionate Snow Shoe and she passed along much of her personality to her babies. Once the babies were weaned, she went back to the shelter and was adopted in very short order.
When the kittens were due for their surgeries, I took them in as usual but unlike most fostering situations, picked them up afterward and took them back home. I ended up having to have them separated in a couple of rooms because the experience left them very grumpy, particularly the females. Not surprising since their surgery is more invasive than it is for the males. Orin and Ezra were back to running around and playing in short order and their antics were too much for the girls, especially Hazel and Lavinia. Louisa fared better and was quickly reunited with her male siblings.
To try and improve their chances of getting adopted, on the weekends I took to taking them to offsite events or to the shelter. Louisa was the first to get adopted. She was always a very outgoing kitten and loved the rough and tumble play of her male siblings. Eventually the others were adopted. First was Blake and Lavinia who went together and finally Orin and Ezra.
Because of the longer time spent with this batch of kittens, I ended up falling into that trap that nearly every foster mom experiences. Yes, I became a foster failure for the first time. Little Hazel had worked her way into my heart and I didn't want to give her up. So, on September 11, 2011 during the Adopt-A-Thon held at PetSmart, I made it official and adopted her.
I am happy that I decided to adopt Hazel, now renamed to Arwen. While Caitlyn still tends to view her as the spawn of hell, the boys have been warming up to her and her antics around the house have brought a smile to my face nearly every day.
That summer the shelter was having a particularly difficult time adopting out the typical influx of kittens that happens at that time of year. With no room at the shelter, the kittens ended up staying with me far longer than they normally would. Frankly, I didn't mind. They were all sweet and adorable, just like their mom. Electra was a beautiful and affectionate Snow Shoe and she passed along much of her personality to her babies. Once the babies were weaned, she went back to the shelter and was adopted in very short order.
When the kittens were due for their surgeries, I took them in as usual but unlike most fostering situations, picked them up afterward and took them back home. I ended up having to have them separated in a couple of rooms because the experience left them very grumpy, particularly the females. Not surprising since their surgery is more invasive than it is for the males. Orin and Ezra were back to running around and playing in short order and their antics were too much for the girls, especially Hazel and Lavinia. Louisa fared better and was quickly reunited with her male siblings.
To try and improve their chances of getting adopted, on the weekends I took to taking them to offsite events or to the shelter. Louisa was the first to get adopted. She was always a very outgoing kitten and loved the rough and tumble play of her male siblings. Eventually the others were adopted. First was Blake and Lavinia who went together and finally Orin and Ezra.
Because of the longer time spent with this batch of kittens, I ended up falling into that trap that nearly every foster mom experiences. Yes, I became a foster failure for the first time. Little Hazel had worked her way into my heart and I didn't want to give her up. So, on September 11, 2011 during the Adopt-A-Thon held at PetSmart, I made it official and adopted her.
I am happy that I decided to adopt Hazel, now renamed to Arwen. While Caitlyn still tends to view her as the spawn of hell, the boys have been warming up to her and her antics around the house have brought a smile to my face nearly every day.