Vicky is a fosterer for Wear Valley and Darlington Cats Protection. She writes the following on her website:
I would not change it for the world, but what I would love to see change is people’s attitudes… towards cruelty, towards neglect, towards abandonment and towards NEUTERING.
Neglect, neutering and abandonment are big issues in the cat world. I have just written about the laws bringing about change to cat ownership in Tasmania (the country where Maggie lives, a former PoCer).
Those laws are about attempts to reduce abandonment and increase neutering and responsible cat ownership.
Vicky’s experiences highlight the problem areas of cat management across the globe. They are the same problems wherever you are.
Vicky has been busy these past two years fostering cats for Cats Protection. She has cared for a good number of cats, indicating the scale of the problem. She has quite a fancy facility at home (I presume she fosters from her home). She has two enclosures, I think you might call them that. Vicky calls them “pens”.
Always of interest to me is how hard it might be to rehome a cat that you have fostered and so it happened to Vicky when she cared for a starving, dehydrated, tabby kitten who was found by the roadside – a bypass. It is probably a busy road.
Marion cared for her the first night….You’ll hear the soothing, friendly, cat-loving voice of Marion in the video…
Then Vicky took over. At first, there was a chance this kitten would not survive. Vicky writes:
She had to be given fluids and nutri cal every few hours and was very scared and tired…
Well, she survived and thrived thanks to Marion and Vicky. When adoption time came around as it inevitably does, Vicky discovered she could not do it. She had lost her heart to this kitten while saving her life and nurturing her to full-health. Vicky named her Saeko.
Associated page: Chester! He’s famous. The link goes to a search results page on the topic of “Chester” who was abuse by kids and saved by Marion at Cats Protection.
Yeah I can imagine – but I can also imagine myself worrying about how they will be looked after and if the new owners will do a good job. I ‘tend’ to kittens every year – 2 litters a year from 2 cats – so 4 in total – and I get very attached and sometimes worried about the people adopting them. They aren’t my kittens so its not my place to make rules. I just bring them proper food and try to help without intruding – i mainly spend time with them andplay with them alot of bring them toys and food – the owner only gives them dry food and the mum cats get so thin so I bring them good wet food and they munch it down right away. But when it comes time for them to go I know they won’t have me to bring them the things they love and sometimes I just don’t like the adopters so I have to just deal with it.
But a home is always better than no home or a bad home – so in that sense its all good obviously. It’s perfect you could keep Saeko. I am sure I would have done the same 🙂 – now she will never have to face the unknown again and she will always have you and thats as good as it can be for her I reckon.
It is hard to say goodbye, especially to cats you have been fostering for a while, or to kittens you have had born in your care, but knowing cats are going to good homes when they have very often had terrible starts in life or have been abandoned or neglected by their owners makes it easier.
I don’t know Marion but she seems to be an “earth mother”.