Guest Post – Fostering a Pet During a Hurricane

No, I didn’t foster Irene and create all the recent excitement.

Instead, I responded to a call from a local shelter, the Salem (NH) Animal Rescue League. Their shelter is essentially a set of mobile homes, and they wanted all the animals out, in real homes and with people to take care of them, during the hurricane. They asked for volunteers to foster animals during the storm and for a couple of days after, from Friday to Tuesday.

Like any sensible person, I considered my own home, my own pets, and what I believed I could handle, and then volunteered to foster one or two small dogs. There are several at the shelter that would get along fine with my own dog, Addy, and I have extra crates suitable for small dogs, to help with management. I was told to bring Addy so that we could pick the best match, and that I could arrive at my usual dog-walking time on Friday morning.

When Addy and I got there, there were plenty of foster homes for the dogs, but a shortage of foster homes for the cats—especially the kittens who had upper respiratory infections. They weren’t very sick, but they needed their meds twice a day, so best if they went home with someone with cat experience—and they couldn’t go to a home where they’d expose other cats. You see the problem, here.

I thought about it for a minute, and then told them that I had a back bedroom not in use, that could be used as an “isolation ward,” as well as a crate suitable for a twenty pound dog.  The cute little guy pictured above, Jack, became my foster for the weekend.

SARL sent me home with a small litter box, a bag of litter, enough food for a week, and his meds. I set him up in my back bedroom, with his litter box at the back of the big crate, and his food and water at the front. I did confine him to the crate overnight, until I’d had a chance to supervise him loose in the room for the full day Saturday, but after that, he had the freedom of the room. My own animals, Addy and especially my own thirteen-year-old cat, Aquavit, were banned from the room, with the door closed at all times.

Like any cat in a new place, Jack was a little nervous at first. He’s a confident little guy, though and it didn’t take long before he was playing and looking for attention whenever I came in. He loves to be petted, was happy when I picked him up and sat with him on my lap, and he has a world-class purr!

Because he’s a kitten still, I kept food in his bowl at all times, as well as, of course, keeping his water bowl full. Twice a day, I got out his meds, put 0.5ml into a syringe, scruffed him, and put it in his mouth and squeezed. The first time, he was greatly offended, and avoided me the next time I came in. After that, he decided it wasn’t so bad after all, and by Sunday morning he was demanding petting immediately

On Monday, I decided to introduce him to my (very cat-friendly) dog, Addy.  Addy was, I believe, raised by the cat in her previous home; she loves cats and, most importantly, respects cats’ body language, which is often quite different from dogs. When I let Addy into the room, she bounced over to say hi to Jack, and Jack said a kitty swear word and ducked under a kitchen chair from an old set that I keep in that room. He could easily have retreated further, and to less accessible places. Instead, he stayed put, and Addy, who could have joined him under the chair, respected his space. They studied each other for a few minutes, and then I took Addy out of the room.

When I brought Addy in for a second visit, he didn’t seek the protection of the chair, but let Addy sniff him all over. That was all, and I didn’t do any more visits, but if I were looking for a second cat, I’d have been grinning and saying, “Yes, this is going to work!” Jack ought to do fine in a house with a cat-friendly dog who knows how to take “no” for an answer from a cat.

There was minimal damage at the shelter, and they used Monday to do a thorough cleaning, with all of the animals out. On Tuesday, I dumped and cleaned the litter box, washed Jack’s dishes, and, rather sadly, packed up Jack and all his stuff to return to the shelter.

It was a great experience, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I would urge you to consider it, too, in the next hurricane, or whatever natural disaster is, ahem, popular in your area. But be warned: Even though I have no intention of adding another cat to my household, Jack nearly earned himself a permanent stay. Several other SARL pets are being adopted by their hurricane foster families. They wrap our hearts around their little paws so easily!

Did any of you foster a pet from your local shelter during Hurricane Irene or any other Hurricane? What was your experience like? Would you consider doing so in the future if the situation presented itself to you?

Bio:

Lis and Addy

Lis Carey is a librarian with an odd sense of humor, who finds excitement in helping people find the information they need, and in the varied corners of library work–reference, cataloging, circulation, resource development, reader’s advisory. She reads voraciously and enjoys a wide variety of material–including, of course, fiction and non-fiction about dogs and cats. Addy, her Chinese Crested, is always happy to keep her company while reading, and occasionally tries to help write the reviews.

Check out her Blog Lis Carey’s Library for more Book Reviews.