Meet Kris and Sandy
In the 34 years they’ve been together, Kris and Sandy have had five cats of their own: four adopted from shelters, and one rescued from a downpour in a parking lot. Their current resident kitty is a robust 18 years old! So when Kris saw a news segment about cat shelters last fall, she and Sandy were compelled to step up.
“I had seen in the news how overcrowded shelters were getting, that a second wave of kittens were starting to arrive in the fall,” Kris remembers. “When that happens older cats often don’t get adopted as quickly.”
“Also,” she adds, “The number of homeless cats outside has been growing, and since we were starting into the colder months, more cats were going to be turned over to the shelters.”
Kris and Sandy are both retired and spend their summers traveling. But in the autumn and winter months–the time Kris saw brought high intake traffic to shelters–they were free and able to foster. So from October through March, they share their home with a rotation of SAFe kitties in need of some foster TLC!
Above: Kris and Sandy with their current foster kitty, Jasmine.
Challenges & Rewards: Stella
“We like that every cat [we foster] has a totally different personality,” says Kris. “It’s fun getting to know each one.”
Their previous foster kitty, Stella, gave them a healthy dose of both fun and frustration. The fun:
“She loved to play catch with us, play in paper bags and boxes and was curious about everything,” Kris tells us.
And the frustration:
“She needed to have liquid medication given to her three times a day. Since we’re both retired we figured it would be easy for us to administer…however, Stella did not like the first medicine that was sent home with her!”
Fortunately, Kris and Sandy had a solid support system through SAFe’s foster program.
“We worked with the shelter on finding a better tasting medicine,” Kris says. “And once she was comfortable with us, it became easier to administer.”
By the time Stella went home six months later, she was down to a single dose of medicine per day, which she took with no problem!
Challenges & Rewards: Jasmine
Currently, Kris and Sandy are looking after a very different kind of foster case. Nine-year-old Jasmine was exceptionally shy when she arrived in foster care. All she wanted to do was hide.
“It took almost a week before she’d come out to see us from where she had burrowed herself under lots of blankets,” Kris recalls.
With patience and persistence, Kris and Sandy were able to coax Jasmine out of her shell. Little by little, they led with kindness and showed this cautious kitty that people could be gentle and caring.
“We found that at the beginning, just sitting in her room four to five times a day, spending time with her and letting her get to know us her way, was very helpful,” says Kris. “ After a week she was getting a little less afraid of us and would come out a few times for pets and head butts when we came to see her.”
Now, four weeks later, Jasmine’s social anxiety has almost completely gone away. Kris says it’s like “she is a completely different cat!”
“Jasmine’s personality has really come out,” Kris says. “She sits at the door to her room waiting for us to come in, loves having belly rubs, sits on our laps, has started to play with a few of her toys, and loves to go exploring when we let her out of her room.”
She’s even developed an adorable quirk to maximize her cuddles.
“She has figured out that if she jumps up on a cat perch in her room, she can completely stretch out and get belly rubs and for a much longer time,” Kris remarks. “She loves making muffins when she’s up there getting pets and her belly rubbed.”
Closing Thoughts on Fostering
Overall, Kris and Sandy say, “Fostering is a wonderful experience.”
While there’s no fostering approach that’s one size fits all, Kris says all kitties have one thing in common.
“Depending on the age of the cat and their situation before being at the shelter, it may take a while to have the cat become comfortable with you and its new surroundings,” says Kris. “But in the long run, what they all want is someone to be there, love them and hopefully find their forever home.”
Thank you, Kris and Sandy, for dedicating your retirement to the care of cats who need it most. Your compassion makes the world a safer place for our feline friends!