August’s fosters of the month are… The Fabers! Laura Townsend Faber, Tom Faber, and their children Tasha and Kate Faber are a family of musical cat people who together make up an awesome crew of SAFe Rescue fosters.
With four humans in three households, everyone has their unique role and pitches in with each foster case. Tom has fostered litters of kittens and some adults, and Laura, kitten caregiver extraordinaire, has a real knack for very young kittens who need lots of care. Tasha’s job is hanging out with the fosters, keeping them company and getting them comfortable with humans. And Kate’s in charge of foster sitting when other family members are away. Their secret to making it all work? “Lots of communication, and taking lots of time to just sit with the cats and observe, and then share our observations with each other,” report the Fabers.
When asked what inspired them to start fostering, the Fabers responded “In the early summer of 2018… we wanted to find something that would be really meaningful for all four of us to do together. Fostering kittens and cats felt like the perfect choice for many powerful reasons. We were all grieving the recent death of our son and brother, Toby (age 18), who was such a cat lover that the vast majority of the pictures he took were of cats. He had been a regular customer at a local cat cafe and we had adopted two beloved cats through SAFe Rescue, so getting involved with volunteering at a shelter felt very natural.” After a friend started fostering and Tasha started following cat rescuers on social media, they were all in.
The Fabers say their personal highlight of fostering is getting to know each cat’s individual personality and incorporating them into the family, even if it’s just for a short time while the Fabers help them through medical or social challenges. Individual quality time and sharing hobbies with the cats is important, too. In fact, Tom read Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin out loud to one foster cat, Rocky, while he was recuperating from dental surgery. The family has found fostering to be a bright spot in the pandemic, and the Fabers often keep in touch with their kittens’ adopters. They report that sharing the joyful moment and seeing the expression on the adopter’s face when they meet their kittens for the first time has been the most rewarding part of it all.
When they aren’t saving cats’ lives, the Fabers love cooking, spending time outside, and reading, but you’ll most likely find them playing music. “Laura teaches recorder and dabbles with ukulele and guitar, Kate plays recorder, Tom plays didgeridoo, guitar and a bit of ukulele, Tasha sings and has taken up the guitar, and we have regular visitors who bring tuba and harpsichord into the mix!” Laura’s recent foster graduate, Pippi, was a noted fan of the ukulele. On Saturdays, you may spot Tom playing at the U-District Farmers Market. Say hello next time you’re shopping for vegetables!
We are so grateful to Laura, Tom, Kate, and Tasha for all they bring to the SAFe Rescue community. Their compassion and teamwork is truly an inspiration, and the humans and cats of SAFe are lucky to have them!
