Why Foster?
The number
of kittens we have taken in during the past two months has been utterly unprecedented, and we
could not have rescued anywhere near as many without the help of our amazing
fosterers!
Rachel is one such member of our team, who is currently caring for a litter of six little ones who had a dreadful start. They were motherless, and at less than 6 weeks old they were, quite shockingly, being given away online.
Another rescue centre intervened, fearing the outcome if they didn't, but unfortunately, they had no capacity to look after them. When RSPCA Worcester were approached, we said we'd find a way, and after a few days of these extremely unwell babies being at home with our Branch Secretary (whose tireless work in hand rearing them undoubtedly saved their fragile lives), Rachel then stepped in, taking them into her home and her heart, and giving them most incredible level of love and care.
Along with partner, Lee, Rachel has been fostering for our Branch for approximately 4 years, and in that time, she estimates she has looked after in the region of 30 cats for us, helping them transition to being ready to find their forever homes (with a few "foster fails" along the way... as she has decided to rehome some herself!!).
With a specially adapted cat-room (AKA "Cat's Paradise"), nothing is too much trouble for Rachel, and she is even known to sleep in with newbies, to keep an eye and help them to feel settled!
We also have several other equally incredible fosterers caring for kittens at the moment; Sarah, who is caring for some slightly older kittens who weren't properly socialised when very young, so she is trying to work with them to bring them round; Joy, who has worked with cats all her life and is currently doing the most wonderful job hand rearing four motherless kittens rescued by RSPCA inspectors; Sally, who has recently adopted two kittens she was fostering (her second and third "foster fails"!!) and Pamela, our Branch Secretary who is enduring sleepless nights, hand-rearing a single kitten who has been incredibly poorly, and who would not be here today without Pamela's love, dedication and diligence.
Fostering can be both heart-breaking as well as an incredibly uplifting experience. It is more than just playing with cute kittens - it is extremely intense, hard work; kittens can-and do-go downhill very quickly and dealing with losing them never gets any easier.
Hand-rearing is time consuming, with feeds, and often medications, being administered every few hours throughout the night and day.
Yet kittens do much better in a home environment; the cattery is no place for them, so we are blessed to have people like our fosterers, who will take on the challenge.
It takes time, patience, experience, and love...for fostering is a vocation, and it is a very special person to dedicate themselves to this.
So, we would like to say a huge thank you to all of you amazing fosterers out there, you truly are superstars!
Rachel is one such member of our team, who is currently caring for a litter of six little ones who had a dreadful start. They were motherless, and at less than 6 weeks old they were, quite shockingly, being given away online.
Another rescue centre intervened, fearing the outcome if they didn't, but unfortunately, they had no capacity to look after them. When RSPCA Worcester were approached, we said we'd find a way, and after a few days of these extremely unwell babies being at home with our Branch Secretary (whose tireless work in hand rearing them undoubtedly saved their fragile lives), Rachel then stepped in, taking them into her home and her heart, and giving them most incredible level of love and care.
Along with partner, Lee, Rachel has been fostering for our Branch for approximately 4 years, and in that time, she estimates she has looked after in the region of 30 cats for us, helping them transition to being ready to find their forever homes (with a few "foster fails" along the way... as she has decided to rehome some herself!!).
With a specially adapted cat-room (AKA "Cat's Paradise"), nothing is too much trouble for Rachel, and she is even known to sleep in with newbies, to keep an eye and help them to feel settled!
We also have several other equally incredible fosterers caring for kittens at the moment; Sarah, who is caring for some slightly older kittens who weren't properly socialised when very young, so she is trying to work with them to bring them round; Joy, who has worked with cats all her life and is currently doing the most wonderful job hand rearing four motherless kittens rescued by RSPCA inspectors; Sally, who has recently adopted two kittens she was fostering (her second and third "foster fails"!!) and Pamela, our Branch Secretary who is enduring sleepless nights, hand-rearing a single kitten who has been incredibly poorly, and who would not be here today without Pamela's love, dedication and diligence.
Fostering can be both heart-breaking as well as an incredibly uplifting experience. It is more than just playing with cute kittens - it is extremely intense, hard work; kittens can-and do-go downhill very quickly and dealing with losing them never gets any easier.
Hand-rearing is time consuming, with feeds, and often medications, being administered every few hours throughout the night and day.
Yet kittens do much better in a home environment; the cattery is no place for them, so we are blessed to have people like our fosterers, who will take on the challenge.
It takes time, patience, experience, and love...for fostering is a vocation, and it is a very special person to dedicate themselves to this.
So, we would like to say a huge thank you to all of you amazing fosterers out there, you truly are superstars!