It is officially “kitten season,” the frenetic time of year when animal shelters across the country are flooded with homeless kittens too young to be adopted right away. This means that there will soon be lots of orphaned cuties at the Marin Humane Society in need of foster care. And we’re looking for a few good homes.

It’s often said that fostering kittens is like being a grandparent — lots of love and enjoyment without the lifetime responsibility. Which isn’t to say that fostering kittens is an easy experience. It’s fun and deeply rewarding, but also challenging.

I remember holding my foster kitten for the first time and marveling at the fact that she fit in the palm of my hand. Eyes newly open at just over a week old, this delicate, motherless neonate was now dependent on me for survival. Faced with such a huge responsibility, I was excited and nervous at the same time.

For the next several weeks, I kept my foster kitten warm, helped her to eliminate and bottle-fed her around the clock. At three weeks old, her ears began to stand up and she attempted a very wobbly walk. I introduced her to solid food by wetting her lips with a milkshake concoction of formula and wet food. Soon after, she graduated to eating solid food on her own, and the litterbox. This tied in nicely with her new ability to pounce, often right into her food or in and out of the litterbox. At eight weeks old and weighing over two pounds, I brought her back to the shelter to be spayed and placed for adoption. Soon after, she found a great home!

Fostering orphaned kittens allows shelters to maximize the number of animals they can rescue and allows for the care of animals that need some extra TLC before going up for adoption. More than 500 kittens were adopted from the Marin Humane Society in 2006, and at least half of them spent time in a foster home. No matter how dedicated our staff, we can never duplicate a family’s home and care. Having foster parents available allows us to save more lives.

Foster homes come in all sizes and compositions. For some, fostering is a wonderful way to experience the joy of a having a companion animal in the home without making a long-term commitment. Others already have animal companions of their own, and are willing to make extra space to care for a temporary visitor. And some consider fostering a flexible option as they cannot volunteer to do specific shifts during certain times of the day.

Foster parents bear no out-of-pocket expenses. The Marin Humane Society furnishes all necessary supplies, including bedding, food, litter, litterbox, scale and a chart to record progress. Veterinary care is also provided for routine vaccinations and worming, or should a kitten show signs of illness.

While it is true that foster parents do get very attached to their animals, they also find a special joy in sending a pet to a wonderful new family. Every animal comes back from its foster home with an individualized evaluation that’s shared with a potential adopter to illuminate what life with a particular animal will be like.

If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, especially for neonatal kittens that require bottle-feeding, please call the MHS foster care coordinator at (415) 506-6250.


Carrie Harrington is the public information associate at the Marin Humane Society.

Tails of Marin appears every Saturday in the Home & Garden section of the Marin Independent Journal