New Year's Day in my kitchen

I have a very full house right now. Normally, as the foster home manager, many of our rescued cats come through my house for a short spell and are then taken to a foster home. However, with the very cold weather and the holidays upon us, there was a bottleneck of sorts, and the last three new rescues have all stayed and stayed and stayed. So, right now I have 7 foster cats, along with my own 6 cats and very tolerant dog.

Everyone always asks "How do they all get along?" and are surprised when my answer is that they all do just fine. My own pets are very used to new arrivals - and any newcomer is isolated in the "fostering room" downstairs for at least a week to make sure that they are healthy, so everyone smells and hears each other ahead of time. I think that the rescued critters are so glad to be warm and well fed that they quickly put aside any territorial issues. And, of course, everyone is vaccinated and sterilized, and I have SEVEN litter boxes. Thank goodness for basements.

This morning as I fed everyone breakfast, I stood back and was so thankful for the work that PFA does. Each happily munching cat has a sad story:

*Minnow, who was found with a severely burned and infected mouth this summer

*Mickey, discovered in the cold last week with a huge wound on his back leg

*Shadow, rescued by our feral team this month, dehydrated and freezing

*Bugsy, suffering from a badly infected eye that needed surgery (now adopted by me)

*Baby Girl, struggling to feed her babies and herself

*Star and Emma, two of Baby Girl's kittens

*Pasha, another starving momma cat on the street (now adopted by me)

*Oscar, Pasha's now grown son (also adopted by me)

*Frankie, who was a teeny kitten fending for himself in North Central (adopted by me)

Most of these cats would have most likely suffered and died without our intervention. They are such blessings to us!

Happy New Year, from everyone at my house.

-Sarah

(PS - we are always looking for more foster homes, if you would like to help, and assist in me regaining some sanity around here!)