Hope is a big word (and a little cat)

Hope is a big word in animal shelters and in fostering. We use it all the time in many different situations and for many reasons. I can't count the number of times I have heard that word while volunteering at a local shelter or when talking with other foster families. We hope for many things like:

• We hope that no new cats will be surrendered that day
• We hope that our many talks about spaying and neutering cuts down on unwanted litters of kittens
• We hope that our words against declawing don't fall on deaf ears
  
• We hope our fosters will not get sick.
• We hope that the medicines we are forcing on them will get them through their illnesses.
• We hope that they will know how to use the litter box.
  
• We hope that the crate training will teach them how to use the litter box.
  
• We hope that they will eat to gain back their lost weight.
  
• We hope that their hair will grow back and that the hair loss is not permanent.
  
• We hope that they will overcome the abuse or neglect they have suffered
• We hope they will learn to trust us and long for our attention.
• And most of all, we hope that they will find loving forever homes.

That is why I find it appropriate that my newest foster is named Hope. The staff at the shelter named her Hope when she was brought in on Christmas Eve, probably because she looked so bad. Normally we rename our fosters, but the name seemed so right that we have kept it. This is Hope.



She is a dilute tortoiseshell kitten who we are guessing is about a year old. I was actually volunteering on Christmas Eve when she was brought in to the shelter by a good samaritan who found her under a porch in the cold and I was the one to put her in her cage in holding. She was skin and bones and missing patches of fur. Being the sucker that I am, my heart went right out to her.



After about a week in the shelter she was doing better but really needed to be in a home to rest, recover from a mild cold and gain whole lot of weight. She was slightly less than four pounds when she was surrendered to us and should have been a whole lot more. Her hair was thin or missing in parts, most likely due to lack of nutrition. By this date I had been without a foster for slightly less than a week. But when she curled into a little ball in my arms, I just could not walk away from her. Thankfully, by that time, I had been without Simon just long enough to let him go and be emotionally ready for another foster.

Since Hope just needs TLC and to gain weight and I was looking for a slightly easier foster than last time, we were a good fit. And the staff was glad to send her home with someone who could give her lots of love, but would know what to do if she suddenly took a turn for the worse especially since I still had the supplies and knowledge on how to give her IV fluids if she suddenly needed it.

She is still doing well here with me. I brought her in today for a check up because she was scratching at her ears. Her ears are clean and mite free so we are trying her on a prescription allergy diet, just in case her hair loss and ear scratching is an allergy. Other than that, she is happy to be back at home with us and settled into the foster room again. And we are happy to have her.