Category: cats

cats, former foster dogs, fosterdogs, pregnant dog, puppies

The Gangs All Here

Cara Achterberg

Assimilating three dogs takes patience.

Once upon a time, in my early days of fostering, I would rush it. No, actually, I just wouldn’t think about it. Foster dog arrived and we let it loose in the house. I look back on that now and am amazed it didn’t result in anything worse than ruined carpets.

I have three canine guests in the cottage with me. Two are fosters and one is a previous foster puppy who is hanging out with us while his family is traveling. I rarely get to see my puppy fosters all grown up, so this is a treat.

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barn cats, cats, dog rescue, foster cats, foster dogs, kittens, mama dogs

The Cottage Ladies (and the cats!)

Cara Achterberg

Last week I told you about Cherry, so this week I want to introduce you to the other lovely lady sharing the foster cottage and my office with me.

Gracie Lou is what I call a Miniature Land Hippo. She’s a bulldog mix with a stout, sturdy, roundish frame, much like a hippopotamus. She weighs about 50 pounds and is simply adorable.

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barn cats, dog rescue, foster dogs, Humane Society of Shenandoah County, owner surrender

Dogs (and Cats) Come and Go

Cara Achterberg

Foster dogs come and go, but our place is rarely empty. After my last post, I realized I left a few plot lines hanging…I never told you what became of Roofus and Ladybug, or updated you on the barn cat/possum outcome. So before I tell you more about Argus and our newest foster, Marley, let me end the mystery.

Ladybug and Roofus have been relocated to another foster home. Not because they aren’t wonderful dogs or because I didn’t enjoy their hounddog charms, but because I care about my neighbors.

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barn cats, dog rescue, foster dogs, heartworms, Humane Society of Shenandoah County

Fostering Dogs, Cats, and Possums?

Cara Achterberg

For those who don’t have a program:

We are currently fostering Ladybug and Rufus, two sweet hound dogs who were abandoned on a farm and ultimately rescued by the Humane Society of Shenandoah County.

Rufus Goofus and Ladybug are an adorable pair together but available to be adopted separately.

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barn cats, cats, former foster dogs, fostering, fostering dogs, Humane Society of Shenandoah County

Moles Plus Dogs Equal Cats

Cara Achterberg

Our yard looks like a five-year-old was turned loose with one of those mini back-end loaders you see in public park sandboxes.

Only there are no children here, just moles.

And dogs attempting to find the moles.

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adopters, cats, dog rescue, foster cats, fosterdogs, Pit bull

The Most Adoptable Dogs

Cara Achterberg

I can’t help but think that if my two foster pups were scruffy or curly or smaller or younger, or this was a year ago, they’d be snapped up by now. Instead, these two housebroken, crate-trained, people-friendly, lovely-on-a-leash dogs are spending long lonely days in their crates in my future foster cottage.

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cats, foster cats, fostering, Humane Society of Shenandoah County, kittens

Let Me Introduce You to ‘The Ladies’

Cara Achterberg

You know me, never one to go all-in on anything when it comes to animals….

My latest foster kittens have all moved on. Chett and Poe found a great adoptive home not too far away. Their adopter sent this picture of their new spoiled life:

And Harper, Hemingway, and Twain caught a transport headed to a rescue in Carroll County, MD in need of kittens (WHO is in need of kittens anywhere at this point in history??).

So…when the cat foster coordinator texted and said, “Would you consider five more ‘middle-aged’ kittens?” I thought, I survived this last lot, so, why not?

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cats, Flannery Oconnor, foster cats, foster dogs, fostering, kittens

Becoming a Cat Person (By Default)

Cara Achterberg

The boys survived their ‘alterations’ this week and hopefully, two of them will be moving on soon. Chett and Poe have an adopter, they’re vaccinated, dewormed (multiple times), microchipped, combo-tested (neg), and now, neutered. They are ready to go!

The Humane Society of Shenandoah County charges $175 for kittens and $150 for cats in adoption fees. I’m pretty new to this cat game, but even I can see that adoption fees don’t begin to cover the cost of saving these kitties.

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cats, foster cats, fostering, Humane Society of Shenandoah County, kittens

Five Little Kitties Jumping on the Desk

Cara Achterberg

It’s pretty quiet here at this foster home. That’s the difference between fostering cats and fostering dogs. Dogs require a lot more attention.

But cats, kittens in this case, also require a little attention. Just like puppies, there is a lot of deworming. Plus, for the first few weeks with us, Harper needed to be bathed almost daily because she had not figured out how to take care of herself. Thankfully, she’s finally doing her own grooming. Neither of us enjoyed her baths.

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cats, foster cats, fostering, kittens, worms

My Surprising New Fostering Assistant

Cara Achterberg

I have a surprising new assistant helping me with the foster kitties.

We’ve discovered that Otis simply loves the kittens. All our foster cats/kittens usually live out on the sunporch. We haven’t added furniture or renovated the area because we need to replace the supporting posts (one is rotting) and possibly the windows (which are sagging, but once the posts are replaced that problem may correct itself).

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