Hearts And Homes Open In A Time Of Crisis

MRFRS foster homes opened their doors to save cats in the face of the pandemic.

As alarms about the novel coronavirus were raised and guidelines were issued that shuttered places people congregate, the adoption center followed suit to protect the health of our community. Unfortunately, cats don’t watch the news and they continue to have litters of kittens, stray from home, have health emergencies, or find themselves in need of a new forever family. Without intervention, these kitties would needlessly suffer.

It’s impossible to scoop a litter box via zoom and you can’t scoop delicious wet food for the cats over the phone. With all the volunteers who generously give their time to care for MRFRS cats confined to their houses and onsite staff reduced to a skeleton crew, the number of cats at the shelter had to be reduced quickly.

Luckily, MRFRS’s foster families embraced this new challenge – and the cats and kittens – with open arms. Thanks to them, all of the kitties that have made their way to MRFRS during the COVID-19 shutdown have had a brief visit to the adoption center for exams, care, and spay/neuter surgery if needed, and then they were whisked away to a cozy home by a trained foster caretaker.

Currently, 16 cats are playing, growing, healing, adjusting, and relaxing at homes in our foster network and 38 kittens are being fussed over by MRFRS’s dedicated surrogate moms and dads.

Foster homes have also helped MRFRS to make changes to reduce the risk of spreading the virus while still finding homes for their temporary house guests. They’ve sent countless videos and photos for the staff to post, and many foster participate in special zoom calls, so potential forever homes can virtually “meet” kitties.

They coordinate with adoption counselors to ensure adopters have contact with as few people as possible when they pick up their new feline family members. Fosters also diligently replace hard plastic carriers and instead use disposable cardboard carriers that can be tossed when their foster kitties reach their new home.

We are thrilled to report that 18 cats have been adopted since virtual adoptions started and without the dedication and flexibility of the foster homes that have opened their doors, that wouldn’t be possible.

Sharing their home with MRFRS cats that can’t stay in the adoption center has been vital throughout this crisis. Without foster families, MRFRS would be unable to offer a lifeline to our community of cats and the people who care for them while under quarantine.

To every foster family reading this, we say THANK YOU. We are so grateful for your generous gift of love, time, and space. Every sleepless night spent feeding a litter of tiny kittens, every hour spent coaxing shy kitties out of their shell, and every ounce of food spooned out to hungry cats has meant beating feline hearts, countless years of purring and a safe, healthy future for so many. You’re literally a lifesaver.