Snoqualmie Valley residents foster cats and dogs
January 2, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Teri Mead of North Bend grew up with her own cats and Labrador retrievers, but for the past five years, she has been raising animals that eventually find homes with other people.
As a foster parent for the Seattle Humane Society, Mead cares for felines waiting for adoption. Other local foster parents, like Lisa Santee, take charge of both cats and dogs until an adoptive parent steps forward.
Residents of Snoqualmie Valley are happy to participate in a foster parent program with the Seattle Humane Society. As part of the program, they take care of dogs like these.
These Snoqualmie Valley residents are two of 85 dog and 150 cat foster parents working with the Seattle Humane Society.
“Foster homes literally expand our shelter walls,” said Amber Yoo, marketing communications manager for the Seattle Humane Society.
Cats typically breed in warm weather, especially in July and August.
“We always seem to have a shortage of available foster homes during that time,” Yoo said. “During heavy kitten seasons, we can get upwards of 400 cats in our shelter at any given time. Only 150 to 200 cats can comfortably be housed in the shelter, which means the rest need to be in loving foster homes.”
The humane society places animals in foster care for a variety of reasons, like if it is short on space or if the animal is sick or has behavioral problems.
“We had a cat recently who came to us very aggressive, but we knew the cat was just scared, so we put the cat in foster,” said Yoo. “This cat did a complete 180 and that was because of the foster parent.”
Seattle Humane Society provides supplies, from kitty litter to leashes and carriers to food, at no cost to the foster parent. The only thing the society asks for is free rent for the animals.
Mead converted an office in her house into a cat boarding house. Every time she cares for a new feline or litter, she places them in a carrier until they are more adjusted to their living space.
Once, Mead sheltered three mother cats that had 12 kittens amongst them. Mead helps cats with infections, as well. A cat in a foster house usually has an easier recovery and will not infect its brethren at the humane society.
If the cat needs medication Mead feels queasy giving, like an IV, she drives the cat to the humane society in Bellevue for a veterinary checkup.
“They never have you do anything that’s out of your level of comfort,” Mead said.
One kitten, Itty Bit, has changed from border to a permanent resident in Mead’s house — “a tiny little thing barely clinging to life and now he is quite the social character,” Mead said.
Mead may have rescued Itty Bit, but he saved another kitten with his gregarious behavior. One orange kitten at Mead’s house could barely walk because of his deformed legs.
“The other cats were around and playing,” Mead said. “He wanted to get out so bad.”
Itty Bit began playing with the orange youngster. After a little rough-and-tumble recreation, the orange cat learned to walk without a limp and was adopted soon after.
People fostering dogs can enroll in free dog-training classes at Seattle Humane Society. If they are uneasy with an untrained puppy, the humane society will place them with a well-behaved dog.
“We try to match up the right animal to the right person,” Yoo said.
Santee estimated she has fostered 15 dogs and 10 cats in the past five years. As the humane society recommends, she keeps her permanent pets separate from her foster animals unless she is within the vicinity.
People wishing to learn more about fostering for the humane society can attend two free hour-long classes — Humane Society Orientation 101, which teaches people about the shelter’s mission and goals, and Animal Handling. Once a foster parent is placed with an animal, humane society coordinators call the family once or more a week to learn of the animal’s progress and determine when the animal can come back to the humane society for adoption.
To learn more, visit www.seattlehumane.org or call 641-0080.
“It’s a wonderful experience just learning about the different animals and breeds,” Santee said. “It’s a joy seeing them adopted.”
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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