Millie and Bo

I've decided to make an effort to chronicle the story of my fosterlings. I volunteer at the local low-kill animal shetler, and am fostering many cats at the moment. They will all be a part of my family's history someday, I don't want to forget any of them. I won't be able to talk about them all in one post, but this will get the story started.

So far, my fosterlings have included 1 dog and 11 cats, all of whom are still in my home. I've adopted 3 of them (the dog and 2 cats).

Millie and Bo (in my home from April 20, 2007 to June 30, 2007):

Millie was the first. A pink-cream pregnant manx kitty, she caught my eye early on. She was sweet and affectionate at the shetler, and I knew she was meant to be part of my life, but I didn't think I'd be adopting her. Not long after, Frank asked me if I'd be willing to foster her until she had her babies and they were weaned. I agreed, and brought Millie home.

A week later, she had three babies as I looked on.

Unfortunately, 2 of them died within hours of birth. She was left with one surviving kitten, baby Bo, who was a nursing champ and thrived from the start.

2 weeks later...

Obviously it didn't take me long to fall in love. About 7 weeks later, I returned him to the shelter to go up for adoption, despite wanting to keep him myself. I can't wait until he finds his forever home; I visit him almost daily (at least 5 days a week) and am happy that I was able to give him such a safe and stable home for the first months of his life.

Since birthing Bo, Millie has adopted and nursed six unrelated kittens alongside her own. She welcomes each new life into her nest without hesitation, and her openness and generosity are an inspiration.

Millie is still available for adoption at the shelter. I visit her almost daily to clean the gunk out of her eyes (the shelter air doens't agree with her sweet eyes), and to let her out of her cage and watch her stretch her legs as she exploreds the cat room. She gets regular loving from me and the kids, and will until she gets adopted. If she ever reaches the end of her time at the shelter and still hasn't found a home, I will open my home to her once again.