It’s a sad situation when a home once lively with pets is instead without a pet … the humans can feel very alone. But the instant adoption of a new pet is not usually a wise solution for many reasons—acquiring a new pet requires much thought, planning and, often, much impatient waiting.
While you wait, would you like to do something good for pets in general and maybe for one needy animal in particular by giving it a foster home while it waits for its forever family?
Photo by James Stripes
I met Teri and James when their Boxers were puppies being “mentored” by my golden retriever. I asked them about their decision to become a foster home for a needy older cat.
Q: If I recall correctly, Teri, you had cats in the past? How long ago? You showed cats?
Teri: Yes, I have had cats off and on most of my life of 54 years. From the time I was 12 years old to age 30, my mother and I raised and showed Persians, Exotic Shorthairs (a shorthair Persian), and Cornish Rex cats. Even though we stopped breeding and showing almost 25 years ago, our cattery and cats still show up in the pedigree of the top Exotic Shorthairs worldwide.
Q: James, prior cat experience for you?
James: When I was in high school, we brought a kitten home from Green Bluff, where we had gone to get fruit. Us kids begged my mom to let us have a cat. That kitten was with our family for her entire life. I went off to college and then marriage. I did not have a cat in my first marriage.
When I was in graduate school, a woman I started dating said I passed the critical test because her cat, Fudge, liked me. We had that cat and others during our years together. One of our cats gave birth in the early morning on our bed. I had gotten up earlier, but my wife got trapped in the bed until birthing was finished. Most of our cats were strictly indoor, but one was not. One morning, the cat brought into the house a bird that she had caught. We left that last cat with a close friend when we crossed the country for the summer, but we took our dog with us. A few years later (after that wife died of cancer), I was with Teri. She had a cat and we rescued another. So from the late 1970s to today, cats have more often than not been a part of my life.
Q: Tell us about Max and Amy and how you came to be petless earlier this year.
Teri: Sadly, our Boxer siblings Max and Amy left us this year. In July, within 24 hours of Max’s exhibiting unusual behavior (different for him) and its getting worse rather than better, we headed to pet emergency and learned he had a brain tumor on the left side. Amy had been battling pancreatitis and/or pancreatic cancer for a year and a half when she passed. Her pain meds were no longer giving her comfort, so in November we knew it was her time. We lost Max in late July, a few days after he turned ten years old, and Amy in November at almost 10.5 years old.
Q: What made you think of fostering a cat?
Teri: Raising Max and Amy connected us with the joys and rewards of dog rescue. Though Max and Amy were not rescues themselves, they were ambassadors of the breed at many public rescue events, helped us transport and foster several Boxer rescues, and also helped us ‘foster fail’ with our beloved white Boxer Teddy, who was deaf. We even embraced hospice fostering and fell hard for little Boxer-X, Serena.
We lost sweet Serena in 2018 to cancer, our 20-year-old kitty Wild Thing in 2019, our beloved Teddy to cancer in 2019, and then both Max and Amy in 2022.
After losing Amy we knew we didn’t want to be four-legged-pet–free for long. But we both knew our hearts were too fragile for taking on another Boxer. For the last couple of years, I had missed having a cat a great deal. So we decided our next four-legged pet would be a cat.
That decision, however, came with two challenges—parakeets. We had ended up with two lovely parakeets by happenstance this last spring. (That’s a story unto itself, for another time.) We knew finding the right cat who would not torment the parakeets would not be easy.
After discussing it (for only a couple of days) we decided to open our home to cat fostering—not kittens, but young and old adults. We would then plan on ‘foster failing’ if we found the right fit for our home. Otherwise, we would help those in need and make sure our parakeets remained safe while the foster was with us.
Q: How did you find this cat and the program she’s part of?
Teri: We applied to foster with two local organizations. One was recommended by a fellow Boxer lover who too had just started fostering kittens, and the other was the local shelter I had known my entire life.
Within a week of our becoming an approved foster home, our coordinator reached out about a six-year-old and 14-year-old they wanted to get into foster homes because it would be a while before they were medically cleared for adoption. We ended up with the 14-year-old and she is wonderful. She is still having some medical struggles, but it’s possible she’s beginning to stabilize.
Q: How does the program work?
Teri: Both programs are very similar and very good. Cats and kittens can be adopted when they are vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and cleared medically. When fostering for either program, you are provided all necessary meds, supplies, and food. For example, our current foster is 14 years old. She came with two litter boxes, four food/ water bowls, carrier, bed, toys, towels, prescription foods, and litter. We are responsible for making sure she is loved and socialized and makes her scheduled vet visits. Veterinary care and veterinary advice is available to us 24/7 via visit or call.
Q: What’s surprised you most about the program—and the cat—so far?
Teri: The foster application processes were extremely thorough, with one even requiring a state background check. All food and supplies being provided was surprising, along with having access to a vet 24/7 when we need it.
Q: The foster cat—what are your hopes and dreams for her?
Teri: We hope she will be medically cleared for adoption and will have a loving home.
Q: Is she available for adoption yet? If not, when? Who to contact for more information?
Teri: She is not yet available for adoption. When she is ready, she will be available through the Spokane Humane Society.
Q: How has having your foster in your home helped to lift your spirits while you are, at least temporarily, petless?
Teri: We enjoy caring for our creatures and she rewards us with love and purrs.
Q: Would you encourage pet lovers experiencing petlessness to consider fostering?
Teri: Yes! Fostering allows you the time to grieve and a chance to share the love you have to give to a pet in need.
Photo by Teri Stripes
Spokane Humane Society Foster Care
Foster Office (509) 467-5235 ext. 229
