GFCC needs foster families to look after orphan kittens

By: Michelle Poirier

Georgina Feral Cat Committee (GFCC) is looking for people to foster orphan kittens.

Over the last few days, GFCC has taken in 13 kittens, and the numbers are only expected to rise since kitten season started in the spring and lasts until October.

“Especially now, in kitten season, we need extra foster care. We provide the food, the litter and all the equipment and you provide a home and give them lots of loving until they adopted into their families,” Eva McDowell, founder of GFCC, said.

GFCC was founded in 2015 and is a trap, neuter, return not-for-profit group.

Since spay and neuter clinics have been closed due to COVID-19, GFCC has not been able to trap, neuter and return, so they have been putting their focus toward bringing in kittens that need adopting.

But adoptions can’t happen without the right foster home.

“We evaluate each foster home and what they’re comfortable with,” she said.

GFCC has different foster homes to fill the different needs, she said, as the kittens may need to be quarantined for 10 to 14 days before they can integrate with other animals.

The foster family must also be willing to post pictures and descriptions so they can be promoted for adoption. And they’ll need to be able to bring the kittens to adoption events when they start again.

While fostering kittens is a generally a short term commitment, it doesn’t always work out that way.

“We end up with a lot of foster fails. A foster fails when the family falls in love and decides to keep their kittens, that happens a lot,” she said.

COVID-19 has also stopped GFCC from holding adoption events in Pet Valu, but they post kittens and cats on their Facebook group and adoptapet.com. GFCC facilitated approximately 200 adoptions last year.

But not every kitten is a good candidate for adoption.

“A lot of times, if people find kittens in their shed, or on their property in a woodpile, they tend to remove the kittens, which is a big no-no because often mom is just away hunting, providing food for them. So they should leave the kittens because their best chance is with their mom,” she said.

Ms. McDowell said most of the kittens taken away from their mother too early don’t survive. You can leave the kittens and watch to see if the mother cat returns. If you do not see the mother cat for three hours, you can contact GFCC, and they will help.

To fill out a foster application, or to find out other ways you can help, visit georginaferals.ca.