I recently had the opportunity to foster a sick kitten… and even though I thought that fostering a cat would be a nice way for me to help another animal (and people in my community), things did not exactly turn out the way I expected them to.
During the three weeks I had Gus Goose in my care, the tiny black cat shit absolutely everywhere, stank up my entire home, blew hundreds of boogers on me, refused to eat most of the food I served her, scratched me and made me bleed on multiple occasions, and was generally a total pain to take care of.
Even with all of that being said… Gus Goose was such a nice cat! She was seriously so sweet, so quiet, so patient, and so cuddly. When she wasn’t farting, pooping, and blowing boogers in my face, she was seriously the BEST CAT ever! I loved cuddling with her… but then she’d dribble poop on me or shoot a snot rocket all over my sofa, and I’d be forced to put her back in her cage and clean up the mess.
Caring for this sick cat (who was suffering with both diarrhea and an upper respiratory track infection) was a lot like my relationship with people:
- I thought it would be nice to have some company.
- It was fun for about three-and-a-half-minutes.
- Then reality hit (and the “cat” blew boogers all over me, farted, pooped and stank up my entire house)!
- And in the end, I realized I was better off alone.
Yes, I returned the cat to the adoption agency. Her conditions were not improving and they wanted to have a veterinarian look at her again to see if there was anything else they could do. But after Gus Goose saw the vet, I was asked to continue caring for her… and, even though it pained me (and I felt really bad about it), I politely said, “No.”
I wanted to help. I really did. And even though I kinda loved this little black kitten, I hated the experience of caring for her overall.
People had warned me before I signed up to be a foster, that I might fall in love with the animal I was given, and I’d want to keep it forever. But the reality is… fostering this little, black kitten made me realize that I don’t want a pet of any kind (at least not, permanently).
- Maybe I haven’t found the right “cat” yet? Maybe the next one will be better?