COM Outlook Winter 2020

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 37 Opposite page and above: S’mores and Graham are two of the adorable kittens Brittni Peach has fostered in the past few years. Left: While fostering her first litter of kittens, Pepperoni and Sausage, for eight weeks, Peach fell in love with Pepperoni (left) and adopted him four days after returning him to the shelter. human contact. There is always an abundance of kittens in Florida—and a desperate need for foster homes. Now that you’re familiar with the concept of foster- ing kittens, you may be thinking, “Great, I love kittens.” Or you might be consumed with questions regarding time constraints, costs, and questions such as, “Could I do this?” First, anyone can learn to foster kittens. If you know how to feed and pet a kitten, you’re pretty much golden. Second, you’re not alone. There’s a huge network of kitten fosterers. Third, let me answer some questions you may have and see if I can convince you that you, too, can be a kitten foster parent. Most shelters will provide free food, litter, a litter box, and free veterinary care. All you have to do is provide the kittens with a home. If you live in a small apartment, don’t worry. I fostered kittens in my tiny, one-bedroom apartment. Kittens require very little space. In fact, when they are young, they should be kept in a small, enclosed area. As they grow, you can give them more space to roam. I acquired the kittens when they were a little more than three weeks old. They had just started eating wet food, but they were still not very mobile. I kept them in my bathroom for two weeks, which gave them plenty of room to roam. This also provided protection to my adult cat, as introducing the kittens to him immediately could have been quite a shock. Two weeks later, as the kittens became more active—and Boogey had finally gotten used to their scent—I allowed them to roam free in the apartment. I thought fostering kittens would be difficult while juggling classwork, but they were a blessing and pro- vided welcome relief from the stress of school. Instead of wasting time on social media, I spent my breaks playing with the kittens. My friends even helped by coming over for study sessions at my apartment, so we could socialize with the kittens. Depending on how young your kittens are, you will likely end up having them for four to eight weeks. Believe me, the weeks will fly by. As a bonus, if you’re a medical student, fostering kittens is a great opportu- nity to earn volunteer hours. If you foster two kittens, you can get up to 26 hours of volunteer time. After fostering my first litter of kittens for eight weeks, I returned them to the shelter. It was devastating, as I’d grown to love them, but I took comfort in knowing that I’d helped them develop into healthy kittens. Four days after returning them, I went back and adop- ted Pepperoni. In the foster world, we call that a “foster fail,” but it was a win to me. It truly is a great experience for everyone involved—especially the kittens. o Brittni Peach is a class of 2020 KPCOM student.