13/06/2022
Say hello to Irish.
My name is Irish and I am a foster home volunteer with Tails to Tell. I am a Certified Feline Specialist who for the last fifteen years has run a professional cat sitting company in Calgary.
I’ve been fostering cats for almost 30 years, mostly pregnant mom’s and/or mom’s and kittens. Though I've put in many years of fostering for other rescues in BC and in Calgary, I really like supporting Tails to Tell. In my experience, it is our rural shelters that more often than not, need the most help. Knowing that the extra space in my family home can save the life of a kitty is why I foster.
My most memorable foster incident was when my husband, in his manly way, needed to use the washroom in our foster room. Once in position, he inadvertently peed on Jazzie, our curious foster cat who had decided at that very same moment, to leap across the toilet.😆
My most recent foster cat with Tails to Tell, named Ruby, has been the most rewarding kitty to work with. She has magically blossomed before our eyes. This wee red headed girl has gone from a sad, thin kitty who almost stopped eating, to a much healthier foodie feline. From a scaredy cat who we had to rip our couch apart to get to, now to a playful love bug. To a "no-lappy" cat to a lap cat and a "no-pick-me-up" cat to one who purrs when being held...and all within three months of love and fostering! So amazing! We are praying for the right patient hearted “purrson” to come along and adopt this amazing Ruby girl.
How do I let them go? I give myself full permission to cry and grieve them after they leave. I allow myself that sadness for with great love comes great loss after all. However, my tears are a small price to pay in knowing that these beautiful feline companion creatures gifted to us, have been given another chance at finding a new loving home…one they may not have had otherwise! So I am grateful I can do this part, as hard as saying goodbye can be.
Tips for those thinking of becoming a foster...I have several. The one I often like to share is that a cat’s stomach is only about the size of a ping pong ball, so to keep that in mind not to over feed our foster kitties unless of course they need fattening up, then I’d suggest several small calorie dense meals daily. The other tip I like to share is litter box related. The best “input" we can give to ensuring the health of our foster kitties, is to check their “output". Stools should be like moist ci**rs in shape. If not, kitty may either have diarrhoea (and thus possible G/I issues frequent in stray kitties especially) or on the other side of things, may be constipated and needing more hydration (like adding water to their wet food).
Thank you Irish for all the work you do for our foster "kids". You have done such an amazing job. We couldn't keep doing what we do without people like you.💕
If you would like to discuss fostering for us, please fill out an application 👇 and our Foster Coordinator, Karen will follow up with you.
https://tailstotell.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Tails-To-Tell-Foster-Care-Application.pdf