Kitten Season Begins!

Here at The Anti-Cruelty Society spring means that there’s two big things on our minds: Bark in the Park and the beginning of kitten season!

As temperatures heat up we will start to see an influx of teeny felines coming through our doors, many who are too young to go up for adoption. That’s where foster volunteers come in!

These dedicated volunteers open their homes to under-age kittens, caring for them until they are at least 2 months old and weigh in at two pounds or more. All of the kittens sent out into foster care have already received a physical examination, a first round of vaccines and are eating solid food. All kitten kibble and veterinary care is provided by the Society. All the foster volunteer needs to do is provide them with a warm, safe and loving space in which they can grow.

If you’ve considered joining our foster team – now is the time! We’ll get you trained and ready to go just as kitten numbers begin to increase. With the foster team’s help – we’ll be sending over thirty kittens a month out into their care. That’s why it’s the perfect time of year to get involved!

To become a part of this invaluable team, visit our Foster info page on our website, which includes an application for the program. You can also contact our foster manager with questions before applying at: foster@anticruelty.org

We hope to be hearing from you soon!

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ADOPTED! Addison

We love receiving updates from our foster regarding their current charges and enjoy sharing their progress with our supporters.

An adorable puppy named Addison (previously named Mary) went out to foster care after contracting kennel cough. Her fosters have been doting on her and day and night and sent us the following update:

Addison is doing great.  She finished her meds and seems to have stopped coughing. She is very well behaved and only had 2 pee accidents so far. She took to toileting in the yard very well. She has eaten the dry food from the first day with no need for canned food.

She is not crazy about the leash, but is getting used to it a little.

All in all a very nice puppy.

Interested in fostering? Contact us! We are always in need of additional foster homes for dogs and cats. Even if you only have a few weeks to spare – you can make an incredible impact for a needy animal. Email us at foster@anticruelty.org

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ADOPTED! Lady

Summer is prime foster season here at The Anti-Cruelty Society. Come June, July and August we are flooded with puppies, kittens and adult pets who are looking for new homes. Many of these pets are either too young, shy or sick to be placed for adoption – which is where our foster volunteers come in!

Lady is a timid Chihuahua who came to us when her owners were having issues with their landlords. Shy at first, Lady is quick to bond closely with her caretakers, and will make a quiet yet devoted pet.

Lady can be a bit of a picky eater – but much of that may be attributed to the fact that she’s sick with kennel cough. Lady’s also a funny dog, too. She has an adorable dance that she does upon greeting those she knows… paws in the air and lots of butt wiggling!

Lady will be in foster care for another week or so – check back to the foster blog for details on her once she returns to the shelter.

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Foster Tips: Recruiting Adopters

Though it’s not a requirement, many fosters go out of their way to find adoptive homes for the pets in their charge. You may host a dinner to trick a friend into meeting a cute and pitiful kitten. You may invite someone’s kids over for a playdate so they can fall in love with your puppymill foster dog (with the intention that they’ll beg their parents to adopt). Whatever your method – helping an animal find their forever home is the ultimate reward for a foster parent. Here are some tips on how you can recruit an adopter for your current shelter pet:

• Take photos: One of the most effective tools in recruiting adopters is a crisp clear photo. Snap a picture of a foster dog laying in the sun. Capture a photo of a foster cat stretched out in the sun. Showing animals in the home environment helps adopters visualize them in their homes – so grab your camera or phone and start snapping!
• If a photo is worth a thousand words- a video is worth millions: What’s even better than a good photo? A video of your foster in action. You don’t have to do any fancy editing or effects, just a ten second clip of your foster hitting the hay or playing with another pet will do the trick.
• Blog: Whether it’s through The Anti-Cruelty Society Foster Blog, your personal blog or Facebook – tell others about your foster pet! You’d be surprised how quickly a bit of digital news can spread!
• Meet and Greet: If you have someone who’s interested in having their pets meet your foster – consider it! Unless the foster is currently ill there’s no reason why you can’t give their potential siblings a chance at getting to know them. You can host a meet and greet in your home, theirs, a neutral place (think parks for dogs) or at the shelter. And know you’re not alone! If you need specific tips or advice on how to lead a meet and greet our Behavior team is here to help!

Say you’ve used one of the above methods or your own and have found an adopter. What do you do then? Send me an email and in the meantime, have the potential adopter fill out a Cat Adoption or Dog Adoption form. We’ll have it screened and if all looks good – we’ll take it from there!

Do you have a great tip on how to find adopters for foster pets. Share it in the comments below!

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ADOPTED! A Lady Named Dinosaur

My wife and I are fortunate to be fostering a wonderful dog named Dinosaur (a terrier/pit-bull mix). She came to us as ‘Dinah’, but we thought Dinosaur was more fun and she seems to agree. She responds much better to ‘Dinosaur’ than to ‘Dinah’. The name fits her athleticism and speed, but that is all. She is extremely sweet and playful and would never take part in terrorizing an island à la Jurassic Park.

It took us less than one day to fall in love with her and we are eager to find an adopting family so she can receive the love she needs. If you are looking for a beautiful, well-behaved, gentle yet energetic companion, we think you should consider Dinosaur. We will share more details as we continue to get to know her and would be thrilled to answer your questions! Just leave them in the reply/comment section.

Before we could get a better bed for Dinosaur, she used our small dog bed pretty effectively.

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ADOPTED! Kitswah

Kitswah is a stunning 9 month old cat who was sent out into foster care after he became ill with an Upper Respiratory Infection. Kitswah is doing much better, with only an occasional sneeze, and will be returning for adoption soon!

Here is an update on this sweetie from his foster parents:

“I wanted to let you know how Kitswah is doing. In a word, great!

We hear him sneeze a couple times a day but, other than that, he shows no sign of URI. And, our kittens haven’t picked up even a sniffle from him.

He’s had the run of the house for most of his stay. And–as you can see in the one photo–he’s getting on fine with our kittens. Dickens was his buddy from the start. I think he’ll really miss Kitswah when it’s time to go back to ACS.

Nutmeg was harder to win over. She hissed at him a lot, but he was always cool and calm, and would just walk away from her. Now she’s playing with him a little and sleeping near him, too. When I complete the Foster Cat Personality Profile, I’ll be sure to say that he’d be a great addition to a household that already has one or more cats.

Kitswah loves to play with all the cat toys we have as well as to chase and rough-house with Dickens. Although Kitswah is bigger than Dickens, he never takes advantage of that when they’re playing. He’s also very affectionate.

He likes to snuggle up to one of us on the sofa when he’s sleepy. We often have all three cats in bed with us.

Kitswah is also very well behaved. He doesn’t jump on the kitchen counters, unlike our kittens. (We’re working on that!) He does like to sharpen his claws on rugs. We trying to re-direct that behavior to a horizontal scratch pad, since he doesn’t seem to like the scratching post very much.

Another great foster cat! How does ACS do it?”

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ADOPTED! In Foster Care: Autumn & Sofie

Autumn and Sofie came to The Anti-Cruelty Society with their mother, father and one other sibling when their owners were no longer able to care for them. These two adorable sisters were sent out to foster care because of their young age and low weight. They still have a couple more weeks to go, but the foster volunteer had the following photo update to share:

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ADOPTED! Fluffs, Smudge & Stripe

Take a peek at Fluffs (#A13899271), Smudge (#A13899286) and Stripe (#A13899313) in these photos sent to us by the foster volunteer.

This adorable litter of kittens left for foster care a couple of weeks ago and are growing fast!

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Looking for Fosters

This time of year shelters across the country see an influx of homeless kittens flowing through their doors.

In an effort to get more of the public involved as Foster Volunteers we have created a new page on our website that will showcase animals currently awaiting foster placement. Our hope is that by showing the growing list of pets we will be able to convince more Chicagoans to jump on board this life-saving program.

To see a list of animals currently awaiting foster placement visit our Foster Candidate page.

To learn how you can become a foster visit our Foster Volunteer page.

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Calling all Loving Homes!

With the warming temperatures and longer days shelters like The Anti-Cruelty Society see a flood of homeless kittens entering our doors daily.

For this reason we are looking to increase our foster numbers by sending out a call to find additional homes for these wee kitties. The love and affection you provide can help a shy or stunted kitten blossom and be ready for their forever home. The Anti-Cruelty Society provides all veterinary and behavioral care in addition to food and donated supplies.

If you are available to host one, two, three or more kittens for an average of four weeks – please consider joining our program by visiting this link and filling out an application.

If you have a question about our Foster Program, please post it in the comments below!

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