"Life never goes according to plan. That's okay, because often our plans are much smaller than life intends. Probably EASIER, but smaller." ~ Stacey T. Hunt
Aside from the three foster cats we'd "showcased" at the store (one at a time...not all at once!) for a local rescue group, we've taken in another six homeless cats on our own over the last year and a bit, doing the fund-raising ourselves to pay for their vetting (testing, vaccinating, spaying or neutering...and anything else they needed treatment for), before finding adoptive homes for them. We certainly hadn't planned to become involved in fostering cats on our own, but then we ended up with a poor little abandoned cat that none of the rescue groups I'd contacted could take in at that particular time (sadly, many rescues are short of space and funding), and that's how it began.
Although we obviously love cats (we have several of our own, plus a store cat), I find it very stressful to charge sometimes several hundreds of dollars to my credit card for Vet care for our fosters, while hoping to be able to raise enough money to pay for it...which doesn't always happen. Despite collecting donations, putting on auctions, etc, I have come up short a time or two after fund-raising for a particular foster; but I just focus on the fact that the dear kitty is off the streets, and hope that Karma will remember me later. After having three foster cats at one time this past Spring, and suffering from what I refer to as "fund-raising overload" (FRO), I swore I'd never do it again! No, it's okay, you can laugh.
I also swore I'd never have more than one foster at a time again...*pause for more laughter*...and here we are with two more, and a possible third "waiting in the wings". *Sigh!* So, what's my point? No, I'm not looking for "a pat on the back", but just to make the point that we should "Never say never", because you don't know what's around the corner, and sadly, when it comes to homeless cats, there are always so many of them around the corner. While I can't personally take them all in, I do what I can. I know there will be a time...probably lots of times...when I'll swear I'll never do it again, and there have already been situations (like during my recent surgery) when I can't do it at that particular time, but I promise to TRY to "Never say never"...and I also promise that you can all laugh at me when I do! :)
~ Leesa
