12 Foster Pets Who Came for Two Weeks and Never Left: Mom’s ‘Temporary’ Kitten and Buddy’s Bedtime Ritual

“We’re just going to foster him,” — my mother, in May of 2015″

He’s called Stevie!

He’s a red or firepoint ragdoll.

He’s super cuddly.

“That moment you realize your foster family failed, and is taking you home forever.”

This is Daemon, our former foster kitten, and now just our kitten. From a litter of 5 seal point (Siamese sort of looking) kittens and all black Daemon, the other 5 all got adopted within hours of being dropped off at the shelter. We called everyday to see if Daemon had been adopted yet, after 4 days we couldn’t take it anymore and I drove down there and just adopted

P.S. the headphones in the picture he has since chewed to pieces LOL

He is the happiest kitten I’ve ever seen.

“Meet Oz, my last foster fail and adventure buddy ♥️”

I solely foster kittens for a cat rescue. I’ve fostered and adopted our 30ish kittens in the last 2 years.

I thought I would never be able to give up any of my kittens, but 2 years later and I have successfully fostered and adopted 20-30 kittens. You just have to remind yourself that these little babies are counting on you and if you keep every kitten who has healed under your care and is ready for adoption, you won’t be able to save the ones who need your help.

It can definitely be painful and I’ve had a few kittens that held really special places in my heart, and I cried when I had to let them go, but that just means you have more room in your home to help other fur babies out.

Oz doesn’t really care for being in any carriers, period, because he’d rather be out on the leash walking around. He certainly doesn’t hate it, but he’ll pout until I let him out to run around bahahah. He won’t even sit inside it when we’re in the car. He will scream until I let him out, where he will then promptly climb onto me and lay his head on my shoulder. But then when he gets sleepy he climbs back in the backpack.

He is also honest to god, the softest cat I have ever touched.

“It’s official: he’s a foster fail”

He’s been my foster for over 6 months now and today the rescue okay’d me adopting him!

He has these short legs and sometimes fails to jump on the bed and then just stands there with his front legs on the bed just like, whining at me, until I help pull him onto the bed. Then he snuggles up to me. He’s silly.

I was dreading going through a goodbye with Buddy, and at one point realized I couldn’t be there in person it would be too hard for me. And shortly after that realized I couldn’t do it at all.

My friends also told me I’d be horrible at fostering. I ignored them. Then proved them right, lol.

His name is Buddy but I’m so definitely changing it. I just don’t know what to, lol.

Currently high in the running is Jerry.

If I ever figure out how to do it I’ll post a video of him where his tail stops wagging when I stop paying attention to him, then starts wagging again when I look at him, repeat x5.

“We fostered a 10-year-old street dog (and the foster failed). Here’s his transformation over six months!”

He easily slept 8 hours straight the first day. He was out cold. He still sighs or moans gently whenever you pet him. We think about what kind of life he had before us all the time.

I knew as soon as I saw him he wasn’t going anywhere. He’s such a bundle of love and he makes me laugh with his silliness every day 🥰

He honestly acts like such a puppy sometimes, we’re surprised he’s 10 too! Until he passes out and snores all day 😅

We quickly learned that Havi likes to make little beds with all the blankets, so extra blankets were necessary if we didn’t want to freeze at night 😂 Total blanket hog.

Plus he is RIDICULOUSLY soft. I can pet his white mane for hours.

“My dog helps me rescue cats. This is Hawkeye and Larry, my foster fail. How could I split them up?”

Larry is smart too, and brave. His first day here (after a 14-hour flight) he just climbed on top of Hawkeye and took a nap.

Larry is from Qatar, and Hawkeye was down south

Hawkeye came with his name from his foster down south. I liked it, so it stayed. We gave Larry his name because we thought that was a good name for a guy with a bad rug.

That’s his toupee and we tease him mercilessly about it!

Hawkeye is very gentle around the new fosters. One cat hated him and scratched Hawk on the nose. He never barked once at him. Unless they start a fight. Hawkeye has seen me go break up cat fights, so now he does it. Sometimes he barks to alert me to what’s going on.

Now Larry is figuring it out as well. It’s pretty cool to watch.

It’s a skill just like any other. The first time I gave away my favorite kitten I cried like a 12-year-old. It gets much easier, but I still fantasize about keeping them.

They’re lying on the bed next to me right now.

Zuzu arrived as a foster dog. Some time later, the person fostering Zuzu quietly changed the dog’s name, ordered a tag with it and bought a year’s worth of pet insurance. Then came the confession, whispered so nobody else would hear: “I think you’re my dog.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I changed your name today.”

My husband said no more cats. Like a cat myself, I usually have selective hearing, but as a mom of so many creatures already, (1-year-old human twins, a senior Aussie mix, 4 cats under 4 & 2 geckos) I agreed. Our house is FULL.

We were foster kitten free for barely a week when hubs was targeted by the CDS. During last Tuesday’s morning walk, he found this tiny cloud crying in the middle of the sidewalk. Hubs said there was a gardener trimming the bushes nearby & thinks he might’ve spooked mama cat while she was moving her babies. He kept his distance & waited for her, but she was gone.

[He] scooped the baby kitty into the bottom of the stroller & brought him home to me.

Waking up every 2 hours to syringe feed him in between breastfeeding my own babies had me ragged.

Two of my cats are foster fail bottle babies, but I found them around 3 weeks old. At 74g, this is the tiniest creature I’ve ever cared for. I can’t wait till he opens his eyes & sees how many friends he’s going to have.

Everyone say happy 1st week to baby Bubbles!

He’s so spunky & suckles spectacularly. I hope he keeps growing with us. I can’t imagine finding another home for him. What’s one more cat anyway?

Boots was only supposed to be a foster kitten. Then one night, the kitten curled up against this foster parent’s face, dug tiny claws into their hair and pulled them closer. After that, nobody was talking about adoption day anymore.

“It was hard not to get attached after this.”

This foster parent recorded a video message for Antonia at the foster agency, with a tabby resting on their shoulder. The news: they had fallen into “a love bond” with one of the kittens and needed to talk about “the options for foster failing.” Which kitten? That part stayed a surprise.

“Oops”

“My foster fail Eva. I cried all day when we gave her back to be adopted by the public. Husband went back and got her for me. She is perfect.”

I swore I wasn’t going to keep any. I have given back several with a smile on my face. It is nice to see them listed for adoption and then checking in a few hours and they are adopted. Just couldn’t stand seeing her listed when she was already mine in my heart lol.

Yes, a very good husband!

“This is Chupy. I foster failed him in 2016. He’s about 13-14 years old. His birthday is 9/25. I can call him my old man dog ❤️”

I failed to give him up for adoption and I kept him. I didn’t want him returned again to our rescue. (He has been returned 3 times and I was only supposed to temporary foster for the rescue)

At that time we both needed each other. I was looking for my own GSD but decided to foster until the right one came. It didn’t take long to see that he was misunderstood. My life got better once Chupy was in it. We conquered the world together 😃

He just woke up and got on top Of my lap (he thinks he weighs 5 pounds). He loves belly rubs and his nape scratched.

When he hears a squeak toy, he goes from limping to jumping and running.

We honored him so much, we chose that specific day as our wedding day last year.

He’s living a life even some humans wish they could have. I’ve been told that they’d love to come back in another life as one of our dogs 😂 I sometimes wonder what he was like as a puppy, but honored to be by his side in his older years.

Our next will also be a senior.