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Lakeland Animal Welfare Society

Animals in Foster Homes

All of the animals shown in this section are in foster homes awaiting permanent homes. For further information or to meet an animal on this page,  or for information on becoming a foster home, contact the shelter at fosters@lakelandanimalshelter.org.    This list is not necessarily complete -- please contact the shelter if you are looking for a specific type of animal you do not see.

This page was updated 02/11/2008  Please stop back because content changes as new information or photos are received.

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Velvet's story:  A "typical" foster situation

Cats

Kittens

Dogs

Special Feature--Velvet's Story:  A "typical" foster situation.

Have you ever wondered about fostering, but just not known what to expect? Read Velvet's story to follow the progress of a pregnant cat and her babies through their birth and first weeks and find out more of what to expect.   Velvet and her kittens have long since been adopted, but their story remains to illustrate the foster process.

Every spring, our shelter and shelters and rescue groups across the country face what is known as "Kitten season".  During this time, the number of young kittens (under 8 weeks) and pregnant cats is extremely high, and so is our need for foster homes to provide the basic care, love, and attention needed to help ensure that they remain healthy and happy until we can place them in permanent homes.  Kitten season typically runs from late April or May until August or September, with peak numbers of litters being born from May to July, but we often see the first few pregnant cats or litters of kittens as early as February or March.  Stray females or female cats over 6 months old that are allowed outdoors will typically have at least one litter per year, and they produce the majority of litters we see each year.   However, all too often we also see unspayed inside cats that become pregnant, as a female cat in season has an incredible ability to escape in answer to nature's call to reproduce.    

Velvet is the first pregnant cat we received in 2003, but unfortunately her story is common, and we see it repeated many times each spring and summer.  At one time, Velvet was a stray cat living on the streets, probably abandoned by her original owner.  Some people in the neighborhood she was living in began feeding her, and gradually began to let her in and out of the house.  Unfortunately, they did not have her spayed when they took her in, and since she was both inside and outside, the inevitable happened and she became pregnant.  When they realized she was pregnant, the people decided that they did not want to deal with kittens, and in February they brought her to the shelter.  Unlike May through August, when our foster homes are often full, in February, when we have not yet been flooded with litters, a foster home was readily available, and the week she came into the shelter, we tested her for feline leukemia and FIV.  Her test came back negative and her new foster mom took her home.  In this feature, we will follow Velvet's progress, and that of her babies, in her foster home over a period of approximately 3 months, from her arrival in her foster home until she is ready (or nearly ready) to be adopted herself, which is a "typical" time period for a foster situation.  Photos and information on the kittens will be updated approximately weekly.  This series is intended to give a very broad overview of the process of fostering a pregnant cat.  Please understand if you are considering volunteering as a foster home that every pregnancy, litter, and foster situation is different.  

February 28th, 2003

March 5th, 2003

March 15th, 2003

March 22nd, 2003

March 29th, 2003

April 4th, 2003

April 11th, 2003

April 18th, 2003

Would you like to be a foster home for our shelter?  Click here for our foster application and questionnaire.

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