Faustina & Foster Parenting

Last night, Faustina let me trim her claws. While that may not seem like a big deal (unless you've had experience with cats who really, really hate having their nails clipped), I nearly cried. Faustina, my "semi-feral", "unadoptable" foster baby, let me cut her nails while she sat in my lap and purred.

At first, it was one claw- so quick, she barely knew what happened (when you have so many foster cats, there's always a nail trimmer nearby!). It freaked her out, so we just hung out for a few minutes, me caressing her feet and she smelling the trimmer. She jumped down when she got bored but came back quickly, settled again in my lap. I quietly trimmed the the rest of her front paw, then the next, all while telling her what a good girl she was and cursing my lack of cat treats to give her.

You have no idea how big of a step this is. Faustina came to us from our "Great Kitten Rescue" of 2009, a TNR (trap-neuter-return) project that took place in an industrial park where kittens and cats were being abused. Originally, she went to a foster home that took in the majority of the kittens from that rescue. As the other kittens adjusted to their new inside surroundings and learned to trust people, she stayed a terrified kitten. After a few weeks, she came to live with my ex and I in an effort to help speed up her socialization.

Unfortunately, she continued to be terrified out of her mind. Our socializing exercises helped, but not quick enough to get her adopted as a kitten- the easiest time to find homes for cats. While she's come very far in the year we've had her- no more scratches, no hisses when she scared, etc.- Faustina bolts very quickly when there is a loud noise or unexpected movement. She's very adorably awkward but has become a lap cat, in her own way.

Back to my amazement from last night. I've cut her nails probably FOUR times in the year we've had her (I generally trim everybody probably once a month). Each time I had to either trap her *inside* a pillow case or it took her being burritto'd in a long towel & two people (both methods restrict her body movements and allow us to take one leg out at a time). When I was done clipping her nails this time, she stayed in my lap purring while I teared up, telling her how proud I was of her.

Often times, when I tell people that I'm a foster mom, they reply with "I could never do that." I think people focus on the heartbreak that can happen when a critter you've nursed back to health, or whose emotional scars you've helped heal, or whom you've simply had for a long time, gets adopted. I understand that. Every animal I take in takes a little piece of my heart when they are adopted, get transferred to another foster home, or dies.

But the animals I've cared for provide so much love, they help heal the small losses that the others have brought. Faustina will be a hard one to lose, but she has so much to gain and so much love to give for someone who has the kindness she deserves. I've learned so much patience from her and so many skills for the next "semi-feral" kitten that comes into my care. I'm grateful for her being in my life but am looking forward to seeing her full journey unfold.