by Anne Rener
With the weather warming, local animal shelters can count on an
influx of newborn puppies and kittens that desperately need foster care. In the past four years, the Oklahoma Humane Society’s neonate program has helped more than 4,000 animals through its foster network and donations. Support also comes from the humane society’s special events, such as the Puppy and Kitten Shower to be hosted from 4 to 6 p.m. April 24 by Tiny Bubbles at Northpark Mall, 10904 North May Avenue.
Neonates — animals in the first few weeks of life — are the most vulnerable population in a shelter situation.
“If they don’t come with a mom cat or dog in tow, then they need immediate intervention to survive,” said Rachel Findley, a feline neonate foster mom who is also vice president of development for Oklahoma Humane Society. “They require bottle-feeding every few hours for their first few weeks, so it is a time investment, though also incredibly rewarding. You know that the babies you’re caring for would most likely not have a chance at life without your help.”
On a lighter note, Findley added, fostering is a nice way to get your “kitten (or puppy) fix” without having to acquire additional personal pets.
“Watching them grow and seeing their little personalities start to come through are so much fun,” she said.
Learning How To Foster
Oklahoma Humane Society (OK Humane), at 7500 North Western Avenue in Oklahoma City, takes in kittens and puppies under the age of six weeks through its neonate program.
“A majority comes from animal welfare or other shelters; others are owner surrenders or brought in by Good Samaritans who found them abandoned,” said Darian Pearn, director of clinical operations for OK Humane. The society relies 100 percent on foster homes to provide care until the animals reach an adoptable age of eight weeks. “People think you need a lot more knowledge to foster neonates, but we all start from somewhere,” Pearn said. “I was brand-new at one point, yet now it’s been over 10 years. I lost count of how many I had fostered after passing 300.”
OK Humane provides online training to help people feel confident and comfortable about taking in neonates, which typically weigh only a few ounces initially. The self-paced training videos are thorough and specialized, enabling people to choose their areas of interest, such as kittens only or dog moms with babies.
Neonate foster parents receive extensive support throughout their journey. OK Humane provides all supplies, formula, medical care, and a 24/7 emergency line. Every two weeks, a clinical staff member checks the neonates to make sure they are healthy and growing. At eight weeks, the puppies and kittens are scheduled for spaying or neutering and put up for adoption.
Pearn said foster parents can take in a nursing mom and her litter — typically four to five kittens or six to eight puppies. Or if there’s no mom, the foster family can take as few as two babies.
“We don’t send neonates as singletons because they need a familiar buddy and socialization as they grow,” she said.
OK Humane sponsors about 20 active foster homes at a time. Chesna and Matt Chesnut are regular foster parents. In fact, when purchasing their home in 2020, they intentionally chose one with a detached apartment to serve as their dedicated “foster cottage.” It has space for supplies, including kennels, beds, and blankets, and it has a door to the yard and a bathroom that ensures fresh water and easy cleanup.
The Chesnuts recently fostered two litters simultaneously — two moms and a total of 13 pups.
“It’s easiest for us to foster puppies because we have four permanent dogs already,” Ms. Chesnut said. “It can be difficult to try to combine random adult dogs into a home, but we’ve found they all seem to warm to the puppies.”
Loving and Letting Go
After fostering fur babies and watching them grow, how difficult is it to give them up? “It’s important to have a big-picture mentality when fostering,” Findley said. “I hear so many people say they could never foster because they would have a hard
time letting go when the pet’s ready for adoption. It is a challenge, and you do get attached. But I look back at all the kittens I’ve fostered over the last seven years and know that they are now treasured members of so many different families.”
Findley added that almost every week, she receives an update from someone who has adopted a kitten she fostered. “Getting photos or seeing someone post a pet’s picture on social media really makes my day and encourages me to continue fostering.”
Although OK Humane is always looking for foster families, Pearn said the society also appreciate donations and supply drives. Supporters can also buy from the Amazon wish list. Search “OK Humane Nursery Wish List” to find such items as bottles, milk-replacer powder, blankets, scales, heating pads, and pulsing hearts to calm anxiety in tiny babies.
For more information about the Puppy and Kitten Shower, the neonate program, or other Oklahoma Humane Society programs, call (405) 286-1229, extension 1, or go to htps://okhumane.org.
