Fostering turned into adoption....

The mother of Lauren's best friend calls me one morning at the end of November to beg me to help her. She has found a very tiny kitten outside her house and she cannot take any more cats in (she has 4). She wonders if I can foster the kitten and try to find it a home. I am a complete softy when it comes to cats, so of course I agree. I figure, my grandma wants a cat or my youngest sister...one of them will be sure to take it off my hands! He is only about 7 weeks old and very thin. I make an appointment at the vet to get him his first set of shots. He only weighs 1.5 lbs. The vet tells me that he has: Anisocoria (pupils of differing sizes that may cause vision or balance problems) and an abnormally fast heartbeat (meaning a heart defect of some sort...the cat could live for a long time or die tomorrow). He gets his first shot and they tell me he needs to have a booster shot in about 6 weeks. They ask for his name and I tell them that we have not named him, we are going to find him a home. They smile knowingly.

FAST FORWARD: The kitten has been at our house for about 2 weeks. The kids (and I) are getting really attached to him. My grandma has told me that she doesn't want a cat until she retires from helping out in the schools and my sister cannot have a pet in the apartment that she is renting. I begin to notice that the kitten is sneezing a LOT and seems to be very stuffed up. I take him to the vet again. I am still sure that I can find a home for this kitten and I can't very well pawn a sick cat off on someone! I tell the vet we have been calling the kitten "Lucky". He has only gained .2 lbs (which is not enough) and I find out that he has an upper respiratory infection and conjuntivitis (pink eye). I get him the medicine he needs and leave with the sudden realization that this cat is going nowhere but home with me. Poor Dan.....

We change the kitten's name to "Emmett" (Lauren and I are both big Twilight fans). Baxter and Olive are not thrilled to have a new addition to the house. He knocks the ornaments off the tree and climbs up into it. My poor artificial tree shakes and the branches get bent. But the kids and I are loving this kitten. He is so playful and lovable. When I pick him up he cuddles up to my face and licks my chin. So cute!

FAST FORWARD to this week: Emmett is excessively sneezing again. Back to the vet. He gets a booster shot and more antibiotics. He is up to 3.2 lbs. I ask when he can get "fixed". He needs to weigh between 5 and 6 lbs. I am starting to realize that this fostering turned adoption project is getting kind of expensive. But we love this little ball of energy and we wouldn't trade him for the world!