Bonnie Finnigan is one of Sugar Land Animal Services top volunteers. Since 2015, Finnigan has fostered over 100 kittens from SLAS and more recently fostered a litter of five kittens until they were ready to be adopted – an example of just one way Sugar Land residents can give back to their community. Finnigan sat down with us to recount her experience as a foster and why others should consider it.
How long have you been a foster for Sugar Land Animal Services?
Since the spring of 2019, so 4 1/2 years.
Why do you foster?
Honestly, I love kittens. But I also really like all of the people I have worked with at Sugar Land Animal Services. They work hard to care for the animals abandoned in our community, and I wanted to contribute to the work they are doing.
What inspired you to begin fostering?
I was already volunteering with cleaning shifts at the shelter, and one day helped out with a bottle feeding and asked about fostering. I ended up fostering that set of three kittens and was completely hooked! I’m also inspired by foster accounts that I follow on Instagram. They do great work and provide a lot of educational content as well.
What is the benefit of fostering animals?
I love contributing in a lot of ways. I am helping the animals have the best care they can have in a home. I’m helping the staff by reducing their workload and stress. I’m helping the family that adopts the animals by providing a healthy and highly socialized furry family member. I have a friend of a friend who adopted one of my fosters, and a few months later told me the kitten was a companion to her newly retired husband — it had changed the quality of his life. I like knowing that something as simple as fostering a kitten can have that kind of an impact on people.
From morning to night, can you tell me what you do as a foster over the course of one day?
If the foster is an independent kitten (eating on their own), I typically weigh them first thing every morning to monitor weight gain then feed them their first meal. After taking care of their litter box and cleaning their area as needed, I typically feed them four meals at intervals throughout the day. If they are older or heading back to the shelter soon, their meals will only be two or three times a day. Then I simply spend time playing with them throughout the day. I also watch for any health issues and will communicate to obtain care from the vet tech and administer any needed meds as instructed.
For bottle babies, it’s much more time-intensive. I still start the day by weighing, feeding and cleaning. Depending on age, bottle babies will eat every two to four hours. In the first couple of weeks of life or if they are struggling, I will also weigh them before their evening feeding. I also schedule overnight feedings, usually at intervals an hour longer than the daytime feedings so every three to five hours. It’s a sacrifice for a few weeks to set alarms and lose a little sleep, but it’s totally worth it to have happy and healthy kittens. They are so much more healthy and content when they are on a good, predictable schedule.
Why do you think others should foster?
It’s not an easy job, so good, willing volunteers can be hard to find – especially for the higher commitment of bottle-baby fosters. But it is so rewarding to contribute to the welfare of the most vulnerable in the animal population. It’s also really fun to see them get adopted knowing how happy they will make their new family.
Have you ever foster-failed?
I honestly kind of dislike that term. In our volunteers Team Chat, we’ve started calling it “Foster Fortune.” I know we use it jokingly since we’ve failed to give the foster back, but I don’t ever think it should be considered a failure to add an animal to your family if you’re able to do so responsibly. During the last 4 1/2 years, I have fostered 114 kittens and have kept four. Each one of those were chosen in the months following the death of one of my own beloved pets. Two of those were single kittens that we bonded with due to the specific challenges of their care (one injured, one with horrible ringworm). Another was a single kitten who was just unique in the ways he cuddled and interacted constantly. The most recent was an older kitten that came in with a puncture wound that, based on behavior, was likely an abuse situation. He was precious, but completely shut down and the only evidence he ever moved was food being gone or a dirty litter box. I wasn’t sure anyone else would give him enough time to heal emotionally and behaviorally. We sarcastically named him “Skippy.” He’s made incredible progress growing into that name but will still run and hide if we approach him too quickly. He LOVES his foster friends though.
Fostering can be hard when it’s time to put them up for adoption, but I’m constantly reminded that we have to allow our fosters to be adopted so we can continue to help others. Sometimes getting to see really happy people adopting at the shelter reminds me it’s completely worth it to share the love.
For more information on how to foster, visit https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/2239/Become-a-Foster
This interview was edited for grammar and clarity.