Mozzarella: Queen of Foster Cats
Back in May I had no idea what I was taking on when I agreed to take in a family of foster cats independent of a rescue organization. While I had multiple years of previous foster experience, nothing could have prepared me for the plethora of health issues and drama that would go into raising this family and getting them ready for adoption.
While I can’t share all the details from where these cats originated, it was essentially from a hoarding situation of a good hearted person who was trying to do rescue, but ended up with DOZENS of cats and kittens in her home and became overwhelmed when they all got sick.
I had been told that this family was healthy, and had not been in contact with the sick cats, but I could immediately see that they were all suffering from severe upper respiratory infections and particularly aggressive eye infections. A couple weeks later they started showing symptoms of ringworm. As they were in treatment for that, mama Mozzarella developed a urinary tract infection and kidney stones.
The moment I received confirmation that the cats were cleared of ringworm, I immediately moved Motzi out of the foster room. Having already raised two litters of kittens, she was tired of getting pounced on by her giant babies and she was ready to be on her own. Getting her out of quarantine also enabled her to really come out of her shell and share more of her awesome personality.
Her kittens were able to be spayed and neutered shortly after being cleared from ringworm and were adopted quickly. But Mozzarella needed more time to recover from her UTI and stones. She was on medication and a prescription diet. It was a bit of trial and error to find foods she would eat and to get into a routine of taking her meds. But true to the stellar cat she is, she put up with all of it. Her attitude remained happy, playful, and affectionate.
After what seemed like forever, Motzi was finally cleared for spay surgery! I scheduled the surgery at a private practice instead of a high volume clinic to ensure she received fluids and increased monitoring during her procedure, something high volume clinics are not able to offer. In her pre-surgical exam her bloodwork showed she could handle the anesthesia, but a couple of loose teeth were also identified. Fortunately we were able to add dental extractions at the same time as her spay surgery.
Her surgery was a success and when she came home that day, she was just as playful as ever; she showed no evidence of pain or discomfort. I had to hide her toys to prevent her from overexerting herself because of how good she felt. A few days later, after >5-months of foster care and treatment for countless ailments, she finally found a home!
Mozzarella is one of the most special cats I have ever fostered, and she fully integrated into my household and life. Waking up this morning without her was sad, but thinking about how she is now in her forever home finally getting to live the life she deserves makes it all worth it.