In a touching story from The Dodo, a man who decided to foster a cat had his life forever changed when he met his first foster kitty and discovered a hidden love of felines.
Not a cat person
Meet Abdul, he described himself as a “non-cat person” until the day he saw an email about a shelter cat named Bambi.
He found Bambi, an adorable tabby kitten, in a kill shelter in North Carolina and saved her from a grim fate by fostering her.
As soon as he met her, they bonded. She had anxiety and he did too, through their bonding he discovered that in each other’s presence they helped to calm each other down.
As much as he rescued her, Abdul feels that she rescued him right back.
From foster to forever
With a bond so strong, it was no surprise that Abdul adopted his first foster cat, Bambi, and her foster home became her forever home.
His passion for helping cats did not end there, after fostering a few more cats he became addicted to the altruistic endeavor.
Abdul has been fostering cats over the past two years, at any given time, he has two or three fosters at a time. If a foster cat has a sibling, he prefers to keep them together.
Sharing his home with his fosters feels like living with family, so it’s bittersweet when a cat finds their forever home as a piece of Abdul’s heart leaves too.
Altogether, he has fostered eighteen cats. Fortunately, all the fosters have found their forever homes.
Lessons Learned
Fostering cats has taught Abdul that cats just want the simple things in life: love, attention, and a little playtime.
He continues to foster cats and does not see himself stopping in the foreseeable future.
You can follow Abdul’s adventures in fostering cats on his Instagram page or on TikTok
Fostering cats save lives
The act of fostering abandoned and unwanted cats is a tremendous act of love and dedication. Fostering helps cats in so many ways.
Lending a helping hand can socialize cats, and in other cases, fostering and bonding with a caring person helps injured or abused cats recover from traumatic situations.
And one of the greatest benefits of fostering includes cats avoiding euthanasia in kill shelters.
Fostering cats is a great act of service, cats rescued from these dire circumstances understand and are so grateful to the humans that adopt and foster them.
People who foster do so with the intention to help rescue and save lives and the greatest secret fosters come to realize is that cats rescue them right back.
You can learn more about the benefits of fostering cats by visiting the ASPCA website.
Share your thoughts
Have you fostered a cat before?
What is the greatest lesson you have learned in fostering animals?
Leave a comment below.
Don’t forget to share this heartwarming story with a friend.