A Cambridgeshire charity is calling upon cat lovers to open their homes (and hearts) to pregnant felines. The Woodgreen Pets Charity is looking for volunteers to foster pregnant cats and help look after the kittens for the first few weeks.
The peak breeding season for cats is well underway with the team at Woodgreen Pets Charity currently caring for more than 150 cats and kittens. While many of these cute cats and kittens stay on-site at the charity’s new Cat Care Centre in Cambridgeshire there are volunteers called ‘moggy midwives’ who help care for the friendly felines in their own home as the number of pregnant cats grows during ‘kitten season’.
Woodgreen Pets Charity is now appealing to Cambridgeshire residents to become a ‘moggy midwife’ to foster cats through pregnancy and the kittens’ adorable first few weeks. It is completely free and no previous experience is needed, all you need is a spare room in your home.
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As a ‘moggy midwife’ you will spend around 10-12 weeks nurturing and caring for the felines from the moment you bring the pregnant cat home and settle her in, to helping her through labour and preparing the kittens ready to be rehomed when they’re around nine weeks old. From time to time fosterers take on kittens who have already been born to look after them through the “weaning and socialisation process” until they are matched with a loving family.
(Image: Michelle Hurley)
Anyone interested in fostering a cat for Woodgreen will receive full training and all the supplies needed. All you need is a room in your home, such as a spare bedroom or dining area which you can dedicate to the cats for a couple of months, as well as access to a vehicle and time to care for and make sure the kittens are “healthy, happy and well-socialized”.
Woodgreen Pets Charity explains that as the cat and kittens will be tucked away safely in your home, the cat’s “maternal instincts will do most of the work” adding that it doesn’t matter if you work full-time, part-time, or have any other pets, children or have a generally busy household. One Cambridgeshire resident, Michelle Hurley has been a Woodgreen fosterer for three years and enjoys it so much she’s even created a bespoke ‘cat room’ in her home, all complete with a birthing bed, litter tray area, observation cameras, speakers for soothing music and an impressive Aristocats mural wall.
Talking about her experiences as a Woodgreen fosterer, Michelle Hurley said: “I have a lot of love to give, but can’t commit to having more pets, so this is the perfect solution. I’ve had three cats give birth in my family’s care and although each time is different, building a bond with a cat at her most vulnerable time and getting her trust is amazing. The hardest part is giving the kittens back as you invest a lot of time and emotion into them, but it’s the best decision I’ve ever made and our whole family now gets involved.”
(Image: Michelle Hurley)
Another Cambridgeshire fosterer who has looked after three litters of kittens during the weaning and socialisation process in her home is Emma Carey. She said: “My last foster pets were a mum, Tila, and her four two-week-old kittens: Peanut, Walnut, Pistachio and Pecan. It was brilliant to watch them grow from tiny things with their eyes only just opening to bouncy, energetic balls of character.
“I now have the very beautiful and affectionate Cookie on foster, who’s due to give birth any day now. She’s an absolute darling who unfortunately only had her last litter of kittens 12 weeks ago, and is now ready to pop again. Cookie hasn’t been here long and we’ve already been cuddling, playing and feeding her up with nutritious food. I’m really looking forward to experiencing birth and newborns.”
Anyone interesting in becoming a ‘moggy midwife’ can find out more and apply via the Woodgreen website here. No previous experience is needed as the team at Woodgreen will provide training and be on hand every step of the way as you look after some adorable kittens.
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