A late heat weave in 2012 triggered a late kitten wave, extending peak kitten season beyond its usual bounds. The Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) was deluged with kittens and desperately in need of foster parents to provide temporary homes for them.
During late 2012, we had batch after batch of kittens staying with us. Thankfully, all of these batches of kittens were well-behaved, good with their litter boxes, well-adjusted, and friendly from day one, so there were no socialization and training issues to deal with and we were able to put their profiles up on the VOKRA website right away.
We found good adoptive homes for them all quite quickly because the majority of the kittens were tabbies and grays (black cats are the least likely to be adopted, despite studies indicating that they tend to have the best temperaments).
The first batch of kitten stormers included Jazz Hands (named because she had some great paw moves when playing), Isis (a sleek black little panther), Hera (a kitten with striking blue eyes), and Dash (a shy little guy who looked like a small wildcat rather than a domestic).
Once the first group had been adopted, we brought home six new ones. This group had been with another foster parent who had to give them up but had already named them. All had bear-related names such as Boo and Yogi. We had these nice, friendly little guys for a very short time before they were all snapped up.
Next we had Rocket (named for his energy and speed), Salomon, Minerva, and McConkey, another sweet, easy group. McConkey had the endearing habit of sitting for hours on our laps and kissing and washing our fingers. He was also unusually generous toward our adult cats. Normally the adults do all the washing and receive little if any reciprocation from the kittens, but McConkey was a loving little soul who spent his cuddle time washing others.
After the third group, we were able to give our resident cats a break for the rest of the year until early 2013, when the spring batches of foster kittens began arriving on the scene.
I’ve added a little gallery of the kitten swarm of 2012 below as they were all very photogenic.
For more foster kitten profiles, see the main Foster Kitten Photo Diary page. Visit the main Cats page for information about cat psychology, behavior, communication, training, feeding, and pregnant cat and kitten care.