Sample Story

When the Sandton SPCA called me at 11pm on a Tuesday, I knew it was serious. A litter of five kittens had been found in a cardboard box behind a shopping centre. They were barely a week old — eyes still closed, umbilical cords attached. The shelter was full and the neonatal unit had no space. Could I take them?

I had fostered adult cats before but never neonates. The shelter provided formula, bottles, a heating pad, and a crash course in round-the-clock feeding every two hours. My alarm went off at midnight, 2am, 4am, 6am. For three weeks straight.

Two of the kittens were weak and I genuinely feared we would lose them. But with warmth, consistent feeding, and gentle stimulation, all five pulled through. By week four they opened their eyes. By week six they were tumbling over each other on my living room floor.

All five were adopted within days of being listed on the shelter's page. I cried when they left, but I knew that every kitten I fostered freed up space for another animal in crisis.

I have since fostered twelve more litters. Emergency fostering is exhausting, emotional, and one of the most meaningful things I have ever done.