From Fostering to Adopting, Part 1 – My Story 從代養到領養, 1: 我的親身體驗

 

After adopting Soji many years ago, who was a rescued cat, we decided that instead of buying an animal, we’d adopt. Almost 10 million pets are euthanized in shelters in the US alone every year, and among them, most are cats. Since a lot of animals enter the shelter everyday, space is very limited. Unfortunately the ones who don’t get adopted within a certain amount of time are often euthanized, unless it’s a no-kill shelter. Offering foster care or adoption to your local shelters can make a whole lot of difference to the shelters, to the animals, and even in your own life! This is one such story, my own.

When Soji passed away almost a year ago, my husband asked if I’d like to adopt. As much as I would have liked to, I knew I just wasn’t capable at the time. After talking it over, we decided that we’d volunteer as a foster family. We inquired at the SPCA in Quebec, who explained to us that sometimes they have pets who need special care for a short time before they are put up for adoption. Since shelters generally don’t have enough space, they often need to put animals temporarily in a foster home. Also, we’ve had many years of experience with cats, so they were more than happy to have people like us volunteer as a foster family. We signed the agreement and within a short time, we got a call from the shelter to take care of a sick cat for a week.

 

When we went to the shelter to pick up the cat, they explained to us how to administer the medicine and told us a little bit about his personality. They kept saying how sweet he was, and sure enough, the minute they brought out the cat, he immediately leaped into my hubby’s arms, then up onto his shoulders! It was as if they had known each other before and were reunited!! Everyone around us was amazed at how lovable this cat was, as you could hear by their sounds of delight and surprise.

Unlike many cats, he loves being held and is a real hugger. It was funny how we’d always wanted to be able to hug Soji, but were never quite comfortable with it. Now, without looking for that kind of cat, one came to us; it felt like a gift from Soji. It’s unbelievable, and yet, as much as we loved this new cat, we still missed Soji very much. When I took out Soji’s blankets, her litter box, and her leftover food for the cat, I got very emotional again. My hubby kept asking me if I’d like to keep the cat, and I said no several times. I was feeling guilty toward Soji, and not sure if I could make this cat happy. Two days before we were to return him, I started to feel really torn and confused. I knew I loved him, but at the same time, I was afraid to give my love, then lose it once again. I struggled back and forth, cried many times, and finally…I decided to keep him!

 

 

How often do you meet a cat that loves to hug and be held?

能遇上非常喜愛抱人與被抱的MouMou，真的很難得！

 

  
We came up with two names that night. I thought, a special cat like him deserves a unique name. The shelter had named him Oreo—since no one knew what his original name was, but we felt that wasn’t unique enough for him. I wrote down each name on a piece of paper and held them out inside my two closed fists to let him choose. In the end, he chose the name that we both liked: MouMou! "Mou" is the French adjective meaning "soft." It suits him very well because his fur is indeed very soft and fluffy. On the other hand, he also has very soft voice; and his personality is super sweet (he is soft-hearted). On top of all that, his fur has a cow pattern– get it? "Moo, Moo." So that’s the story of his name!

A few months after keeping MouMou, we had the pleasure of fostering another kitty, to whom we gave the temporary name, "Little Baby," for lack of a better name (and knowing we couldn’t keep him). Little Baby was only 5 months old with a serious broken leg. We ended up taking him to the vet ourselves in order to give him the proper care he needed, and spent almost 6 weeks with him. The time and care we gave him naturally made us very attached to him. We really wanted to keep him, but at our visit to the vet, we also found out that MouMou had feline AIDS, which is transmissible to other cats. Sadly, we had no choice but to part with Little Baby…. Fortunately, with his leg healed, bouncy Little Baby was adopted within two days of our returning him, so it was bittersweet.

 

Even though we were told we could no longer foster cats for the SPCA because of MouMou’s condition, I’m glad we volunteered and got to know both MouMou and Little Baby. I don’t know if my story will convince you to foster or to adopt, but I can say this much: on top of the love they gave us, both MouMou and Little Baby brought us three Ls - Lightness, Laughter, and Life when we needed it most. I admit that I went through phases, even questioning myself if I was able to give him the same amount of love I gave to Soji. In the end, I was able to stop comparing them and love both of them without questioning myself. I didn’t let my fear stop me from loving MouMou; I had no regrets, only gratitude: Thank you, Soji, for bringing MouMou into our lives, and thank you, MouMou (and Little Baby, too) for taking us out of the darkness of our own sorrow.

 

 

   

  

  

好幾年前，在領養了Soji之後，我和老公就對自己說，我們以後絕對會再領養，而不會到寵物店購買。光是在美國，每年就有將近一千萬隻的動物在動物之家被安樂死，而這之中大多數為貓咪。由於每天進入動物之家的動物數量很高，動物之家的空間又非常有限，所以很不幸的，動物之家只能將那些在預定的時間內未能被領養的動物安樂死，除非是比較特別的No-Kill動物之家(這種動物之家也是有限定的空間，不同的是，他們會等到有動物被領養、有空的位置才會再接受新的流浪動物)。提供寵物代養或領養，不但可以為我們的動物之家及動物們帶來許多的好處及幫助，對我們的生活也會增添許多樂趣，以下我所要分享給大家的就是我自己的故事~

 

大約在一年前，繼Soji離開之後，老公問我是否想要領養。雖然我很想，但當時才經歷那麼大的打擊，我知道我沒有能力馬上去做這件事。屢次與老公商量之後，我們決定志願做代養家庭。首先，我們找了魁北克的保護動物協會(SPCA)與他們詢問代養流浪貓咪這件事，他們表示有的時候當他們有太多的流浪貓與狗，的確是很需要代養家庭來幫助他們照顧一些特殊情況的貓與狗，並短期給予他們一個安靜又舒適的地方休息，況且，我們又已養過貓，他們更是可以放心的把貓咪讓我們照顧。就這樣，我們與SPCA簽了代養合約書，之後過了幾個星期，就接到他們的來電，請我們過去接一隻生病並需要被代養約一星期的貓咪。 到了SPCA接貓咪時，他們先讓我們知道這隻貓咪的性格，並向我們解釋如何給貓咪服藥等等，他們不停的說他是多麼的愛撒嬌。果然，貓咪在被工作人員帶出來後，馬上跳進老公的懷裡，再坐到他的肩膀上！那景象就如同走丢的流浪貓再見到他的飼主、與他的飼主重聚的溫馨畫面似的！當時周圍的所有人，也都為他這樣的舉止而感到驚訝 ⊙０⊙，因為很少有貓咪會在第一次見面時那麼熱情又不怕生!

 

 

  

The hammock was provided by the SPCA to encourage people to adopt. It immediately became MouMou’s favourite hangout spot!

 

那張吊床是由保護動物協會為了鼓勵更多人領養而贈送的，現在他成為了MouMou最喜愛的地方~

 

回家之後，發現這隻貓有一點很不尋常的地方 - 他非常喜歡抱人與被抱。還有巧合的是，我們之前一直都很想要把Soji抱在懷裡，但是她從小不是與我們一起長大，又不太習慣，所以我們很少將她抱在懷中。現在，我們不刻意去挑，竟能遇到像他這樣的貓咪，覺得好像是Soji特別安排的。不過，即使我們是那麼的喜歡這隻貓咪，心裡面還是對Soji念念不忘。那幾天，把之前Soji用過的東西與沒吃完的食物拿出來給貓咪，又讓我更加的難過。老公幾度問我是否想把貓咪留下來，我好幾次都狠心的說不行，因為我深怕會對不起Soji。直到要帶他回去保護動物協會的前兩天，我的心情變的越來越沈重、又訥悶，我知道我其實內心很捨不得與這隻可愛的貓說再見，但我同時又很怕自己無法帶給他快樂。終於…在掙扎又哭了好久之後決定把他給留下來！

那天晚上，我馬上為他想了兩個名字。我想，像他如此特別的貓咪，應該替他想個特別的名字。雖然他的脖子上有綁圍巾，肯定有人養過，但他是在街上被人發現的，沒有人知道他之前叫什麼名字，所以保護動物協會替他取名為Oreo(一種巧克力與奶油夾心餅，顏色呈黑白色)。我將之前想好的兩個名字分別寫在兩張紙上，再把它們摺起來分別放入手心裡給他選，結果他選了非常適合他、也是我和老公都喜歡的MouMou！Mou是法文形容詞，它的意思是柔軟的，剛好他的毛既篷鬆又柔軟、聲音也很柔、他的性格也非常溫和與善良，再加上他身上的毛色，就像乳牛一樣是黑白色，MouMou的發音也像哞哞，真是再適合他不過的了！

繼領養MouMou幾個月之後，我們又幫保護動物協會代養一隻小貓。因為知道這次僅僅是短期的代養，我們並沒有特別為他取名，就叫他Little Baby。這隻小貓只有5個月大，並且前面的一隻腿有嚴重的骨折，為了讓他恢復的更好、並得到更適當的醫療照顧，我們帶他去獸醫並自費所有的醫療費用，順便也給MouMou與Little Baby抽血檢查，結果沒想到竟然意外的發現MouMou有貓愛滋，原來保護動物協會完全沒有幫他們做檢查！雖然貓愛滋並不會傳染給人，但是若沒有將他與Little Baby隔開，是有可能會傳染的。除此之外，這也表示即使我們想要領養Little Baby，也是不可能的，若想要再領養一隻貓，一定要像MouMou有貓愛滋才行。一個多月到了之後，在難分難捨的情況下，我們只好硬著頭皮把Little Baby帶回去保護動物協會，那幾個星期，我只要想到Little Baby，幾乎每天都會流淚。不過值得令我們高興的是，他在我們細心的照顧之下，受傷的腿已幾乎完全恢復，並且在短短的兩天之內就被領養走了！

雖然我們與Little Baby告別、和發現MouMou有貓愛滋之後都很傷心，而保護動物協會也說我們將無法再幫他們代養，但是我們一點也不後悔領養MouMou，也很高興能代養Little Baby。我不知道是否能說服大家多幫忙代養或領養，但我誠懇的告訴大家，這段日子裡，我學習與獲得不少東西。MouMou與Little Baby不但給予我們很多的愛，也為我們的生活增添了許多的希望、樂趣與生命。即使我當時經歷了幾個不同階段的傷痛，甚至不停的質疑自己是否有能力再去領養、再次付出。最終，我沒有讓我的恐懼阻止我對MouMou的愛，也能夠不去比較Soji與MouMou，並給他們同樣的愛心與照顧。我對領養MouMou這件事沒有任何的怨言，我對他只有感激：

Soji，謝謝妳將MouMou帶到我們的生活中；謝謝MouMou(和Little Baby)將我們從黑暗裡帶到光明的世界！(=^･ｪ･^=)~♡

Little Baby first came to us wrapped with a leg bandage. The SPCA told us they didn't know what the problem was, other than that he was limping on it. They asked us to monitor his leg and said if he wasn't able to use it, they would amputate it! We were very concerned, and suspected his leg might be broken, so we decided to take him to our own vet to get him checked out. As it turned out, it was indeed a broken leg, so our vet suggested we put his leg in a splint to help ensure that his leg heals more properly and quickly, which we did. By the time he left us, he was running around healthily on all fours.

剛遇見Little Baby時，他的前腿有嚴重的骨折，保護動物協會只用繃帶固定他那隻腿，並沒有說清楚是怎麼回事或有多嚴重，他們甚至說如果帶回去給他們的時候腿還沒恢復，有可能要節肢？！我們非常替他擔心，決定自己帶Little Baby去看獸醫，做更進一步的檢查。還好醫生在照了X光後說不是太嚴重，並且只要在繃帶裡加上一支棒子固定，腿就可以恢復的較好又快 速。 

Saying goodbye to Little Baby was one of the most difficult things! This picture was taken the day before we took him back to the SPCA. I kept holding him and telling him how much we love him and will miss him. I almost couldn't let go of him...

要和Little Baby說再見，是當時對我來說最難的事！這張照片是帶他回去保護動物協會前一天照的，因為很捨不得讓他走，好幾次把他抱在懷裡、並告訴他我們有多麼的愛他和將會多麼的想念他…