Bellingham woman provides foster home to cats

JOSIE LIMING

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Joy Moore plays with Sassy on the couch at her Birch Bay home while LG soaks up the attention of the camera. Both cats are available for adoption.

To provide a volunteer foster home for adult cats, Moore has converted two rooms of her home specifically for use by the cats, including 13 litter boxes. Moore has helped 105 cats find permanent homes since 2005. She refers to her home as the Kitty Kollege.

�We�ve always had kitties in the family. It got started when a friend found a box of seven kittens left by the side of the road in Blaine. Those were the first ones I fostered. Now I prefer adult cats, because they have a special need. It�s very fulfilling to have the adult cats find the right home. You cannot be sad around kitties. The statistics prove that being around animals is healthy. They give me back more than I give them.

| JOSIE LIMING | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

�There was a kitty that was hiding at the shelter and we named her Shiloh, because she was so shy. She sat up in the corner for months, only coming down occasionally. This couple came to see the kitties and Shiloh came down, walked right in there and jumped in his lap. It was like, �whoa.� It was so bizarre. The other ones that have been really special are the ones that have had leg surgery and are in casts and need to be isolated. I have some indoor enclosures and those cats are really special when they heal and get adopted.

�The last adoption was Dandy. His name was Crusty at the shelter, because he�d come in, someone had seen him thrown from a van and he had all of these sores and scabs, so the staff named him Crusty. We changed his name to Dandy, because he was the perfect cat and he got a perfect home.

�The first step is to look online and talk with shelter staff about what you�re looking for. Then it�s just a matter of matching and taking the time. People come and they�re here for two hours. You pretty much come here and adopt, too. There�s generally somebody who speaks to you. There are people who come with one cat in mind and take a different one home. It happens all the time.

�It�s easy to let them go because you know you can rescue another one. You get over it pretty fast. As much as you love them, going on to a new home is the focus.

�Fostering is really wonderful. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and connection with the community and there is such a need.�