When a kitty-fostering couple was asked to care for a tiny, 20-day old kitten named Pokey, they had no idea the huge role he would play in their lives. Pokey was the 10th foster kitty the couple had taken in — so, initially; it was only a temporary arrangement.
Pokey was originally found outside, wandering all by his lonesome with no mother in sight. Rescuers learned he was a singleton kitty and seemed to be all alone. Singletons often require in-depth care and extra affection— and little Pokey was no different. The kitty was very needy, but also very cuddly, and his foster Mom did everything she could to help him feel safe.
“I just carried him around against my chest all day for the first couple weeks,” Pokey’s mom told The Dodo.
“I think that really created this very strong bond that Pokey and I have”
When it was time for Pokey to leave his foster home, the couple was not thrilled. The kitty was old enough to be placed for adoption— but after so much bonding, they just couldn’t let him go. They decided to adopt Pokey themselves.
After adopting their foster kitty, Pokey’s owners took a break from fostering other cats and kittens. Pokey was still fairly new to the home, and they figured it best he had some time to adjust before being surrounded by new cats.
By the time Pokey was about 2-3 years old, his owners were ready to take in a new litter of foster kittens and were curious to see how Pokey would react. To everyone’s surprise, however, Pokey was overjoyed to have kittens he could care for— and he quickly took to one kitten, in particular— a tiny guy named Sprout.
Sprout, like Pokey, was a singleton kitten that needed extra special love and care. And luckily for Sprout, Pokey was more than happy to give!
It was obvious that Pokey understood the struggles and of being a lonely kitten— and he took on his caretaking role with ease.
From that moment on, Pokey spent every day giving, homeless kittens the love and attention they so craved— and soon, foster kitten care became Pokey’s natural specialty.
“That’s been Pokey’s sort of biggest asset, really,” his humans said.
“He does such a good job with other single kittens that we now sort of specialize in singletons.”
So far, Pokey and his parents have fostered about 90 cats and kittens— and at this stage of the game, Pokey definitely knows what’s up.
Many times, when kittens are initially brought in, they need to be quarantined in a separate room. Pokey wasn’t really a fan of that whole set-up and quickly learned to open doors to gain access to his furry friends.
“I think the first time he did it was when there were kittens in the foster room. He is just obsessed with kittens! We’d have to just like, pile things in front of the door to keep him from opening it”
Pokey seems to have natural kitten-training instincts. He knows what kittens need to feel loved and is more than willing to train and parent them. “Pokey will groom them,” his humans said. “You know, helping to clean off their face and then teaching them how to groom, teaching them how they can play.”
Seeing his kitten friends go to a new home can take a toll on little Pokey. For the first few days after a kitten leaves, he gets super sad and lonely. Luckily, after this short period of grief, Pokey becomes increasingly restless, eagerly awaiting the arrival of new kittens to cuddle and care for.
“It’s really rewarding.”
Hear his story below!
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This cat learned to open doors all by himself so he could meet the new kittens 😻 pic.twitter.com/itWLpYxIMj
— The Dodo (@dodo) April 2, 2018
