Caitlin makes sure local cats have a 'Meowy Christmas'

By KATHLEEN LAMANNA- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

After Caitlin McDonald's Girl Scout troop visited the Saratoga County Animal Shelter, Caitlin immediately went home and asked her mom if she could foster kittens. As opposed to many young people who ask for pets, she got a "yes."

That was four years ago. Since then, the McDonalds have fostered hundreds of kittens in their Scotia home.

As a junior at Scotia-Glenville High School, Caitlin is involved in the school's Give Program, a community service group; and the Choralaires, a select choir. Her family attends St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in Schenectady. Caitlin also rides horses, plays piano and works at a laser tag arena.

But she always makes sure she has time to take care of "her" kittens.

The McDonalds usually get a litter of about three kittens at a time that are from three to six weeks old. They keep the kittens in their kitchen at first, making sure they can't escape by putting up a baby gate.

Caitlin said that once one tiny cat figures out how to get over the gate, the family usually takes it down, so the kittens don't get stuck on the other side.

"You have to give them a lot of attention," the teen told The Evangelist.

At first, the kittens can be a little shy, she said; but, after a week, their playful nature emerges.

The kittens, although they only stay in the McDonalds' home for a short time - two or three months at most - were Caitlin's first furry pets. She'd gotten a turtle when she was in elementary school, she said, but he wasn't very friendly.

Caitlin's mother had always frowned on the idea of getting another full-time pet after her cat passed away, a heartbreaking experience. The teen still isn't sure why her mom changed her mind and allowed her to start fostering kittens.

Caitlin appreciates the joy and comfort she gets from having kittens around, even temporarily.

"They're always there for you," she explained, saying that the kittens keep her grounded.

Besides, she said, "sometimes, it's nice to have something that doesn't want to talk."

Fostering kittens isn't all about fun. The kittens keep Caitlin on a pretty regimented cleaning schedule between the various cat beds, litter boxes and crates they need.

"When I have a lot of homework, I don't always clean," she admitted.

The McDonalds usually take a break from fostering during the holidays, so their home is cat-free at the moment, but Caitlin told The Evangelist that she never worries about kittens climbing the Christmas tree.

"We keep our Christmas tree up until March," she said. "Most of the time, they just bat at the ornaments."

In the four years that Caitlin has been fostering kittens, she has only had one "foster fail," where she kept the cat. "Sammy," a female orange tabby, came to her as a feral kitten.

"I got this big cage and put her in [it] next to my bed," Caitlin remembered. "We put her in the bathroom, and I'd go in and do my homework in there."

Caitlin said that Sammy doesn't like it when she goes on vacation or isn't home for a few days. When the teen went on a trip last summer, Sammy lost weight and began over-grooming her leg, licking the fur right off.

"She's a really weird cat," Caitlin laughed, saying that Sammy gets mad whenever the family gets a new litter of kittens. But, when it comes time for the kittens to leave, Sammy gets upset at not having them around.

While many Catholics spend holiday time collecting items for people in need, Caitlin enticed parishioners at St. Kateri's to donate canned pâté food for cats, old clean towels, blankets, kitty litter, paper towels and cat toys for the Saratoga County Animal Shelter. It was her chosen service project for the National Honor Society.[[In-content Ad]]