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A family’s love gives kittens a second chance
College of the Rockies People: Their Courage, Curiosity, and Contributions
Heather Wik, coordinator of College of the Rockies’ Child, Youth and Family Studies (CYFS) programs and Education Assistant instructor, was raised in a family that respected and treasured animals. As a result, she grew up with a deep love of animals, a fondness she is passing on to her two teenage daughters, Bethany and Kaitlin.
Since 2014, the Wik family has acted as a foster family for the East Kootenay Branch of the BC SPCA.
The family’s first foster experience came about by accident. Wik and her daughters happened to be at the East Kootenay branch of the SPCA when a box of kittens in need of a foster home were brought in. They immediately volunteered to take them.
They have acted as a foster family, primarily for kittens, every year since, sometimes more than once in a year.
“It’s great modeling for our kids,” Wik said. “To care for, nurture, and love an animal, and then give it up so it can be a wonderful pet for someone else is a great thing. It’s hard work sometimes, but it is highly rewarding.”
Fostering animals has sometimes involved bottle feedings every 90 minutes, constant weight monitoring, and once in a while, heartbreak. The Wik family first experienced this sorrow when two premature, orphaned kittens they fostered did not survive.
“My daughter was holding the little male when he died,” Wik said. “It’s hard, and you cry, but there is comfort in knowing that this little kitten died fed, warm, and loved.”
Out of that painful experience came a great source of joy, however. When returning supplies to the SPCA, Wik was informed that a third kitten had been discovered and was in need of care. Wik took the four-or-five-day old kitten home where she was given the name Stella. Despite her very difficult start, Stella, survived.
Once she was old enough, a forever family was found for Stella. On the first day with her new family, however, Wik received a panicked phone call requesting that she come take the kitten back. Though the family and Stella had spent time together and seemed to have bonded, Stella was not coping well with her new surroundings.
“I’d never seen anything like it,” Wik said. “She was hissing and doing back flips and was totally out of control. I called her name and she came running to me and put her front legs around my ankle. When I picked her up she buried herself in my neck and started purring.”
Stella is now a much beloved member of the Wik family, joining Kitty, their 10-year-old cat, Cooper, their 10-year old Australian Shepherd, and Tucker, their six-year-old Rough Collie, all of whom were rescues or re-homed.
Recently the Wik’s cared for seven newborn kittens for three months. Though saying goodbye after so many weeks of bonding can be difficult, the Wik’s keep it in perspective.
“We know that we are an interim situation,” Wik said. “But still, you know it is going to hurt, you know you’re going to cry, but it feels really good to have done something for not just the kittens, but for the families that will welcome them into their homes.”
Two of the kittens were adopted by Wik’s college colleague, Tara Ramdin, Human Service Worker and Psychology instructor. She is appreciative of the effort the Wik’s put forth in caring for her two new family members.
“Heather and family did such an amazing job of raising these kittens,” Ramdin said. “I visited Fitz and Merlin at Heather’s house when they were about five weeks old and her entire living room was taken up with kitten toys, climbing posts and feeding apparatus. It was clear the care of the kittens was priority and the love they gave them is evident in their behaviour. They easily adapted to my home, even when it was filled with house guests. They are very playful but also love to cuddle.”
It is the ability to give cats and dogs, who might not have a chance otherwise, the opportunity to thrive and live in loving forever homes that makes fostering such a wonderful experience for the Wik family.
“I just love that it’s a wonderful stepping stone between a potentially negative situation and a happy ending and we get to be a part of it.”
She also stresses that it is something that a lot of people can do.
“You don’t have to have a lot of space to foster,” she said. “And you can foster for short periods of time or for longer periods. The SPCA is great at adapting to your current availability, and they supply everything you need for the animals in your care.”
Though saying goodbye at the end of a foster situation can be emotional, the Wiks have not lost perspective.
“As we were preparing to say goodbye to our latest litter of foster kittens, my 13-year old daughter said, ‘Mom, you can’t withhold love for fear of letting go’.”
The Wik family plans to keep sharing their love for animals, and giving them a chance for forever homes, for many more years.
Anyone interested in fostering can contact the East Kootenay branch of the BC SPCA or go onto their website and fill out the online application form.
Lead image: Fostering kittens presents many adorable moments, like bottle-feeding Stella. Photos submitted
College of the Rockies
