Ten months ago, I was coming home from a day out with my best friend and her daughter when we discovered a litter of kittens on my front porch. An unfixed feral cat that roams my neighborhood had decided my bench was the perfect spot to have her babies, and I was not happy.
Don’t get me wrong — I love cats, but I did not need (or want) a feral cat colony at my house.
Then things got trickier. I noticed one of the kittens had been pushed away from the rest of the litter –– if you don’t know much about animals, this is not usually a good sign. It can mean a few things: maybe it’s sick, maybe it doesn’t know how to latch, or maybe it’s just temporary, and will get better. You have to wait and see.
By the next day, the mother cat had moved all of her kittens to some new location except one –– the runt I found on day one. I waited nearly eight hours for her to come back, and when it was clear the baby was abandoned, I ran to the store, got formula, and decided I was going to rescue the abandoned orange baby.
I raised animals growing up and was active in 4-H. I’ve helped bottle-feed countless goats, sheep, horses, cows, and puppies, but none of them were ever my responsibility –– they usually belonged to friends. But I know how to make a bottle, and once we did that, the problem immediately became clear –– the newborn couldn’t latch.
Over the weekend, I fed him every two hours, and when Monday morning came around, I called the Comal County Humane Society to ask for help. I didn’t really want to keep him (spoiler alert, I did), but as it turned out they didn’t have any foster parents who could bottle feed which meant if I didn’t take care of the kitten, he was going to die. Within an hour my partner and I were at the Humane Society filling out the paperwork to be the kitten’s official foster family.
The amazing team at the Humane Society explained that as the foster parent, they cover all the costs associated with his early care. We didn’t have to pay for formula, litter, wet food, vaccines, or his neutering. And at the end of it all, we only had to pay for the adoption fee.
Every two weeks we’d take him in to get his weight and a general wellness checkup. He grew slowly at first, and it felt like it took forever to get him to the proper weight for his vaccines, but after that, he blossomed.
We named him Oliver –– like Oliver & Company, the Disney film based on Oliver Twist about an orange cat that was taken in by dogs. Within a few months, he was ready to be neutered and on that day, he officially became ours and literally scrambled into my arms when the veterinarian assistants brought him out at pickup time.
Since taking in Oliver, I’ve appreciated the experience I had fostering him and learning about the process firsthand. That experience made me wonder if Guadalupe County offers anything similar for people who end up in situations like I did.
For this story I reached out to the Guadalupe County Humane Society as well as Seguin Animal Services with questions about their programs and what they do for the community.
When I spoke to the Guadalupe Humane Society I learned that their program is a lot like the one I went through in New Braunfels. Foster parents are desperately needed, not just for bottle babies, but for older pets as well. Foster parents become surrogate pet-parents offering shelter animals the opportunity to live with a family while awaiting their forever home.
While the Guadalupe County Humane Society serves the county as a 501c3 non-profit organization, Seguin Animal Services (SAS) offers similar options within the city limits.
SAS plays an integral role in the life of animals within the community providing services including animal control, sheltering stray and abandoned animals as well as offering adoption and fostering programs. They also manage livestock permits and work to address issues such as animal cruelty and overpopulation.
Shelter manager Shelley Lutz provided additional insight.
“Seguin residents should know that we are here as a resource for the community,” Lutz said. “Whether it’s helping reunite lost pets with their families, offering adoption opportunities for animals in need, or addressing public safety concerns, our work is rooted in compassion and service. We encourage residents to reach out for assistance, whether they need help managing a pet or have questions about animal laws and ordinances in the city. Seguin Animal Services operates as a municipal shelter, which means we are funded and managed by the city to serve the needs of the community. Our primary focus includes public safety and addressing city ordinances related to animals, in addition to promoting adoptions. Unlike many humane societies, which are privately funded nonprofits, we are tasked with taking in all animals within city limits, including stray, abandoned, and sometimes aggressive animals. Despite these challenges, we work tirelessly to give every animal the best care possible.”
Lutz went on to share with me that the biggest concern facing the animals in SAS’ care is overpopulation and abandoned animals.
“The biggest concern we face today is overpopulation, particularly with stray and abandoned animals,” she said. “This not only places a strain on our resources but also impacts the quality of life for these animals. Additionally, ensuring animals receive proper medical care and finding homes for long-term residents remain challenges. That’s why programs like adoption, fostering, and TNR are so critical—they help us manage these issues and provide better outcomes for the animals in our care.
With so many animals without homes, SAS works hard to get animals fostered or adopted, but this is difficult to manage given the overpopulation issues. That’s why adopters and foster parents are so important.
“Our adoption process starts with a simple application, which helps us ensure that the animal and adopter are a good match,” Lutz said. “Once approved, adopters are given resources and guidance to help them integrate their new pet into their home. Additionally, we offer a unique program called “Dogs Day Out,” where individuals can take one of our adoptable dogs on an outing for the day. This not only provides the dog with enrichment and exposure but also gives potential adopters a chance to bond with the animal in a relaxed, real-world setting.”
As Oliver is getting ready for his first birthday, I am reminded often of the hours we spent bottle feeding and the endless days of tiny mews that filled my home. Nowadays, he’s bonded with my other two cats and is a general menace, but much like the animals at both the Humane Society and SAS, his perfect home was waiting. He just had to find the right person.
For more information on how you can adopt, foster or take a pup out for a day, visit gchumanesociety.com or seguinanimalservices.com