10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS ANIMALS Fostering cats The Huron Valley Humane Society has an animal foster care program for both cats and dogs, from birth to eight weeks old. Fostering a kitten is a true sacrifice and it takes a love for animals to see and care for a tiny kitten from birth to eight weeks — truly a labor of love. The real question is: how does one get a kitten? Most of the cats that come to the animal shelter are infant animals found in the woods, on trails, along the side of the road and in abandoned buildings. We label them "feral" for not having a home. In truth they are homeless animals. Rehoming them can give them better lives than the one in the woods. Most feral animals don't start that way. People dump and abandon them, or they are runaways. A single door left open accidentally by human error might be the issue. You have to apply to qualify to receive foster kittens, and there is an application form at hshv.org. We think cats and dogs are wild, but most are domesticated and can't fend for themselves because we feed them. Wild animals or wild dogs and cats know the kinds of mice and rats, tubers and bugs to eat to maintain themselves. Wild cats are raised to be wild and, when domesticated, they stay wild. It is the same with the wolf dog hybrid animal which is more wild and is very dangerous. Many have been mauled trying to raise a wild wolf dog. And that is why Michigan banned the wolf dog. Animals are innocent. We humans are the problem. Un-neutered dogs and cats create feral animals. Dumping cats at animal shelters or outside cat hospitals like the one on Packard can be an issue for everyone. CINDY GERE Groundcover vendor No. 279 Cats born in rural areas that are not neutered can also create a larger population fast; one feral animal can have as many as three to four litters from March to October. Feral cats can breed as soon as 10 days after their first litter. This can create health issues for cats later on. So imagine a mother cat has just been found in the woods behind an old property getting cleaned out. The family catches momma cat in a trap. Three of the eight kittens are sick. This is where my friend Mary comes in. Mary Eller is a local foster caregiver who has cared for kittens for many years. Mary has done the HVHS program for years and draws from animal husbandry skills due to her years of raising animals on her family farm. She also has chickens named Goldie, Big Mama, Little Girl, Sunny, Spot and Shadow; cats named Molly and Mouse; and a lab dog named Beckett. Mary told me that in order to take care of these kittens, when the tiny ones first arrive, “I need to be ready for the commitment of very little sleep.” The baby kittens require round-theclock care, feeding every three hours depending on the size of the baby. This must go for around two to three weeks. The origins of a lynx A lynx is a wildcat usually of about medium size. Their known locations are the forests of North America, Europe and Asia. The word lynx comes from a Greek term which means "to shine." This is a good descriptor for features like the eyes since they are reflective. Their ears have prominent tufts (the hairs above the ears) and they have short stubbed tails. A lynx can usually be identified by its color pattern — light brown, rusty red or grey with spots to blend in with nature. Another exquisite feature is that their fur actually grows thicker in the winter time to keep them warmer in the colder seasons. This species covers areas of the world LYNX MAIZE Groundcover vendor No. 664 such as Western Europe and Central Asia, where you would find a Eurasian and Iberian lynx, or North American territory where you would find a bobcat (lynx Rufus) or Canadian lynx. At this time, Mary herself takes cat naps in order to help such tiny kittens. As I recall over the years watching this process, she would take a kitten and give it a once-over checking for any issue, such as drooling or lethargy. Many kittens at this stage can get sick if not watched over carefully. Mom cat would lick and feed the kitten often to keep it warm and safe. Animals can smell illness on the baby including neurological issues, often abandoning the baby for survival over care. It is the law of nature. But we humans give every chance to every animal, big or small. Mary would take the kittens, feed the tiny ones with a small syringe or modified cat nipple on the syringe, sometimes even having to tube-feed the baby if it refused to eat. Then rubbing the kitten’s bum (the mom cat would normally be licking it) to help it eliminate the waste; kittens can't go any other way. This process would keep it strong and healthy. Mary ran a tight ship with the kittens; only sometimes did a kitten get truly sick. And then the humane society had to take the baby back and put it in a cat care clinic. The baby, once fed, would be returned to the incubator if it needed more sleep time. The babies are as big as a human palm, so tiny and so cute, little bitty balls of fur. The foster program is absolutely wonderful. They provide all the care items such as wipes, feeding tubes and syringes for feeding with nipples, the baby scale for weighing the kittens, a cat carrier and the incubator, the kitten formula and solid foods, the litter for the litter box, the meds if a kitten gets sick and the wellness check-up at the kitten clinic for shots. The program is very labor-intensive and requires homebound, dedicated people. It takes eight long weeks for the tiny baby no bigger than a palm to become a rambunctious kitten ready for adoption. All kittens must get their first shots at the kitten clinic at three to four weeks. The Huron Valley Humane Society foster program covers all costs including for all illnesses, such as feline leukemia which is very contagious and will require total isolation for long-term care. The shots are part of the vaccination protocols that all pets get to keep them safe and healthy. Mary told me that the hardest part of caring for kittens is letting them go. Another role of the cat fosters is caring for the mom cats who have kittens. This is just setting up a room for the mom cat, and Mary does all the rest in raising the kittens. Once the cat has raised the baby to eight weeks, she will then go back to the vet to get spayed and she will go directly to the adoption center after she has had all her shots. “Baby kittens are the funniest to care for, teaching them and training them to be okay with human touch,” Mary said. “The kittens are so much fun after around four weeks when they become much more active and rambunctious. They often will play all day in their playpen, keeping each other company and being wild with each other. The best part is watching them get out of hand and play with each other.” Their rough play is essential to living and surviving, learning to catch flying birds and mice or rats. instinct they are born with, developing their hunting skill. It’s totally an SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 The lynx bodies are very adaptive to cooler climates because they have webbed paws with hair underneath and long legs to help them maneuver through thick snow. Bobcats on the other hand do not use the same tactics since their legs are so short. Felines such as a lynx are so skilled at hunting that they move stealthily until the perfect moment to strike their prey. They can spot rodents from 250 feet away. They tend to stalk in dense areas where there is plenty of cover. Speaking of cover, when it comes to - the reproduction of this species they tend to have dens in abandoned burrows or underneath fallen trees. They usually mate at the end of winter; rival males scratch at each other to win the females’ trust. The female takes the resulting offspring to raise on her own with no male involvement. When a lynx is grown, it can range from 32-47 inches long and weigh 22-42 pounds. After capturing documented clips and observing, researchers discovered that the animal becomes its own primary caregiver after 10 months and discovers its own territories after 20 months. The lynx was becoming endangered because of the loss of habitat, poaching (humans hunting for fur) and the diseases of their prey that leach into them. Through conservation and reintroduction, a decline of the species has reversed and has brought the animal back tenfold.
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