JAY — Three black kittens scampered around Christine Fournier while the mother cat played.

Fournier, a foster parent for the Franklin County Animal Shelter in Farmington, is used to having litters of kittens at her East Jay Road home. These four felines make 115 animals she and her family have fostered over nearly three years, she said.

Fournier just returned a litter of 12 kittens to the shelter. At 8 weeks old, they were ready for adoption, she said. The three black kittens she’s caring for are 4 weeks old.

During the three years, there has only been about two weeks she hasn’t had cats or dogs from the shelter to care for, love and nurture. She has even learned how to help a pregnant cat with birth, if necessary.

“Foster parents temporarily shelter and care for animals until they are ready for adoption,” Erin Miner, website and volunteer coordinator for the shelter. “This could be a pregnant cat who needs a safe place to give birth and raise her kittens, a dog who needs to work on a few behavior issues or a sick/injured animal who needs a warm place to be treated and get lots of attention and love.”

The Fournier family had a dog and cat when Christine noticed an adoption event held by the shelter at Tractor Supply Co. There was an instant connection with a cat whom they adopted and named Jack.

She also learned about foster care and was given her first litter the next day.

The largest number fostered at one time was two mama cats who six kittens each. The shelter provides litter, food and toys.

The animal shelter staff has been awesome, she said. They are only a phone call away to talk through any issues.

She keeps the shelter cats in the basement near her preschool, Crayon Country, and away from her own animals. 

Jack, her 30-pound cat, is afraid of the kittens, she said.

This has given Fournier’s children and her preschoolers a chance to learn to appropriately handle and hold the small animals, she said. Each animal is given a name and her daughter keeps track of numbers.

Returning the animals to the shelter is not that hard, although dogs are harder because they become more a part of the household, she said. Sometimes it’s puppies. Sometimes it’s a dog with a health issue.

Although Fournier had animals while growing up in Massachusetts, she has learned so much about them as a foster parent, she said.

Only one animal has really gotten to her. She went to return a litter when the big blue eyes of a kitten they named Polar Bear locked with hers. The next day, she called the shelter to adopt the kitten born in her home.

“A good foster parent is loving and selfless,” Miner said. “They are willing to volunteer a lot of their personal time to provide for animals in need. It is not all about cuddling with cute animals, there is a large amount of work involved, especially since animals that need fostering are the ones that require the most care. We feel very lucky to have so many wonderful foster parents.”

Fournier attended the University of Maine at Farmington. After teaching a couple years in Alaska, she and her husband returned to Maine, where she runs the preschool mornings, manages Weight Watchers classes and provides respite care for children with disabilities.

Although she would like to volunteer at the shelter, distance and time are factors.

“This way I can volunteer on my own time,” she said.

Sitting by the wood stove watching the antics of kittens playing is a real stress-reliever and a reward, Fournier said.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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