March 29, 2025 — Miss Winkle’s Pet Adoption Center is taking the lead on educating the public about the benefits of fostering a kitten and getting involved with their center. The center hosted its annual “Kitten Shower” on Saturday, March 29, featuring activities designed to boost kitten socialization, offer cat-themed treats, and share valuable resources with potential foster families.
The event kicked off at 10 AM as families and members of the community gathered, munching on goldfish, cupcakes, Kit-Kats, and other treats. The Kitty Korner was abuzz with visitors as families eagerly showed affection toward some of the cats.
Some staff members also brought out kittens that were just a few weeks old, gently warning visitors to put gloves on before touching them to lower the risk of sickness. Two little girls visiting with their families couldn’t contain their excitement as they reached out to hold the tiny kittens, who purred softly and wandered around their arms. The room filled with sweet mewls as the kittens happily melted into the affection, creating a heartwarming moment.
As visitors in the Kitty Korner doted on the kittens and mingled with fellow attendees, Marketing and Communications Director Kayleigh Bader walked around, helping wherever necessary and answering questions.
“The kitten shower is a fun and interactive way to learn about kittens and take the scaries out of [kitten fostering],” she shared. “[This] is our way of demystifying the concerns about fostering.”
More than an opportunity for education and socialization with kittens, the event encouraged interaction with the center and its animals and answered any questions that people might have.
For the first presentation, Animal Services Supervisor Erin Ford-Horio presented basic information about the foster process, encouraging interested attendees to ask questions and talk to the staff about what they’re interested in.
Attendees eagerly raised their hands to inquire about accessing pet services, the availability of the veterinarian, and Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) services provided by the center.
Ford-Horio emphasized the involvement of the adoption center and Clovis Animal Services with foster families, stating that they stay in constant contact with the families to ensure everything is running smoothly and that the families have what they need.
She also explained the multi-faceted impacts of fostering animals—sharing that it not only helps the animal but also benefits the foster family and the adoption center.
Fostering an animal offers the rewarding experience of saving a life while providing families with a temporary means of having a pet without the long-term financial commitments of pet ownership.
During the fostering period, the adoption center covers all of the pet’s needs—providing toys, food, and regular veterinary care—ensuring families have everything they need at no cost.
“You have given this pet an opportunity to thrive and live out its life because you gave it as good of a start as possible,” Ford-Horio stated, emphasizing the major impact foster families have on the life of a kitten.
Fostering also helps the shelter create more space for animals in need of critical care while providing valuable insights into the fostered pet’s personality. This allows the shelter to focus its resources on sick or vulnerable animals that require round-the-clock attention.
The pet can thrive in a nurturing home environment, where it experiences family life and interacts with children. This reduced stress often helps the animal become more sociable and develop a friendlier demeanor over time.
Getting to know a pet’s unique quirks benefits the animal, the adoption center, and its future family. Insights gained by foster families—such as a pet’s favorite toy, its behaviors, and its preferred activities—help future adopters build a strong bond with their new companion from the start.
The center also allows flexible scheduling with fostering. Families can foster the pets for as short or long as they like and in whatever stage of the process the animal is in.
Whether they were just born and are bottle-feeding, transitioning to solid food, or older and just in need of socialization, families can take care of them.
The process can be for as short as three weeks or as long as ten weeks, depending on the animal’s needs and the family’s availability.
Miss Winkle’s also provides flexibility for families with plans for going out of town or who experience emergencies, promoting accessibility and ease in the process.
Many animals also end up being “foster fails,” pets that families originally took on to foster short-term but later decided to adopt.
Bader herself has a “foster fail,” as do many of the staff at Miss Winkle’s.
“It’s not uncommon to have stories of our fosters falling in love with the kittens that they foster,” she shared. “It’s really sweet to be able to have your hands on early with the kitten and watch them grow and mature.”
While there is no expectation for foster families to eventually adopt, it occurs often as foster families find so much joy in their pet that they don’t want to give them up.
Those interested in fostering are encouraged to fill out an application at
https://www.misswinkles.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Foster-Application.pdf. Other information can also be found on Miss Winkle’s website at https://misswinkles.com.