Service hours plague every Magnet student from the day they step in as freshmen, myself included. After volunteering at an assortment of walks, clinics, and church functions, not to mention the nightmarish 8 hour stint on my feet volunteering at a Wonder Works event, I seem to have found the ideal solution for the service hour situation, kittens. Fostering kittens is by far the cutest way to serve the community, and who doesn’t want to house a few cute kittens? The Charleston Animal Society in North Charleston is the only a few minutes down the road from AMHS, but other shelters include Pet Helpers and the SPCA. If you’re looking into becoming a foster parent, here are a few things to know beforehand:

• Family

Everyone in your family may not be as enthusiastic about fostering kittens as you. Parents often end up with having to take kittens to their weekly vet appointments and spending the day with them while kids are away at school. Talk it over with your family and determine if it would be okay to foster kittens for a few weeks.

• Pets?

If you have other pets that you know won’t get along with kittens, don’t foster. Some pets get jealous and won’t like the attention you’re providing the kittens. But, in some cases pets act like parents to the baby kittens, and try to clean and protect them.

• Make sure you have enough room

Kittens need a little space to call their own. Make sure you have a little spot set aside for everything they need, a litter box, food and water, and a bed.

• Be prepared to wait

Kittens available to foster aren’t in the shelter all of the time, and after applying to foster you may have to wait a few weeks for the Charleston Animal Society to call back.

• Two is better than one

Shelters don’t want to send out a single kitten all by themselves, so often times they’ll ask for you to take two or three. It’s double the work but also double the fun.

• Kittens aren’t always healthy

You may need to administer medicine to the kittens if they’re a little sick. Don’t worry, it’s just a syringe to mouth feed them, no needles necessary.

• It may take longer than you expect

The purpose of fostering is to house the kittens until they weigh enough to live in the shelter with other kittens. The Charleston Animal Society asks for kittens to be 2 pounds before they are returned, and it takes every kitten a different amount of time to gain the weight.

• Don’t get too attached

When its time to give back the kittens, it’ll be easier if you’re not too emotionally attached to them. Or, if you really love the kittens you can adopt them afterwards.

Click here to visit the Charleston Animal Society Website: http://www.charlestonanimalsociety.org/