150 New Beginnings

It's an understatement to say we are in awe of foster hero, Meg Rivera. Meg began her foster journey with PAWS Atlanta during college. She missed her cats and dogs back home, so she decided to give back to animals in need and began volunteering with us her freshman year at Emory through Emory Pawsitive Outreach. Later in college, she started fostering - puppies, litters of kittens, whatever we needed. She brought her first foster home during the snowpocalypse in 2014 - a little pup who was found in the snow on the side of the road. The person who found her thought she was dead but she was just very emaciated and needed some TLC which Meg happily provided. 

Meg then took in a litter of kittens. And when it was time to bring her first litter of foster kittens back to PAWS to find homes, she couldn't stop crying. She had gotten attached to an orange kitten she named Charlie, so she decided to make him a permanent part of her family.

Once Meg started fostering, she couldn't stop. There was always another animal that needed her help and she wanted to make sure each creature felt cared for and loved. She kept fostering and kept loving it. Meg has fostered over 150 animals with PAWS Atlanta over the years.

When the pandemic hit in March, Meg stepped up once again to foster a mama cat in need - Mama Kimchi who eventually gave birth to six adorable kittens. Once they were old enough to get vaccines and be spayed and neutered, she brought home another mama cat who needed her - this time it was Tala who was very feral. Meg continues to foster Tala, slowly working on building Tala's trust in humans. Tala is now comfortable enough to get closer to Meg and she has even started playing with the kittens.

But Meg didn't stop fostering with Tala's litter. As soon as she brought Tala's kittens to be adopted, she took in a very pregnant Mamacita. Mamacita had her babies the very night Meg took her home and Chiquita, Gordito, Conejita, Pollita, Mojito, and Taquito are now nearly 6 weeks old. 

Meg recently gave us a happy update on Mamacita and her kittens, "They are doing amazing! They kittens are so playful and Mamacita is an attentive mother. They had a medical check up was last Sunday and everyone is super healthy and growing. Their favorite activity is climbing out of their play pen and then climbing my curtains, chairs, and couch. They love jumping on each other, on their mom, and trying to get her tail. Mamacita loves trying to eat my food and figuring how she can sit next to me when I’m with my three cats."

Adjusting to a new home isn't always easy. When Mamacita first came to Meg's home she was in labor and did not get along well with her three cats and foster Tala. But, she warmed up and now Mamacita and Meg's cats are best buds and cuddle all the time. She even sleeps with Meg, bringing her babies along too.

When asked why she fosters, Meg let us know she did it originally to help animals in need - to provide them with love and care so they would have the best start in life. She knew the more socialable her foster pets were the more quickly they could find their new families. But she found out that her foster pets were helping her in a monumental way too. They pushed her to be her best, battle her depression and anxiety, and give back to them 110%.

When asked what advice she would give someone who is considering fostering, Meg said to be prepared for heartbreak. That fostering is super rewarding, but also bittersweet because each kitten and pup takes a bit of her heart with them. Her latest foster fail is Detective Olivia Benson. 2 fosters fails out of 150 ain't bad, Meg, and we can't thank you enough for allowing us to help more animals in need!