When a loving Portage resident who had been fostering four magnificent cats for several years explained to the Independent Cat Society (ICS) in Westville that he was no longer able to care for them in the manner in which they’d grown accustomed, the ICS sprang into action.
Through its all-volunteer communications and networking, word spread that these cats needed to be permanently adopted. Photos of the cats and information was passed through newspaper articles, phone calls, posters, Instagram (@indcatsociety), Facebook, and the ICS website (catsociety.org).
Now officially adopted into their forever homes, “Damien” and “Jimmy” live in a loving home in Chesterton, while “Cathoula” and “Callie" are comfortably settled in Valparaiso.
For those not ready for - or not quite sure about - sharing their lives with a cat or kitten, the ICS Foster Program is the perfect solution - both for humans and animal companions. While fostering, you provide one - or several - cats with loving attention and companionship, making them even more adoptable. And, you can be one of those special people who foster time again-and-again!
After the application process, trained ICS volunteers do a reference check and a home visit making certain that the environment is safe and that any other animals will get along with the newcomer, and that the person’s lifestyle, skill sets and schedule are compatible with fostering a cat or kitten.
Have some fun. Foster or adopt. Come by the ICS shelter on weekends: (Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays from 1 pm to 4 pm) located at 4061 County Line Road in Westville. When you and family members visit the no-kill shelter, you can interact and play with kittens and cats of every color, size, age, and personality type imaginable. For inquiries, or a special appointment, call (219) 785-4936.
This particular humane effort was another far-reaching success story. It began with a magnificent foster father in Portage. It extended to the cats getting publicity from ICS volunteers in Westville, and ended perfectly in two “forever-home' adoptions in Valparaiso and Chesterton. How and why? Because that is what animal lovers do!