Soft meows and purrs echo through the house as senior Madison Cousans and sophomore Riley Cousans step through their front door. One kitten runs up to the sisters, while another hides in a nearby cat tower. Both sisters set their respective backpacks down before completing their daily chores, including cleaning out litter boxes and refilling water bowls.
The Cousans family began fostering cats in early 2022, following the news that one of their adopted cats was nearing the end of his life. They receive the cats from the Saving Sage Animal Rescue Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing abandoned, neglected or abused animals.
“Honestly, we always had a lot of cats, and my mom was very involved with the Saving Sage Rescue,” Riley said. “We decided to help them out one day when there was an overflow in the rescue, and we haven’t stopped since then.”
Although complicated, the fostering process has been rewarding for both the sisters. Each has their own duties and responsibilities to provide care for the animals. When Madison is home, she feeds the cats both lunch and dinner. Meanwhile, Riley cleans out the cats’ litter boxes. While they are at school, the siblings’ parents feed the cats lunch and take care of them.
“The cats form our schedule,” Madison said. “Everything we have going on in our lives has to allow time for them to be fed, cleaned and played with.”
The Cousans have fostered all types of cats with varying medical conditions or special needs. While it is more difficult to provide for those specific animals, Madison and Riley use their best efforts.
“A few kittens we’ve had came in with ringworm,” Madison said. “Ringworm is very contagious, so we had to constantly be washing our hands, otherwise we would spread it to the other kittens.”
Most of the kittens enter the Cousans’ household with plenty of resources and supplies from Saving Sage. Usually, the cats need to be fed with solid food and can clean themselves. Nonetheless, there has been one case where a group of kittens required bottle feeding.
“The kittens required feeding every 3 to 4 hours, which meant that we had to wake up in the night multiple times just to feed them,” Madison said. “It was definitely an experience, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you like your sleep.”
Riley’s cat allergy also complicates their work. She mitigates her allergies through frequent hand washing.
Most of the foster cats the Cousans take in get adopted by various families. After being with the kittens for so long, the siblings find it hard to say goodbye to them as they have created meaningful bonds with them.
“I feel very happy when our fosters meet their adopters, and of course there’s that wave of sadness that this is your last time seeing them,” Riley said. “But it’s good to know they’re in good hands.”
Madison and Riley have learned a lot throughout their years of fostering cats, such as the best ways to feed them and how to engage with them, as well as general facts about cats.
“Something we learned about different cat breeds is that a lot of breed stereotypes are true,” Madison said. “For example, orange cats really live up to the crazy energetic stereotype, while on the other hand, black cats tend to be more quiet and reserved.”
The fostering experience is different for every kitten. Some may not be very social, while others constantly demand attention.
“My current foster, Alder, climbed one of the decorative tapestries hung up high on the wall in my living room,” Riley said. “None of our other cats have done that before, and none of us were really sure how he got there.”
The sisters’ enthusiasm is not just limited to their family; their friends and teachers all know about their endeavors and are very supportive.
“[My friends] love coming over to hang out with the cats,” Riley said. “It’s very fun.”
Since Madison graduates soon, Riley and her family will have to take over her foster duties, as they plan on continuing to foster kittens. Both siblings encourage others to foster, as they believe it is a fulfilling process that not only allows people to learn different skills, but also to help animals in need.
This story was originally published in the May 2025 Eagle Eye print edition.
