By: M.K. Bryant
University of Montevallo Associate Professor of English Dr. Valerie Johnson started teaching at the UM in the fall of 2017. Since moving to Montevallo, she estimates that she has fostered “at least two dozen” cats.
Johnson’s fostering journey began in May 2019. In 2022, Johnson created the Instagram account vallofoster.
“I started vallofoster because I had a number of friends who are, you know, pretty, you know, far-flung and wide, and they were always asking for ways to share pictures of these animals, and my Facebook profile is pretty well locked down. I needed a platform that other people could share the pictures and get to know the animals that way, and so Instagram is pretty well set for images,” Johnson said.
Johnson explained that another reason for starting the account was to get the cats adopted faster.
Johnson’s most recent feature on the vallofoster account was a cat named Midterms, who Johnson described in an Instagram caption as “a minor celebrity on campus at the University of Montevallo.”
Midterms appeared on campus sometime during the start of the spring semester, presumably left there by a previous owner.
In her Instagram caption, Johnson also made sure to mention that Midterms was kept fed and socialized by UM students.
After his brief stay with Johnson, Midterms was taken to Shelby Humane, where Johnson fosters for.
“I now foster for Shelby Humane. So when I foster, generally, I foster for them, so the cats are either, pre-adoption, like if they’re babies with their mama, or, you know, the situation with Midterms, a temporary way station sort of thing,” Johnson said.
According to Shelby Humane interim executive director Saundra Ivy, owner surrenders of pets tripled from 2022 to 2023. This issue has caused an increase in overcrowding at animal shelters.
Johnson confirmed that this issue has also impacted the local animal fostering community.
“All of my permanent cats, not a single one has been with me since kittenhood,” Johnson said. “All of them are owner surrenders of some nature.”
There are, however, many reasons why an owner might surrender a pet.
“A lot of it is financial, you know, and a lot of the adult cats that I end up sort of taking in are owner-surrenders,” Johnson said.
One topic that Johnson emphasized was the importance of getting cats spayed and neutered.
“It’s not something you should just think about,” Johnson said. “It’s something that you absolutely should do.
This sentiment is agreed on by many employees at Shelby Humane, Ivy included.
“The only way to stop this tide of so many animals is to get your animals fixed,” Ivy said.
There are many ways that community members can help local cat populations– whether it’s a time commitment like fostering, or a task as simple as getting pets fixed.
“Fostering is easier thank you think,” Johnson said. “I would say everybody should give it a shot.”
Vallo Vision News 