Button Helped Me Battle Breast Cancer, Part I

By Melissa Lisbon, HSSV Volunteer

As an animal lover and advocate I understand the importance of fostering. What I wasn’t expecting from the foster experience was how much it would affect me personally.

Late last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. By the time October came around, I had completed surgery and was about to begin chemotherapy. It was a difficult and stressful time in my life, to say the least. But, a welcome distraction was about to appear.

The day after Halloween, a neighbor called me to share that a tiny stray kitten had appeared on her doorstep the night before. Weaving around a line of trick-or-treaters, this little guy had braved the darkness and noise to come straight to her door for help. She brought him in from the cold, but was not in a position to keep him. So, I asked to see him.

It was love at first sight. He was a medium-hair "tuxedo" with soft hazel eyes and the sweetest, most trusting demeanor. I named him "Button" not only because he was as cute as a "button," but also after "Benjamin Button" – looking into his eyes, I sensed an older soul.

I knew I wasn’t in a position to make a lifelong commitment to Button, but I also knew he was too young to go directly into HSSV’s adoption program. As a volunteer for HSSV, I immediately thought of the feline foster program, which provides cats and kittens in a variety of special situations with the nurturing home environment they need. Some kitties need to heal from an injury. Others, like Button, need to come up to proper weight for spaying/neutering and receive socialization.

I couldn’t resist. I decided to ask HSSV if I could foster him myself.

Read next week: How fostering Button helped me heal