Tina Martinez Volunteer Spotlight
“I must point out that this is a family affair,” Tina says proudly. “While my partner, Trevor, and I do most of the day-to-day work, my children (7, 11 and 14) play a big part in making sure all of the cats and kittens we foster become accustomed to living with children. They have learned to be quiet and move slowly when we have new fosters who are adjusting or a new mama who has just given birth. We’ve been told that our family raises the sweetest kittens, and that’s something we’re really proud of. It’s a direct reflection of the love and respect we accord all of the cats in our care.
“Although we’ve only been fostering kitties since June of 2024, I’d followed Furry Friends on social media for a long time. When the entire family started to get ‘kitten fever,’ I decided fostering kittens was a good alternative to adopting another cat. That ended up backfiring as we adopted two of our foster fails in November, bringing our total to seven cats!
“The best thing ever is loving on kittens and pregnant mamas so they know that they’re loved. For the ones who are timid, we try to make sure they quickly realize that humans can be trusted. My proudest moments include knowing that without our collective help, many of these kitties wouldn’t be here today, and watching scared kitties transform into outgoing, affection-seeking ones after a few sessions of extra one-on-one attention. The hardest moment I ever experienced, though, was holding a one-day kitten as he passed away. My seven-year-old and I cried a lot that day.
As to why this family gives back? “We started fostering because we wanted to spend time with kittens,” says Tina, “but now we do it because the need is so great. I enjoy being part of the reason so many cats and kittens are able to get out of bad situations and into loving homes.
“Outside of Furry Friends, I work for a cultural exchange non-profit in marketing communications. As for the issues I’m most passionate about -- anything related to ensuring humans and animals are safe and treated fairly. And while the entire family loves to travel, Trevor and I also enjoy learning about history.”
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Furry Friends Volunteer Spotlights are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.
