Meet Northport Cat Rescue Association's Youngest Foster Parent

NORTHPORT, NY — Danielle Porqueddu has always loved cats. While she has never had one as a pet, she has always wanted to get involved with felines. Danielle hoped to accomplish this by volunteering for an animal rescue organization, but a factor she had no control over prevented that: her age.

Danielle, a 13-year-old Bethpage resident, was told she was too young to volunteer. She discovered this during the coronavirus shutdown when she searched for foster opportunities with the help of her mother, Astrid.

But from there, life would soon change in the Porqueddu household.

Lora Wild volunteers at the Northport Cat Rescue Association, a Northport-based nonprofit that matches cats and kittens with potential adopters. Wild, who also serves as the organization's foster director, said foster parents are instrumental in rehabilitating felines and getting them ready for adoption into a permanent family. Kittens need to be neutered or spayed, as well as socialized since many of them are found scared on the street. That's where foster parents come in for a weeks-long process. That's also where Danielle comes in.

When Danielle was told she could not volunteer on her own due to her age, she found a loophole. Astrid asked if she could become the foster mother, along with her daughter's help. Wild and Seher Sehn, another director, went to Bethpage to meet Danielle. What Wild and Sehn saw made them immediately fall in love with the prospect of Danielle serving as a foster parent.

"I immediately saw a collage of photos on [Danielle's] wall of herself with other people’s pets," Wild said. "It was clear she was an animal lover. Although she never had a cat of her own, she had set up her room with every comfort and luxury a kitten or cat would ever need or love."

The Porqueddus were approved as foster parents, and Danielle's journey began.

Since beginning her partnership with the Northport Cat Rescue Association, Danielle has volunteered at the organization's affiliated Petco stores, attended events, and created videos to help cats stand out to prospective adopters. She has since fostered six kittens.

Astrid said she is extremely proud of and impressed by Danielle.

"It has been a great experience," Astrid said. "But I am even more proud because she is able to let go after getting attached. Knowing the cats will soon be adopted helps so much, but it’s still hard. She does it because she knows there are other cats that need help getting socialized or a break from the store habitats."

Danielle said she gravitated toward cats because one really needs to earn the trust of a feline, more so than other animals like dogs.

"They’re animals of prey," Danielle said. "They hunt, they catch, and they also get attacked. What I think is so special about it is they don’t trust anything or anyone, and they can’t in the wild."

Danielle knows she has to work to build up a bond of trust between her and any kitten she fosters. She does this by proving she is safe. A cat's way of showing its trust in someone is when they slowly blink at you with their eyes closed, according to Danielle.

"That’s supposed to show, from the cat’s end, ‘I’m closing my eyes to you, so I don’t know what you can do to me right now. You could do anything to me because I’m closing my eyes, but I trust you enough to voluntarily do that,’" she said. "I think that’s really special."

Danielle said being a foster mother to cats makes her feel very special in a way she wasn't expecting. She didn't know how kittens who were scooped off the street would react in a new environment.

"When you’re actually in front of the cat and you’re looking at them, it’s really heartbreaking for anyone," she said. "After a time, regardless of whatever they’ve been through and however scared, terrified and traumatized they were, they eventually came to me anyway. Voluntarily, they didn’t have to."

Wild feels one of the teenager's biggest attributes as a kitten foster are her eyes. "Danielle has the kindest eyes," she said.

"She is full of compassion that is not often seen in adults let alone someone of her age," Wild said. "As a foster, she is second to none. If she is unsure of something, she asks. The cats and kittens adore her. She is the perfect mix of a kid that wants to play with them which in turn teaches them socialization, and then there is a grown-up, responsible side to her that nurtures them ... We are very lucky and grateful to have her as part of our Northport Cat Rescue family and we are all so proud of her."

Danielle one day sees herself becoming a true, long-term foster mother for cats. But that day is not today.

"Right now, I definitely love the fostering, because I want to help these other cats that need a home temporarily," she said. "I definitely want to stick with fostering for a while. But I definitely do picture myself having my own cat at one time."