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The Highs and Lows of Fostering
Fostering is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. We couldn’t
save as many lives as we do without the dedication of our foster parents. When
you think of fostering, what are you interested in taking home? Will you want a
mom with her kittens, or older kittens that are not at weight yet?
Is fostering right for you and your family? Please go over this with your
whole family.
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Do you live in the (City Name) metro area? We accept foster homes that
are roughly 30 minutes from our shelter. If you have questions about how
far you are from our shelter please contact the volunteer program and we
can help.

Are you aware that there is a great deal of clean-up time and that there
is always a possibility of damage to your home? Moms and kittens can be
very messy with the litter box, their food bowls, water dishes, etc. Because
they can be messy, we recommend foster parents use old supplies, not
best linens.

Are you able to separate the foster animals from your own animals?
Foster kittens must have their own room – even if you do not have other
pets. Our cats/kittens come to you as healthy as we know about, but can
harbor illness for up to 2 weeks so it is very important for you to keep your
pets separated from foster kittens for at least two weeks. After a two
week period, your pets can meet your foster kittens if your pets are indooronly and current on vaccines. The foster kittens must be vaccinated with
an FVRCP for at least 5 days before they meet. You must pick up litter
boxes, food bowls, and water bowls before they meet. *Please do
introductions slowly.
Introducing your foster cats or kittens can be a risk to your own pets. If
your own pets get sick from your foster kittens (Organization’s Name) will
not cover their medication or vet visits. Please keep this in mind before
introducing the two together.

It is important to keep your foster room clutter free – no special
knickknacks. We recommend using a bathroom for first couple of days to
watch potty habits then move to another room that allows more space if
you have it available. Moms can scratch at doors or carpet to get out of
room and may jump on top of anything they can.

Are you and your family emotionally prepared for the death of an
animal? As badly as we would wish otherwise, death can occur. Not all
animals are born to live. In the feral colonies moms will have large litters
hoping to keep at least 2 kittens alive. Not all kittens are formed right
when they are born. There are congenital birth defects that we can not
see. Sometimes cats and kittens get sick and we will treat them with
everything we have but sometimes they are too weak to survive. Our
death rate is only 3% in foster care and this also includes animals that
don’t survive hours after they are born. Because you will feed high-quality
food, have them in a warm safe place, vaccinate, de-worm, etc. their
chances of survival are much greater. If a death occurs it will be
emotionally hard and most of the time it will not have a direct reflection
on your fostering skills or abilities.

Will you and your family be able to give up your foster kitty at the end of
the foster period? Foster families become very attached to their foster
kitties, and sometimes find it difficult to give them to their permanent
families, or to the shelter.
You can adopt one of your foster kittens, but you will need to go through
the same process as anyone else. You will need to pay the adoption fee
and go through the adoption counseling process. Please don’t adopt
your whole litter. This has happened before and we want to reassure
foster parents that we will find them good, loving homes. Our adoption
counselors are very thorough in their screening process. You can always
pick up another litter - sometimes even the same day to help you get
through the empty nest syndrome.

Will you and your family be able to spend quality time with your foster
cats/kittens? Socialization is as important as feeding and keeping them
clean. We ask that you go in and spend quality time with your foster
kittens. We want you to play with them so they know that hands are not
toys. We want you to snuggle them. Socialization is a big part of fostering.
You are training these kittens to be super cats when they grow up. We
are hoping that your kittens will not be fearful of humans. Sometimes this
does not always work out, but kittens that run to the front of the cage will
get adopted first.

Are you prepared to work with our veterinarian system? Will you be able
to bring your kittens to the shelter when they need to be seen? We
specialize in shelter medicine and know what antibiotics are working on
what illnesses we are seeing at the shelter. Our vets are free. You do not
own these cats and legally cannot seek treatment for them. You will
need to be able to bring them to the shelter for care.

Do you feel comfortable telling people that these are not your animals
and can only be adopted through (Organization’s Name) adoption
procedures? Please feel comfortable telling people that you are a
volunteer for (Organization’s Name) and cannot take these kittens out of
your home. Your foster kittens cannot go on play dates to neighbors or
friends.

Are you aware that there may be some financial obligations? Will you be
able to pay for food, litter, toys, etc? We ask for you to buy high-quality
food, litter, and anything else needed. We have a food and litter bank
too to help supplement.
We will not turn a good foster home down because they cannot afford
food or litter. We will work with you.

Foster animals are your responsibility. We ask that you go in 3 times a day
at a minimum to check on them - once in the morning, again after work,
and then before bed. All animals should be closely monitored regarding
temperament and health. Close observation helps in appropriate
placement in their permanent homes as well as avoidance of more
serious health issues later on. Are they all playing? Is one sitting in the
corner? Are they all feeling well? Is everyone pooping, peeing, eating,
etc?

All cats and kittens must be kept strictly indoors. If your own cats go
outdoors, the foster cats must be strictly isolated from your cats to avoid
the transmission of disease. Your foster kittens cannot go outdoors unless
they are in a crate and going to the shelter or an outreach location. They
cannot go outside even for Petfinder photos.

All foster cats are to be strictly supervised by an adult when around
children under 10 years of age or household pets. This is dependant on
how you think your ten year old will be able to safely handle a kitten. This is
not an exact age requirement so use your best judgment.

Your own animals must be current in vaccinations and veterinary care
including spay/neuter. No exceptions. If you cannot meet these
requirements let us know and we can give you resources to get it taken
care of before you take home a group. We do this to help stop the petoverpopulation problems in our area.

Are you able to take your foster kittens that are 6 weeks or older to one of
CAT’s offsite adoption centers at least once a month to be available for
adoption? As part your volunteer commitment as an active foster parent,
we ask that you bring your kittens to one of our offsite adoption centers
during their regular adoption hours. Kittens can be brought to one of
these locations on a Saturday and/or Sunday from 12pm-4pm to be
available for adoption.
When foster parents bring their kittens to an offsite location to be
available for adoption, we are able to adopt more kittens which allow us to
save more lives.
Our offsite locations are located in (fill in locations)
Rewards of foster care – Saving lives!

You are saving animals.

Children learn about the responsibility of caring for animals. It is a great
way to help children understand what it takes to have a pet. How else
can children learn about the wonder of birth, and the same time, be
responsible animal guardians?

There is no greater joy than watching kittens at play, or nursing a sick kitty
back to health! I’ll bet your family will even give up TV!

Knowing that you are making a difference is a nice feeling inside.
At this time if you do not feel comfortable with our procedures and guidelines,
we want you to know that we understand that this is not for everyone. If at
anytime your situation changes, please feel free to contact us again in the
future.