Fostering a cat

[king2005]

The cats owner has run into a rough patch & cannot care for his cat right now so hes giving it away to the perfect home (his ad was picky as he wants the best for his friend).. I just went through a rough patch where I had to temp rehome my pets all over Toronto... I have a new Apt. for Aug 1st. & shared my story with this guy.

I made him a deal as he seemed to really love his cat. I said how about I foster the cat for you for a max of 1 year. If you can sort out your life within a year, you can have Mr. B back :) But if I do not hear from you & a year passes, the cat becomes mine, as 1yr if too long to just rehome the cat, as bouncing him around is too hard on the animal.

The Bats name is Mr. B. he was rescued from the shelter about 3yrs ago from a guy named Dann (as I know him)... The cat is fixed & will come with everything that belongs to the cat. I said I don't mind taking photos of Mr. B to keep Dann updated on his well being. I also said if Dann wants, hes welcomed to come over to visit with his cat.

Dann is so very thankful & said he'll do everything he can to house Mr. B until Aug 1st. as he thinks I'll do everything I can to care for his beloved cat & will return him if his luck changes in time.

I know what its like to have to rehome a pet, even as a temp thing, its really hard :(

So what I'm asking is that I've never cared for a cat 100% on my own.. I've always been a dog person so I can care for just about any dog, but don't know the proper care of a cat.

I'll be upgrading his food to Merricks dry as I think its one of the best & don't trust the cheap trash...

But how much should I feed a cat?
Should I keep the bowl filled all day long?
How do I prevent him from getting too fat?
What about hairballs?
How do I become his friend?
Whats the cheapest but best odor masking litter?
Is litter scooping ok, or do I have to toss out all the litter when the box is full?
Is milk even safe for cats?
What about treats? How often?
If I get a water bottle & spray him when hes being naughty, will it hurt him if I accidently spray him in the face?
What if hes not scared of the water bottle? then what?


For 1 week, Mr. B will live in my bathroom.
Here are my reasons, PLEASE tell me if I'm wrong!!! I wanna do the best for the kitty!!

1. It'll be a small area I want him to realize is his safe zone. Everything he needs will be in there, including his carrier. He'll know where his litter box is.

2. I'll be spending about 1 week moving in & I think him seeing people coming & going will scare the poo out of him, so if hes in a small area, he might be less stressed in the long run. Also it means he cannot run away when the front door is open as he doesn't know me, so he'll more then likely keep running from me, if he sees me chassing him down the hall.. I don't want to scare him too much.

I know its going to be hard on the poor fella at first, so I want to make sure I'm not adding stress I can avoid.


I do not have any photos of Mr. B yet, so I cannot say what he looks like. I'm hoping we can become friends, as I'll be alone often in my little appartment & it would be nice if I had a buddy I could pet & give a temp. or perm home.

OH, all his shorts & stuff are up to date & hes healthy :)

[Catty1]

Jess, here is a link where you can choose and click on information.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/owners.html

This one you could copy/paste and print out.

http://www.triadspca.org/education/educ_catcare.html

Everyone here will have a different favourite litter. I hate clumping because it is expensive and with the clumps it gets used up faster.

I like Maxx Cat in the white bag - it has a good antibacterial deodorant in it. You can flush the poop - just the poop - down the toilet if you want. however, I use smaller plastic bags (like from stores), put the cleanings from every day or two in the bag, tie the top in a knot, and put it in with my regular size garbage bags (regular grocery size - I live in a condo so have to get rid of my garbage every few days. No garbage chute.)

Hope those links get you started.

Food? What has Dann been feeding him?

I agree with keeping him in the bathroom for a while. Once the move is over, he can come out and start exploring, and he will know where his safe place is.

Great you are doing this!

[king2005]

Jess, here is a link where you can choose and click on information.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/owners.html

This one you could copy/paste and print out.

http://www.triadspca.org/education/educ_catcare.html

Everyone here will have a different favourite litter. I hate clumping because it is expensive and with the clumps it gets used up faster.

I like Maxx Cat in the white bag - it has a good antibacterial deodorant in it. You can flush the poop - just the poop - down the toilet if you want. however, I use smaller plastic bags (like from stores), put the cleanings from every day or two in the bag, tie the top in a knot, and put it in with my regular size garbage bags (regular grocery size - I live in a condo so have to get rid of my garbage every few days. No garbage chute.)

Hope those links get you started.

Food? What has Dann been feeding him?

I agree with keeping him in the bathroom for a while. Once the move is over, he can come out and start exploring, and he will know where his safe place is.

Great you are doing this!

Thank you for the links :)

Ooo I like the little bag idea... I know where to get these awesome little dog poop bags.. 60 for 1.00 :D Love dollar stores heheh

There is a trash room across from my front door, so I don't have to carry bags of trash down the hall & down the elevator (no chute as those attract roaches!!)

i'm not sure what food hes feeding the cat.. but it is a dry food... I wanted to gently switch him over to merricks.. He said i could change the food, if I knew of a better food.


Ok good.. I was hoping keeping him in the bathroom wasn't gonna be cruel or something

[Catty1]

Jess, I actually prefer to reuse smaller bags I have from shopping - the old 3R's thing.

Even the clear fruit and veggie bags - I double them up.

I bet if you ask around, there will be someone who is overrun with bags like that, and you could get a year's supply.

Got a friend who is a Dollar Store addict? :D

[king2005]

Jess, I actually prefer to reuse smaller bags I have from shopping - the old 3R's thing.

Even the clear fruit and veggie bags - I double them up.

I bet if you ask around, there will be someone who is overrun with bags like that, and you could get a year's supply.

Got a friend who is a Dollar Store addict? :D


I know someone who has a ton of those bags heheh
I use them as trash bags, as its soo much cheaper then those darn white trash bags you have to buy at the store..

We have a more strict trash & recycling program here in the city (which I like).. we are composting :D & have the normal recycling too :)
I just need to learn what goes where, as Chad refused to do it & tossed all the info out :mad: I grew up recycling, so its bothered me for sometime, to toss out cans & papers.

These little dog poop bags are quite small... Wouldn't they be better for the enviroment? As its a smaller bag? I think the other bags will be too big, as I wont have much trash to fill one every few days, so it'll be a big bag with a small amount of cat poop in it... When I need to empty the whole litter box (if it starts to smell or look nasty) I can use the grocery bags for that :)

I still have some of the dog poop bags from when I was caring for Bear, so I'll use them up & see how they work out & see just how much trash I do produce... I try to avoid styrofoam (sp?) as I know its so bad for the enviroment...

Hmmmm I wonder if animal poop can go into compost?? I know meat can, so why not poop?? Cause that means I wont need any bags, i just have to put it into a plastic container & dump it into the bigger compost bucket in that room :D I must find out hehe

[jackie]

Have you worked out the costs with this man?

If the cat gets sick and needs vet care?

You have been very honest about your financial situation on this board, have you thought this through 100%?

[catmandu]

I think that these things will work themselves out as Cats are very adaptable. And if you show that Cat love, you will be loved in return. And Merricks food is an excellent choice!!!!
The Found Cats all MMMMMMMEEEEOOOW to your New Friend.

[king2005]

Have you worked out the costs with this man?

If the cat gets sick and needs vet care?

You have been very honest about your financial situation on this board, have you thought this through 100%?

If the cat needs to go to the vet for an emg. I'll try to contact him.. if he pays cool.. if not & I have to, thats fine, but the cat will then be mine 100%.

Yes your right I am poor, but I have an crazy animal lover friend. I just have to bring the cat to him & he'll pay for it & will get me to slowly pay him back. He knows I'm fostering a cat from an owner whos down on his luck, so he views me differently then others, so if the cat needs medical care, he will help. He has 6 rescued cats, all with different issues. I forget which cat he did this for, but his old (talking yrs ago) roomie poisoned one of his cats. He spent 3000.00 on the cat to get her better. Buster has bad hips (not painful, just messed up), poor cat is ugly as heck as hes too fragile to get shaved any more. His fur is messy & matted a little (they trim them out here & there, but not all at once), & he has this creepy meow. His front claws are always pairtly out so he always claws you by accident. But Ron loves that cat to death & has put pillows on the floor him to sleep on, as he cannot jump at all. Mugwai was found stuck inbetween their door frozen almost solid... they thought he was going to die, so Ron put the little frozen kitten into his shirt & prayed it would live... Mugwai is now a young adult that never leaves me alone hehe.. He always has to be on my lap giving me head buts hehe When I go to bed on the couch, Mugwai always jumps on me & wants bedtime scratches from me, or he'll stick his head under my hat & flop it off my head (I wear my hat as I go to bed before the home owners, so the lights are still on).. Then Muggy (I call him Muggy) will usually sleep ontop of the couch by my head & will want morning scratches when I get up... I swear I must be made out of catnip as all the cats follow me...

Bear Will sleep on the back of my computer chair.. OMG shes the cuttest kitten ever!! She likes to jump on my head.

Truble will run up to me meowing the second I walk into the house. She'll stand up & open her paws right up wanting me to pick her up so she can give me kisses all over my face (shes worse then a dog hehe).

Nana is a semi wild Manx & hates strangers. But she will come down stairs to see me & get scratches... Ron was impresses as she never goes near strangers, but she hangs around me & my computer meowing for my attention.. she'll even jump onto my lap & gove me head butts!

Patches HAS to follow me into the bathroom every time. Then she demands scratches in there hehehe Shes my stalker in the mornings, as she'll rub my legs no matter where I walk.

Nala is around.. Shes not an attention seeker, but shes always sitting on the coffee table, so I pet her ofen.


My foster cat will be just fine :)



I do get 800.00+ bonus 4times/yr... I'll loose almost 50% of them for the next 8 months, but thats still a lot of extra money.

Now a dog is a different story. I cannot afford one of those & my place wouldn't be good for a dog.. Cats like to explore & go around & ontop of things, where a dog cannot.

[king2005]

As of right now Mr. B's owner is going to see how Mr. B does at his friends place, as hes just cannot part with the kitty (true love is grand!!).. I told him I'll keep my doors open for a couple of weeks incase things do not work out for him & Mr. B...

I'm kinda releaved as Aug 1st was a lot sooner then I wanted a cat, but the poor guy was so stressed out about his beloved cat, so I had to offer to lend a hand.

[Karen]

Hopefully he'll find a solution, but it must be a great relief for him to know you are out there if things fall through.

[catmandu]

Another thing you can do is try dry sample bags out.I do that all the time for the Found Cats and Porch Cats.
And keep an eye out for specials at the Pet Food stores like Super Pets and Pet Valu as sometimes they have great deals out there.
Good luck with your foster.
You can get Cat Fancy on line and they are good at answering questions.