Fostering Experiences please

[DNova]

Please share with me your experiences, both good and bad, of fostering kittens/cats. Thanks a lot! ~Don

[DNova]

Yes, I am definitely considering it. Great thing about one of the local rescue groups, Gainesville Pet Rescue www.gainesvillepetrescue.org (http://www.gainesvillepetrescue.org) , is that they provide all the supplies to foster parents. They provide litter box, litter, food, medicine if necessary, toys, etc. Of course, I'd probably go to PetSmart and buy all sorts of kitty-spoiling products :D :D :D It just might be fairly difficult to give them up when they are adopted. I'm sure it's tough, especially if it takes a while for them to get a permanent home. It'll take a lot of self-discipline to tell myself that I can't keep them all!! (I'm in a no-pets apartment) :rolleyes:

Anyways, Thanks spencer, for pointing me to your fostering stories. Anyone else have any stories to share? :)

[ November 10, 2001: Message edited by: DNova ]

[ November 10, 2001: Message edited by: DNova ]

[aly]

How about volunteering at a no-kill shelter? You could go play with kitties whenever you wanted :)

The absolute worst part about fostering is the fact that you have to give them up. I cry so bad every single time. I can never get used to the concept of not keeping an animal. It doesn't help when I become too bonded in about 5 minutes flat.

The fact that your apartment doesn't allow pets makes me a little nervous if you were to foster. The main problem is, if they catch you, they have a legal right to remove the animal and you may never see it again :(

[4 feline house]

Well, DNova, I was going to lay low on this thread because I felt like I may have weighed in a little too heavily on your previous question, but I have to agree with Chuck and Aly on this one. The fact that you are fostering is actually a worse situation than if you owned your kitties. First of all, a large portion of fosters have socialization issues, and you may be making that worse if you're constantly having to hide them (confining them to a crate or a closet or shuffling them off to a friend's on the days the pest control is coming, etc). Also, if you foster under the auspices of an organized group, you would not likely be accepted as a foster parent unless you can show proof that you have permission from your landlord. Plus, like I mentioned before, if Florida leases are anything like Texas leases, the fact that you do not "own" the pet makes absolutely no difference, legally. The pet can still be gone in 24 hours, whether by you voluntarily or by the management forcefully. And that could serve to further traumatize a cat that has probably already had its share of traumas. Further, the management would be taking it to the pound, where it would likely be destroyed, and then all your efforts would have been for naught.

I think Chuck and Aly have the best advice - there's so much work to be done for all the helpless little guys, there's lots you could do that will allow you to get a headbutt here and give a scritchie there while giving comfort to a comfortless creature. I know it's not the same, and I really feel for you (I've been there), but it will be the best compromise until you graduate and have more discretion on where you live.