all you foster moms/dads out there!!

[critter crazy]

I have been seriously thinking lately about opening my home to fosters. I know it is a hard task, as you always get attached, but I think it is something that I need to do, and of course I raly want to help!

What does it all entail?? Obviously I would open my home temporarily to fosters, but what all else is needed? as a foster parent would I have to foot medical bills?? or is that on the shelter/rescue?? Not that it is a huge deal, but would definitely limit how many I could bring into my home.

Since I only work 3 days a week, I figure i could be a great benifit to kitties in need.

What risks does this pose to my cat??

How draining is it on you mentally??

Any info you could give would be great, as would help me make up my mind finally!

[Freedom]

My first foster was a one year old kitty, Ebony. She was picked up as a feral / stray, was pregnant and had an abort and spay. She was recovering from that when she got here. It lasted 29 minutes! I phoned the coordinator and said, "This is not working." Reply: "Oh my, I was told she has a wonderful personality!" Me: "Oh she DOES that's the problem. Take me off the foster list and take her off the adoption list. She has her furrever home!" So Lesson #1: you have to be in a position to be able to add to your current pets!

Two years later, I am trapping a feral cat colony which includes some kittens. I catch 3 kittens and have to foster / hold them until the assessment is made if they can be socialized. Then if yes they move to a more permanent foster home. I had 3 kittens in 3 separate cages. Each morning and each evening, I had to transfer these "wild" kittens to carriers and clean out the cage, litter box, put the towels in the laundry and add new towels. These kittens were 8 to 10 weeks old, weaned, eating solid food, and knew what to do with a litter box: use it, then SIT in it!
So Lesson #2: kittens are MESSY!

I have 8 cats and 2 dogs of my own. Each and every one had to go into the spare bedroom and sniff and check out the newbies. Lesson #3: you need to be on constant alert with what is happening between ALL the pets in the house; and be able to close the door where the fosters are until everyone agrees to the arrivals.

The kittens passed their assessment and had to be transferred to their new foster homes. Lesson #4: you have to be willing to drive to new areas as you make transfers!

You don't mention if you will be fostering adults from a shelter, or kittens, or ferals. there are different "lessons" to be learned in each and every situation!

I also volunteer with bichon rescue and I had 2 bichons come through here (maybe you saw my thread about it, 2 weeks ago). Lesson #5: not every pet is going to get along with every other pet. You need to be prepared for CHAOS!


That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Did I mention it is fun? Oh yeah, it is MAJOR fun!

[critter crazy]

WOW!! Thanks freedom! What a great bunch of info! I am not sure if I would be able to do kittens?? For one I have never had anything younger than 5 weeks old, have no clue what to do with babies! and two, working even part time, limits my abilities to bottle feedings and such. So we will just have to see if I even do this. Lots to think over.

[lvpets2002]

Well I would say Freedom has summed it all up to well.. It is a very hard hard task.. Good Luck & let us know what is going on..

[Freedom]

I have never done bottle babies either. That is a whole 'nuther set of lessons, he he. Not to mention, I feel I would bond too closely with such little ones and I'd keep them all!

[Catlady711]

I have never done bottle babies either. That is a whole 'nuther set of lessons, he he. Not to mention, I feel I would bond too closely with such little ones and I'd keep them all!

Oh yes, that is SOOOOO true!! *failed fostering 101* Hence Sabrina, Sassy, and Josh are still here since fall of last year! LOL

[AbbyMom]

Can I add one or two more things to Freedom's excellent post?

My last foster pair from a rescue organization came down with ringworm a few days after arrival. Luckily, they were isolated.

Lesson #6: Keep fosters in a quarantine two weeks before you let them mix with your pets. This will also help them mix with your current pets.

I loved this foster pair immensely. When they healed, they had to be returned to PETsMART--the cage. THAT BROKE MY HEART. Since I had not heeded Freedom's Lesson #1, I could not keep them. My cats (Becky and Abby) were already at each other's throats and these two cats...well, it would not work even with Feliway going 24 hrs a day.

Yes, the pair did finallly get a new furrever home. But I had to know that my foster babies whom I loved were sitting in a cage for three months. THAT BROKE MY HEART.

Lesson #7: It's easier to foster when the cats go directly to their furrever home from your house even if you have to drive them to adoption events or prospective adopters.

Good luck to you. Fostering is a very rewarding way to give to animals. If it seems like I regret it, that is absolutely not true.

Here are my fosters:

[jennielynn1970]

I have some other hints, also from experience.

If you can choose whom you are fostering, that also helps. Not that you want a perfect foster, but being able to meet them and see their personality may help you decide if they might be more adaptable to your home. Most of the fosters I've had have been wonderful with other kitties. There have been a few (who are actually still here after 2yrs) who are just not cat friendly. So, either accept that you may house cats that are not super friendly with other cats and be less adoptable, or try to have more control over who you are fostering. Many of us who foster have what I would call "lifers" who are just not super adoptable and may be with us for the long haul. This can be a blessing and a curse both, lol.

If you are not adverse to fostering for long term, you can also opt to take the special needs kitties as well, since they have the hardest time getting adopted and so deserve to have a home. To me, even if it's not permanent (technically), it's better than the shelter. I have a special fondness for my FIV+ boys and senior cats. Almost every FIV+ cat we had at the shelter was just so sweet and loving. We did have a few at the shelter that were weenies, but the others were just loves. The senior citizen kitties also just break my heart. The fact that someone would dump them because they are older and may have some health issues is just inhumane.

Definitely try fostering!! And, hey, if you get attached, then you have another family member! It's not that bad!!

[jennielynn1970]

Yes, the pair did finallly get a new furrever home. But I had to know that my foster babies whom I loved were sitting in a cage for three months. THAT BROKE MY HEART.

Your fosters were gorgeous!!! I think I would have ended up keeping those two, lol. They're my favorite colors!!! Then again, what cat colors aren't my favorites?!

I don't think I'd allow any of my fosters to be in a cage for longer than 2 weeks, tops. It was so hard just to leave them there and walk away. I cried the entire way home, and emailed everyone to let me know how they were doing the entire time they were there (the PetSmart adoption center was about 1hr away, so I couldn't go there every day and had to sit and wait to hear about updates ).