Fostering Cats?

[pinkfluffy]

I lost my beloved little ginger boy in Jan and I swore I'd never have another cat ever again. Ever.

But I'm now looking into fostering cats for a charity - emergency fostering and longer term if needed. Anyone got any experience with this?
I'm all set up for it - 20 yrs of cat means the house runs around felines. I've got a lot of experience with medical problems with cats and we've just moved to a great 24/7 vets not too far away. The dogs are cat friendly (and won't be let near any cats anyway), I live in a quiet area. I've also (still) got a forest of cat trees, cat beds, toys - most of which weren't used.
Advice needed!

 

[silv]

You should go for it, sounds like an ideal situation. I foster mainly dogs but have had a few cats and just had a litter of kittens which were huge timewasters! Also I ended up keeping one, so be prepared to have a "foster failure"! The charity I foster for are a small outfit but very supportive and are always at the end of the phone if there are any issues. They provide all the food etc but I just buy it myself as that is my way of contributing a bit more.
Give it a go I am sure you won't regret it. I have dogs and they are absolutely fine with feline visitors as is my other cat.

 

[Kunoichi73]

A friend fosters cats. They get delivered to her with everything she needs. The vets bills are covered and if there's problems they seem to be dealt with quickly.

 

[pinkfluffy]

You should go for it, sounds like an ideal situation. I foster mainly dogs but have had a few cats and just had a litter of kittens which were huge timewasters! Also I ended up keeping one, so be prepared to have a "foster failure"! The charity I foster for are a small outfit but very supportive and are always at the end of the phone if there are any issues. They provide all the food etc but I just buy it myself as that is my way of contributing a bit more.
Give it a go I am sure you won't regret it. I have dogs and they are absolutely fine with feline visitors as is my other cat.

Thanks I'm sure I'll have multiple 'foster failures', probably starting with the first cat I meet!

 

[pinkfluffy]

A friend fosters cats. They get delivered to her with everything she needs. The vets bills are covered and if there's problems they seem to be dealt with quickly.

Good to know

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Having lost one of my old girls a week ago I’m finding it quite strange with just two left and as one is 18 I considered getting another to keep the fluffy blind one company so he isn’t alone. Fostering an older cat sounds a really good solution but I’d be useless and keep them all

 

[pinkfluffy]

Having lost one of my old girls a week ago I’m finding it quite strange with just two left and as one is 18 I considered getting another to keep the fluffy blind one company so he isn’t alone. Fostering an older cat sounds a really good solution but I’d be useless and keep them all

I'm so sorry for your loss. I like the idea of an older cat too, but I know I'd end up with 10 cats on a sofa with humans sat on the floor so that we don't disturb their much needed sleep.

 

[Ratface]

Cat Slave here: having very sadly lost King Kevin Kat to a very swiftly-growing stomach tumour five weeks ago, I asked my friend, Cat- Finder General, to find me another needy cat as I couldn't bear the massive howling hole of grief that his death left behind.
A fortnight later Chubby Cat was delivered. She's got some "issues" due to a previouly less than suitable environment, but otherwise is a completely perfect pearl.
Very affectionate, chatty and becoming less anxious as the quiet days pass.
She's 12 and very overweight. I can't do anything about her age, but we're slowly working on improving her diet so that, if possible, she can become less rotund.

 

[pinkfluffy]

Cat Slave here: having very sadly lost King Kevin Kat to a very swiftly-growing stomach tumour five weeks ago, I asked my friend, Cat- Finder General, to find me another needy cat as I couldn't bear the massive howling hole of grief that his death left behind.
A fortnight later Chubby Cat was delivered. She's got some "issues" due to a previouly less than suitable environment, but otherwise is a completely perfect pearl.
Very affectionate, chatty and becoming less anxious as the quiet days pass.
She's 12 and very overweight. I can't do anything about her age, but we're slowly working on improving her diet so that, if possible, she can become less rotund.

I was so sorry to hear about King Kevin Kat and have been following Chubby Cat's introduction to her new life! I think I would have had another cat by now if I hadn't bought a pony 2 weeks before my cat died - said pony has a lot of issues and is only now settling (after 5 months) so the cat shaped absence is becoming obvious. I am a cat person at heart - I think I'll adopt the first cat I attempt to foster and it will rule my dogs. They've been without a feline overlord for the first time in their lives and its showing!
Hope Chubby Cat (and Cat Slave) are having a relaxing Sunday.

 

[Gloi]

I've been considering this too since my old cat passed away. I am hoping to go on more holidays so don't want to take on another cat of my own but would like to try taking short term fosters.

 

[pinkfluffy]

I've been considering this too since my old cat passed away. I am hoping to go on more holidays so don't want to take on another cat of my own but would like to try taking short term fosters.

I'm sorry for your loss. A lot of the charities I've seen show average foster time to be about 3-4 months but can be just weeks, especially emergency placements.

 

[Ratface]

I was so sorry to hear about King Kevin Kat and have been following Chubby Cat's introduction to her new life! I think I would have had another cat by now if I hadn't bought a pony 2 weeks before my cat died - said pony has a lot of issues and is only now settling (after 5 months) so the cat shaped absence is becoming obvious. I am a cat person at heart - I think I'll adopt the first cat I attempt to foster and it will rule my dogs. They've been without a feline overlord for the first time in their lives and its showing!
Hope Chubby Cat (and Cat Slave) are having a relaxing Sunday.

Thank you. Chubby Cat is becoming more settled, overall and beginning to venture into the aft cabin where I spend most of my time.
Cat Slave is still festering resentfully with having to live with M E, which requires rest for at least 12hrs a day, which then screws up my sleep patterns. The Type 2 diabetes management is also currently out of sync.
A graceful acceptance of my otherwise charmed life is, at the moment, a bit hit and miss.
In truth, Chubby Cat is a veritable blessing. She's becoming marginally more adventurous each day. She's an indoor cat, so I don't have to worry about her falling in the river and drowning and she's not (yet!) seeming to be interested in counter surfing. She's spending lots less time hiding, too.
On balance, I think that she's a lot better than me.

 

[pinkfluffy]

Thank you. Chubby Cat is becoming more settled, overall and beginning to venture into the aft cabin where I spend most of my time.
Cat Slave is still festering resentfully with having to live with M E, which requires rest for at least 12hrs a day, which then screws up my sleep patterns. The Type 2 diabetes management is also currently out of sync.
A graceful acceptance of my otherwise charmed life is, at the moment, a bit hit and miss.
In truth, Chubby Cat is a veritable blessing. She's becoming marginally more adventurous each day. She's an indoor cat, so I don't have to worry about her falling in the river and drowning and she's not (yet!) seeming to be interested in counter surfing. She's spending lots less time hiding, too.
On balance, I think that she's a lot better than me.

They can be an unexpected blessing when our own health is suffering. My uncle, who was ill most of his life, said cats were the best companions when life was tough. I got my first cat from him, a rescue kitten, and she was a life-changing cat.
I'm glad Chubby Cat is settling in well, she sounds perfect and very lucky to have found you. I hope you feel better soon.

 

[HollyWoozle]

I lost my darling Milly in February 2020 and decided to foster (in my little flat!) and it was a great experience. I had three adults there, all rehomed fairly quickly, and whilst it was really hard to give them up it was also very rewarding. I then bought a house with my fiancé and we fostered a pregnant stray - that became a very stressful situation but was very unusual, as mama and kits contracted panleukopenia and were very poorly and went back to the charity. However, the charity was extremely supportive throughout and I have no regrets. We then decided we were ready to permanently rehome and took one that was on foster with someone else and adore him.

I rehomed both Milly and current cat Eddie, plus did the fostering, via Wood Green who are local to me. They were brilliant and I'd definitely do it again and hope to help them in other ways.

@Ratface I was so very sorry to read of your loss on this thread. I've not been on the boards much lately and had missed the news about King Kevin, may he rest in peace. Pleased to hear you have a new chum though!

 

[smolmaus]

I've done home checks for cat foster homes so I can give a little bit of advice! Some things I had to check off a list below

Have somewhere secure and isolated, like a spare room or, sometimes better, a spare bathroom you can do without. It makes biosecurity so much easier, gives the cats somewhere quiet to decompress and the bathroom part is for if you get a cat that either has never used a litter box or forgets how to when they're stressed. I had to really try and make sure that people weren't going to be precious about their furnishings and hand cats back straight away if they peed on the carpet

Be able to confidently restrict outdoor access, possibly permanently. If you have no other cats in the home you would be ideal for an FIV+ cat that needs a soft landing but they obviously can't be allowed outside. We had a good few cats that the rescue specified should be permanently indoor only. If that won't work for you long term then do let the rescue know so they can give you the cats that suit!

Know what you're going to do if/when you're away on holiday or taken ill unexpectedly or something and that you will be able to make other arrangements for cat care. Cat sitter, relatives, neighbours etc. It doesn't have to be a firm agreement, just having potential backup.

Being okay with potential homes coming to meet foster cats at your house, makes things a lot easier for the rescue and less stressful for the cats. This time of year especially if you can handle litters of kittens for basic socialisation you will be SO valuable but don't feel any pressure to take on anything you're not confident you can handle.

If you like your vet just be aware that the rescue might have to ask you to use whichever vet they are already using for billing purposes etc. Hopefully if you're local it will be the same one but just bear that in mind it might not be.

I think that's the main things that maybe people didn't often think about? I absolutely loved doing foster home checks, I didn’t meet a single person I didn't get on with straight away and who didn't do a fantastic job. Even though this was during covid and masking was a nightmare and you couldn't beg people to take kittens! I know plenty of the cats really got their feet under the table and never left

 

[pinkfluffy]

I've done home checks for cat foster homes so I can give a little bit of advice! Some things I had to check off a list below

Have somewhere secure and isolated, like a spare room or, sometimes better, a spare bathroom you can do without. It makes biosecurity so much easier, gives the cats somewhere quiet to decompress and the bathroom part is for if you get a cat that either has never used a litter box or forgets how to when they're stressed. I had to really try and make sure that people weren't going to be precious about their furnishings and hand cats back straight away if they peed on the carpet

Be able to confidently restrict outdoor access, possibly permanently. If you have no other cats in the home you would be ideal for an FIV+ cat that needs a soft landing but they obviously can't be allowed outside. We had a good few cats that the rescue specified should be permanently indoor only. If that won't work for you long term then do let the rescue know so they can give you the cats that suit!

Know what you're going to do if/when you're away on holiday or taken ill unexpectedly or something and that you will be able to make other arrangements for cat care. Cat sitter, relatives, neighbours etc. It doesn't have to be a firm agreement, just having potential backup.

Being okay with potential homes coming to meet foster cats at your house, makes things a lot easier for the rescue and less stressful for the cats. This time of year especially if you can handle litters of kittens for basic socialisation you will be SO valuable but don't feel any pressure to take on anything you're not confident you can handle.

If you like your vet just be aware that the rescue might have to ask you to use whichever vet they are already using for billing purposes etc. Hopefully if you're local it will be the same one but just bear that in mind it might not be.

I think that's the main things that maybe people didn't often think about? I absolutely loved doing foster home checks, I didn’t meet a single person I didn't get on with straight away and who didn't do a fantastic job. Even though this was during covid and masking was a nightmare and you couldn't beg people to take kittens! I know plenty of the cats really got their feet under the table and never left

That's really useful, thank you.

I wouldn't mind FIV or other medical issues because I can happily keep cats indoors. I think I'll fail at fostering and never let any cat go, though a litter of kittens may be beyond me. I hadn't thought that about the vets, but its definitely an important point to ask the charity.

 

[pinkfluffy]

I lost my darling Milly in February 2020 and decided to foster (in my little flat!) and it was a great experience. I had three adults there, all rehomed fairly quickly, and whilst it was really hard to give them up it was also very rewarding. I then bought a house with my fiancé and we fostered a pregnant stray - that became a very stressful situation but was very unusual, as mama and kits contracted panleukopenia and were very poorly and went back to the charity. However, the charity was extremely supportive throughout and I have no regrets. We then decided we were ready to permanently rehome and took one that was on foster with someone else and adore him.

I rehomed both Milly and current cat Eddie, plus did the fostering, via Wood Green who are local to me. They were brilliant and I'd definitely do it again and hope to help them in other ways.

@Ratface I was so very sorry to read of your loss on this thread. I've not been on the boards much lately and had missed the news about King Kevin, may he rest in peace. Pleased to hear you have a new chum though!

I'm so sorry about Milly. I'm glad you had a (mostly) positive experience fostering, sick kittens must have been awful.

 

[HollyWoozle]

The sick kitties were very stressful but it was bad luck as much as anything! My parents rehomed two of those babies when they were old enough and had recovered.

I thought I’d never be able to give up fosters… the first cat was only with me for 9 days and I cried like a baby when they picked her up But I came to terms with it and I am sure you will too, you do feel as though you are really helping and it’s a joy to get to know and help different cats. Depending on the charity you may also be able to join a sort of community of fosterers - Wood Green (for example) have a group on Workplace to share experiences, photos etc which is lovely.

 

[pinkfluffy]

The sick kitties were very stressful but it was bad luck as much as anything! My parents rehomed two of those babies when they were old enough and had recovered.

I thought I’d never be able to give up fosters… the first cat was only with me for 9 days and I cried like a baby when they picked her up But I came to terms with it and I am sure you will too, you do feel as though you are really helping and it’s a joy to get to know and help different cats. Depending on the charity you may also be able to join a sort of community of fosterers - Wood Green (for example) have a group on Workplace to share experiences, photos etc which is lovely.

I'm so glad they got good homes with your parents - it must be so rewarding to know what they'd been through and to see them happy and grown.
I'm not ready to adopt myself, but I think fostering is something that can help cats whilst you heal enough to adopt one. Knowing me, it will end in 4 cats staying. And I'm looking forward to getting back into a cat community - I'm a cat person at heart, just don't tell my ponies!