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Pledges and Alumni: Fostering Animals

In May 1997 I started fostering cats and kittens for the Dane County Humane Society. Their foster program allows people to help out shelter cats by caring for recuperating, shy or too young kittens in their homes and then returning them to the shelter for adoption.

Fostering is very rewarding. The positives are meeting all sorts of new cats and getting to know them. Every year I have kittens in the house (multiple kittens) to play with and watch. I am constantly learning about cat care and behavior which I enjoy and it helps me to take better care of my own cats. And I love being able to help out homeless cats in my own home. I find it is easier to help the shelter one small group of cats at a time rather than face the hundreds that they deal with in a month. And I really believe that we are helping these cats. Some of them are so starved for attention or socialization that it is heartbreaking. I also enjoy naming them all, even knowing that their new owners will rename most of them. (See my page of unusual but fun cat names, Delta Tau Chi Names.)
The negative aspects of fostering include the time and money required (in my case I buy food, toys and litter...medical care is provided, but since this is my BIG hobby the time isn't a bad thing for me and I consider the expenses a donation). NOTE: Expenses should be tax-deductible if it is a non-profit organization. My cats are at an increased danger for catching diseases, parasites and fleas, and must be on extra vaccines and preventatives because of this. Fosters are very often sick and require lots of care. It is easy to fall in love with every one and that makes it difficult to give them up to new homes or to put them up for adoption at the shelter. Occasionally animals are sick enough to die while in a foster care, which is by far the worst negative. I try to remember that at least they had a loving home at our house but it still very sad.

Would you consider fostering? Please visit my page with more information where I cover FAQ's.....everything you wanted to know about fostering but were afraid to ask!

I really enjoy doing this, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested. I have met many wonderful animals (I have fostered over 100 animals) and made a difference in their lives. I hope that I helped make each one a better pet for their ultimate owner.

If you have any questions/comments about fostering or are
a foster home also, I would love to hear from you.