What is fostering like?

Thinking about pledging your own fosters? Our housemother at Delta Tau Chi offers this page of information and advice.

Things to consider are

1. What is the shelter like (assuming you would go through a shelter)? Some shelters are not too concerned with the health of the cats they handle. This could be a problem if they don't check for diseases before they give the cat to you for care. You might want to ask to speak with someone who does fostering for that shelter and ask some questions.
2. Do they provide medical care for the cats (as is true in my situation)?
3. What else to they provide? The only other thing my shelter usually provides is a carrier, but I know of other people who get food and litter and toys supplied. Sometimes my shelter will provide special diets when needed.
4. Do you have a place to keep the cat isolated? You will need to keep the cat separate from your cat for a while, if not the whole time.
   Occasionally a cat I've gotten has seemed really healthy, but I always wait for at least a week and a half even then. In the meantime they stay in a separate room and I wash hands (at least) thoroughly after visits. My cats have caught ringworm, fleas and parasites from the foster cats. I would recommend keeping your fosters completely separate, but I don't do well at following my own advice! If you do let them out it is safest if they don't use your pets food/water/litter.
5. How will other animals in your home react? This was initially a big concern for me, but since they are mostly kept separate it hasn't been a big issue. The other cats don't seem to mind a cat/kittens closed inside another room. When I do bring them out Megan (my grouchy cat) and Jadzia (my split personality cat) doesn't like any of them. Believe it or not Megan doesn't seem that upset by the whole thing so long as she can keep up and away from them. She has actually become much more relaxed about everything after about a year or so of fostering. My other two cats vary in how they like meeting the fosters, but I have had no behavioral problems even when I've let foster cats live among us on occasion.
6. How is the foster program set up?
   There are 2 types of fostering I am aware of. They way I do it is I get a cat that the shelter is unable to adopt out because it is sick or too timid or too young. Then I take care of it till it is adoptable. BUT if for some reason I end up with a cat that is unadoptable (due to chronic URI or other health conditions that won't clear up) the shelter would want to euthanize it if I can't find a home or keep it myself.
   The second way is an organization either rescues death row cats or just bypasses the shelter completely. In theory you are caring for a healthy cat, but the person I met on the internet that was doing this type of fostering ended up getting 3 sick animals in a row. Also you could end up fostering one case for a long time if no adoption comes through.
7. Are your pets protected?
   Keep your pets up to date on shots, and learn how to look for fleas, worms, fungus on your fosters. You will probably encounter all sorts of things you never thought of. (My 1st surprise was when a mama cat went into heat and there is still always something new!) You are taking some risks with your existing cat by bringing unknown strays in. You can't vaccinate against everything and the vaccines that exist don't protect 100 percent. Your best protection is to keep the fosters separate. If you cannot keep them separate then make sure that they aren't fighting (most bad diseases require body fluid swapping to spread) and keep them from sharing food and litter boxes.
8. Can you work with the system?
   The shelter may be understaffed and disorganized. It can be very frustrating trying to get help (isn't that true about most anything in life). They have hundreds of animals through in a week so they have a different perspective than you do about your few fosters. Prepare to be patient, persistent and a little frustrated at times. They also are used to seeing fleas, mites, etc. and are apt to be much less upset by these problems in your fosters than you might be.
9. Can you handle giving them up?
   For me this is not as difficult as I had initially feared. I know that if I did not care for them they would spend at least 2 weeks in a cage with very little contact except to medicate (if they were not euthanized for lack of space). I feel that even if the unthinkable happens and one of them is not adopted and is euthanized at least they knew love for a few weeks (especially some of these strays!). Plus I have been able to pick up a new case when I drop the healthy ones off. I immediately have needy new ones to settle in and med and get to know which seems to make it all easier. I know if I adopt too many I won't be able to keep fostering and that is unthinkable to me. I need these foster cats in my life as much as they need me. I also think it is important for each cat to get enough of our attention and love and I have a personal limit for how many we keep at that level of care.
   You may find that it helps if you can visit the cat in the shelter or bring him/her home from the adoption centers...or you may find that it is easier for you to not see your baby in a cage and avoid visiting at all. There is no wrong answer, it is tough to know what will work till you try it.
   If you feel this may be a difficult problem for you be sure that you realistically have the ability to adopt before you try fostering. The worst that can happen is you foster once, adopt that cat and quit. Just don't accept a litter of 7 kittens right away or you'll have a houseful in a hurry!
10. Lastly, what are the adoption policies? (I have heard of some shelters that actually don't allow you to adopt an animal that you have fostered! Not true at my shelter...in fact I've adopted two of my foster mama cats.)
    Find out how the shelter or program screens potential adopters. If you are happy with their criteria you may be able to let them find homes for all your fosters. If you would prefer to find homes for the fosters yourself find out if that is possible. Your shelter or program probably will allow this but they may want to approve the adopter that you find and may have a standard adoption fee/procedure and rules.
    I do not look for homes for my babies. I feel the shelter does a good job and I would have a hard time finding a home that I would consider 'good enough'. I also personally would have a really hard time finding out that my fosters ended up in an unhappy home. Part of what helps me deal with giving them up is the fantasy that they will all find good homes where they are as loved and cared for as my own cats. I know not all homes are like that but I have to have my dreams for my babies. One really big advantage to finding my own homes for them would be that I could get updates and pictures of them as they grow up and settle into their new lives. But I need my fantasy more.

KITTEN CARE SITES some good websites with special advice about VERY young kitten care.
Agatha Kitty's Supplimental Feeding Site all about caring for young kittens (with a kitten development stages page featuring some of my foster kittens!)
Kitten Rescue very good & well organized, covers young orphan care
Animal Clinic orphan kitten care, is more concise than the others, a good starting site in emergencies.
Safe Haven the most complete information on orphan care, but its all on one LONG page in seemingly random order. Worth a look in a non-emergency.
Note: I haven't found very good websites about the birth process. Try looking at your library for books. Siamese and Persian breed books seem to have lots of detailed information about the birth and pre-birth considerations. If you are desperate here is a basic overview web article, but get a book if you can.

Any questions or comments?

This site was last updated on November 17, 1999.
URL: http://www.artfulbadger.net/animalhouse/fosterq.htm