Why do rescues need fosters and what do rescues look for in fosters?
The majority of rescues do not have a physical location. They are foster based meaning they function with the help of fosters and their homes. One person cannot keep a bunch of cats safely or legally in one space so they are fostered.
It's not difficult to foster especially if you love animals or cats. And you can choose a type that you prefer to foster such as adults, kittens, ones that need socializing, shy etc. Fostering doesn't require a lot of time, space, or money. However, there are safety measures that need to be followed for the safety of yourself, the foster, any children in the home, adults, other pets, and other fosters and that information is included in our contract.
Fosters are responsible for providing a cat or cats with a safe and loving environment similar to that of an adoptive home except it's temporary. A foster home serves to prepare a cat, previously rescued from the street, to be adopted. Some cats revert to some feral ways to survive outside. Some become untrusting of humans because of bad experiences but will warm up once they realize they are safe and loved. Fosters try to socialize cats and this can be done with many members in a household.
Fosters are responsible for protecting their pets as well as their fosters by quarantining a foster cat until he or she has been spayed and/or neutered, vaccinated, tested, dewormed, and has been treated for fleas. No cats should be integrated with others until these things are done. But that's not all. A foster learns the behaviors and personalities of each animal in their care and determines whether two cats can be safely put together without fighting and injuring one another. They learn if a foster is friendly towards dogs, other cats, and children. This information is valuable for finding 'best fit' homes for them. Rescues rely on fosters insights about the cats in their care. They trust them to transport them safely to and from the vet and or to adoption events in some cases. Rescues trust fosters to pay attention to red flags regarding health issues and to contact them should a health concern arise. Rescues trust that fosters will never put a foster in harms way intentionally or negligently. Fosters are a part of the organization.
If you feel like this is something you would like to do or have done before and would like to foster again please feel free to fill out our foster application and we will contact you. Once approved you can get started with your new foster as soon as possible if you like.