Would I Be Able To Foster?

Claire07x

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Hi,

I'm fairly new to TCS so apologies if this is the wrong place to post this!

I'm looking more & more into the idea of fostering and wondered if you lovely people had any ideas about whether or not I'd be suited for it?

I have 1 rescue cat that I own, Kali. She's between 2-3 years old and was very badly abused but after time & love & patience has come out of her shell totally and is now a vocal, gorgeous lap cat who wants hugs and attention 24/7! She's indoor only due to having an allergy to flea & tick bites (she was bald almost entirely when I said I wanted to rescue her because of an allergic reaction to a bite, and she's not even keen on going outside anyway - I have a glass door behind my front door so she can see outside but never normally bothers looking unless it's to welcome me home!).

I do work 9-5 Monday-Friday but have family nearby that pop-in already to see Kali and they said they'd be fine with feeding/socialising any new additions when I'm not there, so they'd never be abandoned. I also use automatic feeders for dry food so my girl doesn't over-eat in the morning and leave nothing for the rest of the day and so she gets enough food on time between wet food feeds - the feeding isn't so much the issue, I just like her to have a bit of attention while im out! I don't drive but I do live near the vet (5 min walk) and have family and an SO who are completely onboard - my dad is a total cat person and fell in love with my girl immediately, so he's always swinging by and looking for excuses to see the cat, so he's always happy for vet trips if needed.

The thing is, I'd want any foster cats I took on to be 2/3+ years that were indoor only (or could be kept indoor only while in foster care) so that nothing would conflict with Kali's living. She is spayed and fully up to date with flea/worm treatments and vaccinations. It's really just the allergy to bites that means I couldn't have an outdoor cat stay.

I have a large massionette-style flat (up&downstairs) with more room than we know what to do with, so no cat would ever get bored. Plenty of toys/cleared shelves etc too. I'd be looking to take on 1 cat at a time and not kittens - I couldn't commit to the regular 2hr feeding times due to work.

Am I likely to be able to sponsor or, because of my job/Kali, is that not going to be possible? I've sent an email today explaining my situation to a foster organisation, so I'll see what happens but I guess I want advice from the lovely experts here too - so I can brace myself for rejection/get excited to possibly be considered really!!

Any opinions/tips&tricks/ideas/foster stories would be much appreciated!

ALSO, just a disclaimer, there's a lot of research and planning still to happen if I do decide&get chosen to do this - it's not a snap decision and I don't see it happening for a while yet. I'm really just trying to get an idea of if I can do it and how it'd suit my lifestyle/how to prepare etc.

Thanks a lot,
C
 

chromecat

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Hello and thank you for thinking of becoming a foster carer. It is a great and rewarding and the world needs more foster carers!
I don't see any constraints in your situation and I think you'll be a great carer. You won't be able to take care of kittens as you said, but any older cat should be OK. Is there a way you could keep them separated? Especially at the beginning, you might not want the foster to get in contact with Kali straight away, it'd be very stressful for both.

Normally associations just give out the list of animals in need of care and you can pick and choose the one that would fit your situation. So you could decide to give your availability for 6months+ cats, preferably indoor, waiting for rehoming. There might not be a lot of requests since we see that normally there's a lot of urgency for kittens, but we do get the odd request for older kittens or cats.

Fostering is awesome and hard at the same time - let me know if you have any questions!
 

abyeb

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I think it sounds like you would make a great foster parent! Here’s an old thread about someone fostering kittens (so a little more rambunctious than the adult cats you’d be fostering), but it has a lot of great advice (and cute pictures)
About to foster six week old kittens! Any tips or tricks?

Would you possibly be looking into fostering a pregnant cat?
 
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Claire07x

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Thank you both so much! This is so helpful! I didn't realise you could choose so I think that makes things a lot more possible on my mind!!

I'd love to take in a pregnant girl but only when I could get time off work, really. Mainly because I've not had experience with pregnant cats before and I'd need to be on-hand when the kittens were born (in case of issues with birth/feeding etc). So it's a definite possibility but I think I'd start out with cats that weren't pregnant first - break myself in gently, wouldn't be fair to the cat either if the first one I fostered was pregnant and I didn't have much experience anyway..

I could keep them separated if that's recommended (provided I foster one at a time) since one could have the living room (big room) and the other could have the hall, stairway, under the stairs office and bathroom until they could be mixed. I'm not sure on the bedroom though just because cats tend to get into everything and my makeup is in there, so wouldn't want any one getting sick!

I'll definitely check out the thread though and thank you both so much for being so helpful! Xx
 

angels mommy

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I agree, sounds like you'd make a great foster mom. Sounds like you're going about it all in the right way. Yes, at first they would have to be separated to begin proper introductions. You can find lots of great threads here on introductions as well, to ensure they get along. It can be a process, but worth it in the long run for everyone's happinesses. If you've watched any of Jackson Galloxy's "My cat from hell" shows, you may already have an idea of how to begin introductions the right way.
Best of luck!
 

chromecat

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Yes, you'll be able to say no to those cases you don't feel comfortable with. Yes, making arrangements to separate the cats is important as sometimes you don't know where the cat comes from (if it's a stray, or if it's an outdoor cat etc.), and you want to avoid to expose your resident cat to anything (ringworm, fleas) that might show up in a week or two.

In case of a pregnant girl you'll definitely need time to take care of the kittens if needed.

Re: the bedroom, can you put all the make up away in a drawer, maybe?
 

tarasgirl06

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Hi,

I'm fairly new to TCS so apologies if this is the wrong place to post this!

I'm looking more & more into the idea of fostering and wondered if you lovely people had any ideas about whether or not I'd be suited for it?

I have 1 rescue cat that I own, Kali. She's between 2-3 years old and was very badly abused but after time & love & patience has come out of her shell totally and is now a vocal, gorgeous lap cat who wants hugs and attention 24/7! She's indoor only due to having an allergy to flea & tick bites (she was bald almost entirely when I said I wanted to rescue her because of an allergic reaction to a bite, and she's not even keen on going outside anyway - I have a glass door behind my front door so she can see outside but never normally bothers looking unless it's to welcome me home!).

I do work 9-5 Monday-Friday but have family nearby that pop-in already to see Kali and they said they'd be fine with feeding/socialising any new additions when I'm not there, so they'd never be abandoned. I also use automatic feeders for dry food so my girl doesn't over-eat in the morning and leave nothing for the rest of the day and so she gets enough food on time between wet food feeds - the feeding isn't so much the issue, I just like her to have a bit of attention while im out! I don't drive but I do live near the vet (5 min walk) and have family and an SO who are completely onboard - my dad is a total cat person and fell in love with my girl immediately, so he's always swinging by and looking for excuses to see the cat, so he's always happy for vet trips if needed.

The thing is, I'd want any foster cats I took on to be 2/3+ years that were indoor only (or could be kept indoor only while in foster care) so that nothing would conflict with Kali's living. She is spayed and fully up to date with flea/worm treatments and vaccinations. It's really just the allergy to bites that means I couldn't have an outdoor cat stay.

I have a large massionette-style flat (up&downstairs) with more room than we know what to do with, so no cat would ever get bored. Plenty of toys/cleared shelves etc too. I'd be looking to take on 1 cat at a time and not kittens - I couldn't commit to the regular 2hr feeding times due to work.

Am I likely to be able to sponsor or, because of my job/Kali, is that not going to be possible? I've sent an email today explaining my situation to a foster organisation, so I'll see what happens but I guess I want advice from the lovely experts here too - so I can brace myself for rejection/get excited to possibly be considered really!!

Any opinions/tips&tricks/ideas/foster stories would be much appreciated!

ALSO, just a disclaimer, there's a lot of research and planning still to happen if I do decide&get chosen to do this - it's not a snap decision and I don't see it happening for a while yet. I'm really just trying to get an idea of if I can do it and how it'd suit my lifestyle/how to prepare etc.

Thanks a lot,
C
Wow, Claire07x Claire07x , welcome to TCS and THANK YOU for wanting to foster adult cats! I hope it's okay to say that TCS member I I_Wuv_Kitties is doing that as I type, so you might want to talk to him about it! Also, I advocate and crosspost for cats on social media daily, mostly the cats of New York in the NYACC system, and I know they are always asking for fosterers and very grateful for fosterers of adult cats! I'm sure a lot of other shelters/ACCs are, too. I don't know your location, but most if not all ACCs and shelters have websites and you can access your local one(s), where you may find the info you seek already up, or contact them if you don't.
Again, thank you so much, and keep us in the loop, won't you?
 

I_Wuv_Kitties

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Wait talk to me about what?

I have 2 fosters. You'll need at least 1 spare room to keep them in at least initially. After my fosters got acclimated, they met my resident cats. And they get along well. I love it
 

tarasgirl06

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Wait talk to me about what?

I have 2 fosters. You'll need at least 1 spare room to keep them in at least initially. After my fosters got acclimated, they met my resident cats. And they get along well. I love it
Thought of you immediately because you're fostering adult cats and might be able to educate Claire07x Claire07x as she's looking to learn about this. Hope you are all having a great weekend!
 

maggie101

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I have tried fostering but every shelter I've called said that I have to be the one to take on the weekends for adoption events. There will be rescues that just took in a stray and will need someone to tame them. At least that's the way it is where I live, in Houston. If I had room I could foster because my friend that volunteers takes them to a pet store across the street from me. Hopefully a rescue will agree with you taming them then the rescue takes them to another foster home to get adopted. You can always try yourself by posting pics and using rehomeadoptapet.com and nextdoor.
 
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Claire07x

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Sorry it's been a while, had a lot on recently :(

Thank you all for your kind words!!

As for the makeup thing I mentioned, it'd always kept in a drawer in my vanity unit but Kali figured out how to open the drawers so I imagine others cats can, hence keeping them out of there when I'm not around haha .

I've had great feedback from the shelters and they did a home check etc and said absolutely would love to have me as a foster, so it's definitely on the cards. I did tell them I wanted to build my experience a little with my own girl first so I can say I've been through it all with her before fostering so in a few months or so I reckon I'll maybe register and go for it!

Thank you all again x
 
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