| City Kitty Pet-Sitting Service LLC |
| Customized in-home care for your felines |
| Foster A Cat or Kitten Information |
| It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens. —Cynthia E. Varnado |
So You Want to Foster A Rescue Cat or Kitten
Everyday Columbia 2nd Chance and Central MO Humane Society look for cat foster homes. Serving
as a foster home to a cat or kitten waiting to be adopted can be very fulfilling. Before agreeing to
serve as a foster cat or dog parent please follow these helpful hints to ensure that the experience is
one you and your family will want to experience again and again.
I have served as a foster cat parent to Ming, Chester Cheese, Gutter, Jasmine, Franklin, Toby, Rex,
Nash, Buffy, Rusty, Casper, Truman, Misha, Chenin Blanc, Aspen, Chardonnay, Cutie Patootie, Isha,
Anwen, Enion, Asha, Se, Rishi, Adisa, Traesa, Linnea, Una, Nanda, Chardonnay, Surya, Shashi, and
Tieg. Right now I am helping with several foster cats including Bao, We-Sa, and Shaama.
Everyday Columbia 2nd Chance and Central MO Humane Society look for cat foster homes. Serving
as a foster home to a cat or kitten waiting to be adopted can be very fulfilling. Before agreeing to
serve as a foster cat or dog parent please follow these helpful hints to ensure that the experience is
one you and your family will want to experience again and again.
- Know what you are getting into. Being a cat foster home can be rewarding but it can also be
challenging. Understanding the risks and the benefits is important before diving into your new
"job". - Understand what you are financially responsible for in terms of a foster cat or kitten. Most
rescue organizations will provide basic vet care, dry food, and support. However you will be
financially responsible for any vet care your own cats will need if they pick up a communicable
or infectious disease from the foster cat. - Be prepared to provide foster care from 1 day to 1 year. Some cats and kittens do not get
adopted quickly. It is important to be committed through the quick, and the long, adoption
process. - Provide a safe and loving environment. Do not take on more than you can afford to care for or
have the space to live in. Keep your home clean as rescue organizations may conduct foster
cat home inspections. - Select a cat or kitten best suited to your life style and your resident cats' personalities. Do not
expect cat to cat interaction to be seamless. It can take weeks or months for a foster cat to
integrate into your multi-pet household. Sometimes it never happens. - Ensure that all of your own pets are up to date on all vaccinations. For cats this includes Feline
Leukemia which along with FIV is becoming more and more common among outdoor and stray
cats. Both diseases are infectious so do not foster if your cats are not up to date. Talk to your
vet about the length of time required for vaccinations to take effect in your cats. - Never expose your cats to a new foster cat immediately. Quarantine any foster cat until you
have a good understanding of the cat's personality, habits, and health status. - Never foster a cat or kitten that is not up to date on its age-appropriate vaccinations. Get all
foster cat health and vet records before taking in a foster cat or kitten. - Check the foster cat or kitten for worms, fleas, ringworm, etc. Before it comes to your house.
Rescues do all that they can but most are staffed by volunteers whose chief concern may be
saving a cat from certain euthanasia, not parasites, pests, or contagious diseases. - Ask the rescue organization where the cat or kitten came from, where it has been housed in the
interim, the health status of the interim location such as presence of ringworm, fleas, worms,
etc. This is pretty much a "buyer beware" experience for some rescue groups. Don't assume
anything when entering into the foster pet parent role. - Talk to your vet prior to accepting a foster cat into your home. Take the foster cat's health
record to your vet and have your vet review it with you. Talk to the rescue organization if your
vet identifies any concerns. Do not take the foster cat into your home until the rescue group's
responses are accepted by your vet. - Introduce your cats to the foster cat or kitten slowly and only after the foster cat has been
cleared of any health concerns. This can take months in some multi-cat homes. - Be prepared to show the cat at adoption events or make the cat available to meet prospective
owners at your house. - Observe the foster cat's behaviors and characteristics. Prospective owners always want to
know if the cat sprays, uses the cat litter pan, scratches furniture, jumps on counters, plays nice
with other cats, is safe around children, and has no observable health concerns. - Check to see if you can adopt the foster cat if you become attached to it. This is always a
possibility and great foster cats that integrate seamlessly into your house are always the ones
to adopt first! - Medical foster homes are always needed for cats and kittens needing antibiotics or isolation
while they recover from a respiratory virus. Most medical foster cats require short term isolation
care in a spare bedroom or laundry room. Once well they are made available for longer term
foster homes. Special needs cats that are diabetic or blind are the most difficult to place in
foster homes as they need longer term specialized care.
I have served as a foster cat parent to Ming, Chester Cheese, Gutter, Jasmine, Franklin, Toby, Rex,
Nash, Buffy, Rusty, Casper, Truman, Misha, Chenin Blanc, Aspen, Chardonnay, Cutie Patootie, Isha,
Anwen, Enion, Asha, Se, Rishi, Adisa, Traesa, Linnea, Una, Nanda, Chardonnay, Surya, Shashi, and
Tieg. Right now I am helping with several foster cats including Bao, We-Sa, and Shaama.
Courtesy of www.i-love-cats.com
| CONTACT US Sarah A. Grim, MSPH, CHE Certified Professional Pet-Sitter City Kitty Pet-sitting Service LLC 1205 Club Meadows Drive Columbia, MO 65203 573-268-8004 citykittypets@aol.com |
Courtesy of www.i-love-cats.com
| Cat lovers can readily be identified. Their clothes always look old and well used. Their sheets look like bath towels and their bath towels look like a collection of knitting mistakes. -Eric Gurney |
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