Foster Care

Thanks go to the following organisations for their excellent manuals and input: Alley Cat Allies, Erie County SPCA.

Thank you for thinking of opening your home to a rescue animal. These pages will introduce you to what is required by a foster carer, and what can be expected from the experience. It also includes tips on fostering generally, and suggested policies and procedures. 

Objectives of Foster Care

To provide a nurturing environment in your home where animals receive the care they need to grow, heal and/or socialise in order to improve their chances of finding a new, loving forever home.

Foster Animals

Animals that need foster care fall into the following categories:

  • Animals too young to be adopted.
  • Orphaned animals.
  • Abused animals that need socialization and tender loving care.
  • Injured animals.
  • Animals recovering from surgery or illness.
  • Abandoned nursing mothers and their offspring.
  • Humanised cats that require further socialisation.

Animals that should not be put in foster care, or should only be fostered by very experienced volunteers, include:

Things To Think About

Issues around foster care are many and varied, including:

  • Requirements of Foster Homes
    • Time commitment and responsibilities
    • Letting go
  • Your Home and Your Foster Animal
    • Preparing a space for a foster
    • Keeping the household safe and healthy
    • Animal proofing your home
    • Introducing the foster cat to a new space
    • Cleaning up between fosters
  • Foster Animal Health
    • Health records
    • Vet visits
    • Vaccination and parasite treatment guidelines
    • Parameters for standard medical care
    • Knowledge of illnesses and injuries
    • Giving medications and providing home-medical care
  • Socialisation With Other Animals
  • Special Circumstances
  • Adoption Process
    • Picture taking

We’ll be adding more information to our webpages in the future but, for the moment we’re going to refer you to some excellent handbooks on Foster Care already in existence.

Related Links