hi everybody, im considering putting myself forward to foster some kitties, ive seen lots of posts ...as much as id love to adopt i cannot. i will be having one more fur baby(but o/h has picked this cat), id love to help raising funds for donations but im feeling helpless and would love to do more? i dont drive yet(i am doing lessons) so cant help at any shelter just yet.

i was wondering how long do you foster the cat for? i have 2 small children, and one cat already (8months old) shes a pretty friendly girl so im sure shed be fine sharing her house and toys

also whilst the cat is in my care who would pay vets bills? if something should happen??

ofcourse im guessing id be keeping the cat inside..but if the cat had a medical condition etc...

we have a large house, and an enclosed back garden(though a cat would get over the fence) our land lord is wonderful and happy for us to have pets in the property so no worries there. i have lots of love to give. and im happy to pay for food the cat/kitten would need. but i am worried with any vet bills our girl is spayed and up to date with all vaccinations.

im in north wales and would love some more info. i know i cannot rehome any rescue cats permanently, but i would like to help i some way.... any information would be great thankyoux also happy to have any home checks taht are needed

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Hey Marleyboo, I foster kittens for my local RSPCA branch. It is a great thing to do!! I also dont drive but this hasnt caused a problem if the kittens need vet visits the RSPCA Welfare Officer/s come and pick them up to take them to the vets. The cost of the vet bills are also covered by the RSPCA so I dont have to worry about that also food litter etc are provided. If there are any expenses that I incure then I am fully re-imbursed. I have once had to get a taxi to get a kitten to the vet as an emergency on the weekend but this was paid back to me.

I would deffo say go for it!! It is so rewarding and a lovely thing to do to see the cats/kittens going to their new homes!! Obviously I can only tell you about how the RSPCA work with their fosterers and not any other charity/shelter as they are the only organisation that I have fostered for but other people on here also foster for other orgs. and will be able to tell you more about other ones. HTH xxx

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wow thanks so much thats fantastic to know. do the cats/kittens stay with you until they are rehomed? or just a certain time frame so their personalities can be assessed then moved to a shelter??

sory for all of the questions. its something id love to do. even helping a few cats would be someting. xxx

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I usually do hand rear kittens and have them until they are rehomed, I have also had kittens that are older for a few weeks to help them socialise and they have also been rehomed from me. Some rescues ask you to keep them until they are rehomed other rescues have a limit of time they stay with you (ie. 12 weeks) so you dont get too attached.

Most cats that go into foster homes rather than a cattery dont do well in catteries and need to be in a home environment, or they need socialising so they need to be with people all the time. Therefore they dont often go back into catteries if they can help it as this just stresses them out more.

Dont worry I love fostering and would happiliy talk about it all day

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thankyou so much! i bet that is so rewarding! i would love to foster some kittens i think thats the only issue if the cat wer with me too long id get too attacthed as much as i want to i wont be able to rehome any cats

i absoloutly love cats, so i think this would fulfil my wanting to help, and have some adoreable cats/kittens around. but eventually they would be rehomed ,

thankyou so much, i will speak to o/h when hes home from work. and then perhaps make contact with somebody who can point me in the right direction.

i do have 2 young children, but they are very good with our cat i like to get them involved with my cat .. they feed her put her water down and brush her. theyre very good with animals. we also have a seperate play room for the children so if the kitty would need some quiet time there is plenty of space for them to be alone xxxx im excited now thankyou so much for all of this information, are you in north wales also? or was i looking at my own information

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Im in South Wales hun

You will be suprised how you feel when you rehome them, no matter how much you want to keep them to see the faces of their new owners to be and how the cat/kitten reacts to them is so amazing that you feel a real 'buzz' when it happens

(She says even though she is a 'failed' fosterer as she kept Bugs!!! )

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It really depends which rescue you foster for.

I foster guinea pigs (mainly) for a rescue near me and they foster in a completely different way to what KFM has said. I know it's a different species but they have a foster policy across all species in rescue so please don't discount what I've said just because it's piggies.

Typically the animals are fostered out for socialisation, quarantine period after bonding or because they are recovering from an illness. I have to pick the animal up from the rescue and sign a foster agreement, sign them out to me and back in to the rescue. She provides me with food and things, but other rescues in the area expect you to buy your own and treat it as 'your own pet'.

If someone expresses an interest in the animal it must be taken back to the rescue to be adopted, at no point does anyone from the public see the animals at the fosterer's house.

Animals recovering from illness will stay with the fosterer into they are fit to be re-homed and then are returned. New bonds will stay with the fosterer for 1 - 3 months. Socialisation can be any period of time, but usually it is a few weeks and then taken back.

It is a really rewarding thing to do, but you should probably ask around and see what sort of fostering policy you are comfortable with.

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Adopted by:

Ginge - Abby guinea piggy
Bubbles - English crested piggy
Mackenzie - English crested piggy
Skit - Standard (but cute) piggy
Max - Ragdoll x cat
The Rainbow Fish
Rest in peace my lovely furfamily that are no longer with us.