Foster a Cat
Thank you for your interest in fostering an Animal Aid cat!
At Animal Aid, some cats in our care are placed into foster homes if they have been at the shelter a long time or are not thriving in the shelter environment. Some new-to-shelter cats are also placed into a temporary foster if our intake rooms are full at the shelter.
Please note: To facilitate the adoption process and veterinary care at our partner vet, we typically limit foster homes to a range of 20 miles from Animal Aid.
Foster applicants should review and understand the following information before submitting a foster application.
We need two types of foster parents
We have need for two types of cat foster parents: longer-term fosters and temporary intake fosters.
- Longer-term fosters open their homes and their hearts to cats until they are adopted. Animal Aid cannot guarantee how long a cat will be placed with a foster parent; it is dependent on the adoption applications submitted. Animal Aid tries its best to place a cat where we think it will thrive for the rest of its life.
- Temporary intake fosters take in cats new to the organization for around 14 days to make sure they don’t break with a kitty cold or anything else that may be contagious to the other cats in the shelter. If they do break with a kitty cold, they will need to stay in foster until they are healthy. Intake foster homes need a separate room that the foster cat stays in away from any other animals in the home.
When applying to foster, please indicate which type of fostering you are interested in.
More information cat foster applicants should know
Animal Aid will process a foster application and then conduct a home visit. If an applicant is approved after the home visit, Animal Aid’s Cat Foster Coordinator will add them our foster list and will let them know when a cat is in need.
foster parent responsibilities
- Treat the animal as a furry family member with daily care and love until they are adopted.
- Feed and possibly medicate the animal appropriately to their needs.
- Take the animal to any necessary veterinary or other appointments.
- Communicate openly and frequently with Animal Aid coordinators and staff.
- Be available for meetings with potential adopters to show the foster cat in the home.
What Animal Aid provideS
- Support for the foster parent through open and frequent communication, including routine check-ins on how the animal is doing in their foster home.
- Coverage for food and supply expenses and veterinary care for the animal at our partner vet.
- Help arranging pet-sitting while a foster is away from home.