On the ledge...

[Deleted]

A pound in my vicinity put an ad on facebook urgently asking for cat fosterers.  No experience necessary. 

I've never seen a pound (run by local government) ask for fosterers before, and I always thought you'd need to have a Cat Resume a mile long.  The actual fosters behave as if they're a cut above us mere plebs with pet cats.

I think I'd go in for post-partum mums with kittens, and expand to pregnant mums when I had more confidence.  This would maximise my satisfaction because I could help a Lady Cat in her neediest time, plus have access to a maximum of kittens.

I won't be doing it because my house is wrong and my own cats are outdoor ones, which means that fosters couldn't use the whole house.  Plus I'd need a bigger income.

But one day...

Has anyone here thought about fostering anything?  If I had land I'd fancy some big animals, horses and donkeys and things.  Not goats.  I'm not keen on sheep but at least they hang around the other animals and don't stray.

There are always birds and turtles and rabbits too.

Am I the only dreamer?

[Deleted]

Why don't you go for it, MissP? How in the heck can a house be wrong for fostering? You will love the moms and their kittens. Or you could just start with one cat and work your way up to moms.

If it's money, then we can start a MissP foster cat food fund.

I live on acreage - We've had horses, rabbits, turtles, etc.... No goats - they climb on cars. But the Nubians are very sweet.

I am getting a few ducks. The neighbors have them and the cuteness is overwhelming.

[Deleted]

My youngest DD35 used to dream of fostering a guide dog puppy till it was ready for training, but you really need to not work outside the home to manage that.  Maybe some day when she is retired . . . 

[kritter]

A momkat and her kits shouldn't have the run of the house. I have the foster bedroom where all the fosters stay while they are here. The momkat won't want to be around other cats as they are protective of the kits. I did families before there were permanent residents in the foster bedroom but went to motherless kits because a momkat wouldn't want the residents interfering with the kits.

A momkat can leave by the time the kits are 6 weeks old and fully weaned so then the kits can hang in the bedroom for another 2 weeks until they are spayed or neutered and ready for adoption.

There is not much monetary layout for fosters as I bet the shelter will provide you with food, litter and any medical care that should arise for the fosters. Give them a call and see what resources they will provide if you are really wanting to help them. It is a very rewarding experience.

ETA:  You also don't want to give fosters the run of the house because you need to protect your resident cats from any unforeseen issues like URI that the fosters could be harboring and then break out with after they get into foster.  It is just better to keep fosters separate from residents for the overall welfare of all.

[Deleted]

Nothing much to add other than:

a) DO IT!
b) Post pictures. Daily. Maybe even set up a webcam.

[Deleted]

I would end up a cat hoarder if I tried. My dream is to win the lottery, buy an old farmhouse and start my cat farm with maybe a few goats and a donkey. I would have indoor cats and a set-up for ferals.

[Deleted]

Apr 26, 2018 15:50:35 GMT @dantes said:

Why don't you go for it, MissP? How in the heck can a house be wrong for fostering? You will love the moms and their kittens. Or you could just start with one cat and work your way up to moms.

If it's money, then we can start a MissP foster cat food fund.

I live on acreage - We've had horses, rabbits, turtles, etc.... No goats - they climb on cars. But the Nubians are very sweet.

I am getting a few ducks. The neighbors have them and the cuteness is overwhelming.

Well, the house is wrong because downstirs is all open-plan.  You know the set-up Kritter's got - a normal house with actual rooms with doors.

And my place is mostly carpet in the bedrooms.  I hate carpet.  And, you know, cat accidents...

I think you should foster an old horse or two or a donkey.  There are lots of donkeys around because they live for 40 years or more and they were in fashion a while back.  But the owners got sick of them or died.

With the ducks, I think you'd better keep them away from the house somehow.  They're messy.  They don't do neat, dry poos like hens do.  On the bright side, they'll eat all your snails.

[Deleted]

Apr 26, 2018 16:17:04 GMT kritter said:

A momkat and her kits shouldn't have the run of the house. I have the foster bedroom where all the fosters stay while they are here. The momkat won't want to be around other cats as they are protective of the kits. I did families before there were permanent residents in the foster bedroom but went to motherless kits because a momkat wouldn't want the residents interfering with the kits.

A momkat can leave by the time the kits are 6 weeks old and fully weaned so then the kits can hang in the bedroom for another 2 weeks until they are spayed or neutered and ready for adoption.

There is not much monetary layout for fosters as I bet the shelter will provide you with food, litter and any medical care that should arise for the fosters. Give them a call and see what resources they will provide if you are really wanting to help them. It is a very rewarding experience.

ETA:  You also don't want to give fosters the run of the house because you need to protect your resident cats from any unforeseen issues like URI that the fosters could be harboring and then break out with after they get into foster.  It is just better to keep fosters separate from residents for the overall welfare of all.

During the post-partum period I would keep Mum and kits in their own room, but I thought that when everyone was weaned there'd be mingling.  I'm coming at it from the angle that there are many more foster cats than are adopted, so basically I'd have a lot of left-overs.  Wouldn't I?  Aren't left-overs the basis of your cat population (excluding the special needs ones)?

And, how long does it take to wean kittens?  How long does the howling go on?

[Deleted]

Apr 26, 2018 17:00:14 GMT @fashionboulevard said:

I would end up a cat hoarder if I tried. My dream is to win the lottery, buy an old farmhouse and start my cat farm with maybe a few goats and a donkey. I would have indoor cats and a set-up for ferals.

lol, my dream is to win the lottery, buy the vacant block next door and somehow secure it to keep cats in.  Plant a few trees, have dirt and sand pits, and a few beds of cat-attracting plants.  Maybe a small pond with very cheap goldfish in it.

There'd be a sort of shelter, a nice one where I could have guests and a barby, with chairs, table and cat furniture.  Oh!  And potential adopters of my foster cats could decide on a cat in a friendly, relaxing environment.

There'd be some kind of tunnel into my house, where they get fed and have flea poison put on.

I've fantasised about my Cat Block Annex for years now.

Sigh.  The thing to do is have enough money to hire a teenager to mow the grass and clean up cat poo, inspect the fence, etc.  Then there'd be no fear of it all getting too much and becoming horrible.

[kritter]

Kittens can eat on their own around 5 weeks old. When I had the families, I took the Momkat back to the shelter for adoption as soon as the kits were eating on their own. The Momkat needs to get on with her own life and the kits need to depend more on the adult than their mom.

Your shelter should bring them back in for adoption at their facility or wherever they conduct adoptions as soon as they are ready to roll. we spay/neuter at 8 weeks/2 pounds.

Weaning does not include howling. By the time they have enough teeth to eat on their own, most kits will go to the bowls as they are either not getting enough nourishment from nursing or the Momkat has turned them away from the buffet.

As I said, the shelter should bring the cats back into the shelter for adoption as soon as they are ready to roll.

The only cats that are left over from foster with the exception of the special needs are Yogi who was from my first ever foster family in 2006 and he would have gone back to the kill shelter which concerned me and Daisy who did leave foster to go to the Human Society. I felt so sorry for her as she looked so scared in her shelter photo that I went over there and adopted her back.

[Deleted]

Apr 26, 2018 16:02:52 GMT @emptynester said:

My youngest DD35 used to dream of fostering a guide dog puppy till it was ready for training, but you really need to not work outside the home to manage that.  Maybe some day when she is retired . . . 

I think it's great when they get jail inmates to do this sort of thing.

A friend of mine did it with two small children and a husband.  I know she was working, but maybe he was on paternity leave...

Anyway, the dog didn't make the "guide dog" grade.  I think they were going to try it on the "assistance dog" level.

[Deleted]

Apr 27, 2018 1:16:17 GMT kritter said:

As I said, the shelter should bring the cats back into the shelter for adoption as soon as they are ready to roll.

The only cats that are left over from foster with the exception of the special needs are Yogi who was from my first ever foster family in 2006 and he would have gone back to the kill shelter which concerned me and Daisy who did leave foster to go to the Human Society. I felt so sorry for her as she looked so scared in her shelter photo that I went over there and adopted her back.

See, that's the thing.  The pound that's asking for fosterers is high-kill.  So even if they took them back for adoption, they might end up on the kill list sometime later...

And what the hell would I do?  I couldn't leave them there.

[kritter]

Why don't you try and get in touch with some of the rescues in your area that do adoption outside of the pound? They could probably save more lives if they had more fosters to help with the kittens that they pull from the pound.

I fostered for years for a rescue here that pulled cats/kittens from the kill shelter and then adopted them from Petfinder, an online show and tell for adoptable cats plus she adopted out through two Petsmart stores. The more foster homes she could rely on, the more cats/kittens she could save from the kill shelter.

If I were in your shoes, I would contact the person at the pound who is in charge of the fosters and talk to them about what their adoption success rate is for animals that have been in foster. It can't hurt and at least you could put your mind at ease one way or the other.

[Deleted]

The other pound in my area has a very good rescue attached to it. They're very active on facebook and will send cats interstate if fosters there have room for them, or if someone sees the facebook post and definitely wants to adopt. They get funds from group members who can't foster or adopt but want to help.

There are even a couple of women who go in regularly to see the cats and find out how the sick ones are getting on.

The first pound I talked about needs to do the same kind of thing on facebook. As it stands they just wait for a crisis point to post anything. But their official website is better - more photos and kept up-to-date.

A chain of pet shops here also does adoptions. I think it's great. Things are better than they used to be. Except I think there's less local govt funding, the jerks.

[Deleted]

Apr 27, 2018 0:52:03 GMT @misspettigrew said:

Apr 26, 2018 15:50:35 GMT @dantes said:

Why don't you go for it, MissP? How in the heck can a house be wrong for fostering? You will love the moms and their kittens. Or you could just start with one cat and work your way up to moms.

If it's money, then we can start a MissP foster cat food fund.

I live on acreage - We've had horses, rabbits, turtles, etc.... No goats - they climb on cars. But the Nubians are very sweet.

I am getting a few ducks. The neighbors have them and the cuteness is overwhelming.

Well, the house is wrong because downstirs is all open-plan.  You know the set-up Kritter's got - a normal house with actual rooms with doors.

And my place is mostly carpet in the bedrooms.  I hate carpet.  And, you know, cat accidents...

I think you should foster an old horse or two or a donkey.  There are lots of donkeys around because they live for 40 years or more and they were in fashion a while back.  But the owners got sick of them or died.

With the ducks, I think you'd better keep them away from the house somehow.  They're messy.  They don't do neat, dry poos like hens do.  On the bright side, they'll eat all your snails.

I had a horse. No more big animals for me. If I get ducks, then I'm only getting a couple. I have to figure out the logistics of keeping them safe from Ernie. Otherwise I can't get them. 

Ya - carpet doesn't always work with cats. I had a beautiful wool hook rug. One of the cats loosened up a loop and that was the end of that rug. I even moved furniture around to cover the spot they were working on and they still got to it. 

[Deleted]

See, that's the thing. The pound that's asking for fosterers is high-kill. So even if they took them back for adoption, they might end up on the kill list sometime later...

And what the hell would I do? I couldn't leave them there.

Just start with one cat at a time. It'll figure itself out. High kill shelters are scary places.

[kritter]

Well then, foster for the pound with the good rescue attached to it. Rescues can pull more kittens if fosters are available.

I fostered for the kill shelter again several years ago because they had improved since my earlier experience. Still not no-kill but trying harder. Trying hard enough that I could support them by fostering.

My theory is that if a pregnant momkat, a momkat & nursing kittens or kittens under the weigh/age required for spay/neuter come into the shelter and there are no fosters available, they most likely with be euthanized. If a foster is available, at least they have a chance to develop in foster so they can be eligible for adoption. We can't save them all but fostering at least gives them a chance to sparkle and shine and get adopted.

If you really want to foster to help save them, don't look for the downsides. Look for the positive sides. If you think about fostering but are looking for reasons not to do it, then don't foster.

[Shirley U Geste]

Fostering can be a joy, but it can also be a real heartbreak when you suddenly lose a kitten or cat who had seemed fine just hours before. But it's worth it to save even one that might otherwise not have had a chance at life.

I do mainly moms, the bitty kits or special needs ones as they are very time demanding & many of the people who foster just dont have the time to give them that they need. Im home 95% of the time so I can do the needed feedings every 2 hours, or meds, or the births that somehow always happen in the middle of the night.

Even the adult cats take up your time so that is something to consider, if they ended up in a shelter or rescue they have had something happen to them & they need time & patience to be socialized again & back to 'normal'. The mental scars of being dumped or abused cant be seen but those can be the hardest to get rid of.

If you decide to do it just get ONE cat to start with, no special needs, no pregnancy, no kits. See how it goes & if it is something that is a good fit for you. Even with the best intentions it doesn't work for everyone, & there is no real failure in trying & finding out that for whatever reason it just doesn't work.
If you do decide to foster make sure to post pics, you know how everyone here loves cat pics!

[Deleted]

Apr 28, 2018 2:15:42 GMT Shirley U Geste said:

lol, I think the biggest burden of fostering might be the photography!

Thanks for the advice, ladies, especially the insider knowledge from Shirley and Kritter.

I think one cat might be dangerous - I might fall in love with it, and I don't want to own anymore cats just now.  My remaining elderly fatsies need time to shine.

I'm thinking Momkat and babies.  And hope the Momkat stays well and doesn't decide to leave her duties to me!