What does fostering a cat involve?

When you foster, you agree to take a homeless cat into your home and give him or her love, care and attention, either for a predetermined period of time or until the cat is adopted.

 

How is fostering for Urban Cat different than fostering for other organizations?

Urban Cat takes in the "gap cats". These are the cats that fall between the gaps in animal rescue and are more often euthanized. These are the cats that most other organizations will not or can not take. We take and trap feral moms with kittens and put them in foster care. We take and trap the kittens who are on the edge or a little past the typical socialization window. Sometimes, the moms become friendly in the process and decide they would like the indoor life and are adopted. Most of the time, that is not the case and once they are done raising their babies, they are spayed and returned to their colony or sent to a barn home. If you do not have experience with feral cats, that is ok, we can train you and provide tools to assist you. Be aware, most of the time this will be more work than simply playing with cute fuzzy kittens. While it is more work, it is very fulfilling work. You are in fact saving these lives, there is no question about it. If it weren't for our foster homes who are willing to work with these cats, these cats would be euthanized and often so would their kittens, depending on their age. This is very important work and our fosters are real life heroes!

 

What kind of space do I need dedicated to my foster cat/kittens?

When bringing a foster kitty into your home, it is important that they have a space all to themselves for at least the first two weeks. Often kittens will appear healthy, but the stress of moving them from the streets to a home can sometimes bring out an underlying illness. It is important to keep them in a space that is away from your own animals, because we want to be sure any illness does not spread from the foster cat to your personal animals. After a "quarantine" period of at least two weeks, and after tests come back negative, a lot of foster homes will incorporate the kitties in to their "general population" to give them more exposure to living life indoors. However - it is important to be prepared to have to keep them separate for longer than two weeks - in case there is an illness with the foster kitty. It is also important to note that we do not routinely test for felv/fiv, so we always encourage foster cats to remain separate from your own animals

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Why should I foster a cat?
Fostering a cat is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have (other than adopting, of course). By taking an animal in need temporarily into your home you’re:

• Giving your foster cat the time he needs to be ready for adoption.

• Helping the rescue learn more about the cat so he can end up in the best home possible.

• Socializing the cat to a home environment and possibly getting him used to being around other pets and different types of people

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What does Urban Cat Coalition provide to fosters?

Urban Cat Coalition covers all veterinary expenses for the kittens in our foster homes. We provide supplies to fosters as they are donated, but are not always able to cover all the cost of food and litter. We usually have a regular supply of canned food and litter for foster homes. We also encourage our foster homes to track their expenses (food, litter, cleaning supplies, mileage) to claim as deductions at tax time.

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What are my responsibilities as a foster for Urban Cat Coalition?

Our foster homes are pretty "hands on" with their foster cats and kittens. The foster families are tasked with socializing the kitties to the best of their ability. As well as taking the kitties to scheduled meet and greets, vet appointments, tracking their vaccination and medication schedule, providing medication (dewormers, antibiotics, flea meds, etc), writing the kitties bios for Petfinder, taking photos for social media and petfinder and also coordinate times for approved adopters to meet their foster kitties. Our foster homes have the final say when it comes to adopting out their foster kitties. They know the kitties best - so they know what the perfect home will be!

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How do I sign up to foster a cat through Urban Cat Coalition?

Fill out the foster application below and if you are approved, we will work with you to figure out the right foster cat for your household. Please give us 2-5 business days to review your application. If you haven't heard back from us in 2-5 business days, please make sure to check your spam email!

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Great! I filled out an application, what are the next steps?

Once you are approved on paper we will schedule a virtual home visit and talk to you about the types of cats or kittens you are comfortable working with.

Then we will either move an appropriate cat looking for a new foster home like yours, or we will post on our private "fosters only" facebook page when we are searching for a foster home for a specific cat. This is where you can speak up and say you are ready to take that cat in to your home.