My family occasionally fosters cats for a local animal shelter. Since we live in an apartment, have a young child, and keep pets of our own, we aren’t able to keep foster pets as often (or as long) as we’d like. However, I’ve found that acting as a foster-owner to homeless cats and dogs can be uniquely rewarding. It gives us the opportunity to help out animals in desperate need and also gives us the joy of having more warm, furry friends in our home. If you’re interested in fostering cats or dogs, here’s how to get started.
1. Call your landlord if you rent. If you don’t own your own home, you’ll have to make sure you’re in the clear before bringing a cat or dog into your home, even on a temporary basis. Check your lease– it may have a limit for how long the pet can stay in your home without a deposit. At my apartment complex, no animal is allowed to stay for more than a week unless I’ve paid an additional pet deposit, but these rules vary between complexes and landlords. Talk to your landlord or leasing agency directly about the possibility of fostering a cat or dog to find out what their rules and regulations are, and if certain pets might be exempt from these rules.
2. Contact your local animal control organization. Pet shelters run by county or city animal control groups tend to have the highest rates of euthanasia, so they’re in the most desperate need of foster homes. If they have any cats or dogs that need temporary foster homes (perhaps until larger or no-kill shelters have room for the pets) they might request that you keep them for a few days or weeks. After the end of this time period, the cats or dogs will be transferred to a more competent shelter while they await forever-homes.
3. Check with veterinarians to see if special-needs, pregnant, or very young cats or dogs might need your help. Many shelters can’t adequately provide for animals that are undergoing treatment for contagious diseases like parvo, and these pets may need foster homes while they recover. Pregnant cats and dogs and newborn puppies and kittens also need specialized care that shelters often can’t provide, so they may end up at local vets’ offices. Ask vets in your area if they’re aware of any sick, orphaned, or special-needs animals in temporary need of homes.
4. Call shelters. Most animal shelters, including no-kill shelters, have a frequent need for foster homes, especially when they get overcrowded or end up with very litters of young puppies or kittens. They generally maintain a list of families to call when the need for a foster home arises– so get yourself on that list! The shelter staff will ask questions about your home size, whether you have any children, your experience caring for animals with special needs, and any other pets in your home. With that information, they’ll match you to pets that need homes. You might get a foster-pet the day you apply, but it might also take a few weeks or months before you hear back from them.
5. Prepare for your foster pet. Regardless of where and how you acquire your foster pet, make all the preparations you need in advance. The shelter might provide you with the supplies you need (like a litter box, carrier, pet food, poo-bags, a dish, and so on) or you might have to buy those on your own dollar. (If you do buy them yourself, they’re tax-deductible!) Be sure to let all your family members know about your foster pet, and reach an agreement as a family about whether adopting the animal might be an option down the road. The cat or dog that you foster deserves to come into an adequately prepared home, so take all the steps necessary to ensure that this happens.
Fostering a cat or dog can be wonderfully rewarding, both to the foster-owner and to the pet who benefits from a temporary home. By welcoming a pet in need into your own home, you can enrich your own life and bring much-needed joy and comfort to an animal in need.
