Become a fosterer
As a fosterer, you take a cat into your home temporarily and provide the care and TLC it needs until it finds its new forever home. Some fosterers ‘house’ their foster cats in a cat pen in their garden or yard while others prefer to provide a spare room in their house for their foster cats. Fostering is one of the most rewarding and valuable roles performed by Cats Protection volunteers. As a fosterer, you work directly with cats and kittens in need, providing hands-on care as part of a team working to re-home them.
Whatever your reasons for getting involved, we welcome those with cats in their hearts as fosterers. Almost anyone can foster, you just need spare time to care for cats, be confident around cats, have a caring but practical personality, enjoy interacting with people and are happy to follow our cat care standards and charity policies. A thirst for knowledge around all things cat and happy to keep up-to-date information and complete paperwork for cats in care are also key for this role.
In return for your time, commitment and all the TLC you can offer cats we provide everything that you and your foster cat will require:
• Cat accommodation e.g. a cat cabin or equipment to adapt a spare room
• Food, litter, bedding, bowls, litter trays and toys for your foster cat
• Veterinary treatment for Cats Protection cats/kittens in your care
• Help, support and training so you feel confident and happy as a fosterer
A cat might be with you for just a few days, or it could be months - it all depends on when a suitable home can be found. We will, of course, make arrangements to care for the cat if you are ill, or if you go on holiday.
Help us by becoming an indoor fosterer...
Many of the cats that come into our care are vulnerable, and may be highly stressed and nervous. It is important to give them as much comfort and security as possible. We therefore try to foster the really needy cats in a home environment, which is much less stressful than going into our pens. Also indoor fostering is not so expensive for the branch because we do not have to purchase a new foster pen.
This is a purpose-built cat house in the spare room in one of our volunteer's homes.
Of course, if you do not have a spare room to offer but would still like to foster, and have space in your garden, a pen would be provided by the branch.
Interested? We hope so! For more information about becoming a cat fosterer, see our leaflet
here, watch the short video below, then
Please get in touch with us if you would like to find out more about becoming a fosterer or volunteering with North Herts Cats Protection.