Penny in her foster home

Why should I foster?

Foster carers are always needed. The more foster carers we have the more cats we can help.

We are always so busy and have a ridiculously long waiting list full of litters of kittens, pregnant cats, strays, a couple of pedigrees and of course a lot of adult cats. We are full to the brim (overfull if truth be told) and are desperate for some more people to step up and foster.

The sooner we have empty foster homes, the sooner cats can come into our care, so if you feel that you can step up and give them a hand, please let us know!

A lot of people worry that they will become too attached to their foster cat…

Fostering really does save lives. We regularly accept cats from vets who would otherwise be put to sleep despite being healthy. And if you really do struggle to give them up, you can adopt them and join our army of ‘failed fosterers’.

Here’s how it works:

Anyone who is interested will have a volunteer sent round to their home for a quick home check (nothing intrusive) and you will be talked through what fostering involves, the positives, the negatives, our policies and adoption procedures and it will also give you a chance to ask any questions that you may have. This visit is as much for you to decide if fostering is for you as it is for us to decide if you are suitable.

Next, you’ll sign a contract, and we’ll start finding you a foster cat. If you have specific requirements- for instance, children in the house- this may take a little while. Where possible we’ll give you some options and you can choose which will suit you best. Then we’ll arrange transport for the cat and drop some equipment (food bowls, litter trays etc) around if you need it.

Vet bills, special diets and flea/worm treatment is covered by the rescue. Foster carers must provide food (if not on a special diet) and litter. We do occasionally get donations of food and litter and these are shared out as fairly as possible between the foster carers.

If you have more questions about the process, you could read ‘A Diary of a Fosterer’,

What type of home do we need?

We need foster carers who are able to give our cats love and attention. There are a huge range of cats out there, so we can find a cat to fit almost any situation.

• We don’t mind whether you work or stay at home.
• People who live in flats are welcome to apply.
• Resident cats are fine as long as they are neutered and friendly towards other cats. We also highly recommend they are up to date with their vaccinations as we often have no history of the cats we take in. We do ask that you keep their flea and worm treatment up to date so that they can’t transmit any to our cats.
• Resident dogs or other pets are fine as long as they are friendly towards cats. We also recommend they are up to date with their vaccinations to reduce the risk of them catching something from one of our cats, but this is at your own risk. We ask that they are regularly treated for fleas and worms to ensure they don’t transmit any parasites to our cats.
• Foster homes with children also welcome, we will do our best to match you with a cat who has previously lived with children.

What will you get in return?

We can provide physical and verbal support. You will have access to an emergency number, as well as our Facebook group which is full of other fosterers happy to give advice.

If you have any questions please email us!

How to apply

To apply please use the contact page. We check the email often but as we’re all volunteers it might take up to a week for us to get back to you- if you haven’t heard from us by then please try again!