Cat or kitten fostering is a very rewarding experience for you and obviously the kitten involved.
Fostering is giving these poor animals a home, albeit temporary.
There are multiple benefits in doing this.
For the kitten the most obviously benefit is living in a home and not a cage at some rescue center.
The kitten learns how to interact with humans which will increase their chances of being adopted.
Not many people want to adopt a kitten that cowers in the corner of its cage when a human approaches.
If you have pets of your own, the kitten learns how to interact with them as well.
Imagine someone looking to adopt a kitten but they already have a dog at home.
If your foster home had a dog, this kitten has a better chance of being adopted by this fictitious person since they will be reassured that this kitten will get along fine with their dog back home.
The benefit for yourself is, well, playing with kittens.
Well that is just a side effect but it can be fun nonetheless.
You are really doing a charitable service by fostering a kitten or a puppy for that matter.
Donations to rescue center as always appreciated but I bet if you spoke with one and asked what they needed the most I would not be surprised if the responded foster homes.
You normally see this more in the spring when most kittens are born.
You can even consider fostering a pregnant cat or one that recently gave birth I'm sure you could imagine raising your newborns in the comfort of your home is preferable then in a cage at a rescue center.
also consider that a home would be a healthier environment then a rescue center which could have an issue with colds, viruses and even diseases.
Even the best run rescue centers have these issues, it's just the nature of rescue center, similar to human hospitals.
We one had the chance to foster a few day old kittens who's mom had died in the birth.
Sad as it was, we were able to bottle feed these little angels, watch them grown up healthy and find new homes.
But fair warning, that was a lot of work as then need to be fed VERY often.
The negatives, well there are some but they are out weighted by the positives.
One is costs, you obviously incurs some costs such as the cat food, litter boxes, cages to keep them from wondering around at night, and other miscellaneous cat supplies.
But most of these are a one time investment and you could consider this as charitable donation in lieu of a donation to a rescue center (by all means do that as well if you can afford it).
Though most adoptions should have a small 'fee' involved to help offset some of your costs.
The fee is not about making a profit but using that money to help other cats The other 'negative' is when they leave.
You do get attached and might want to keep them for yourself.
But realize that if you re-home them then there is now an additional space in your house to foster another.
plus you should insist to be involved with the screening of potential adopters.
Set up guidelines to follow, they are guidelines not absolute rules so use your best judgment.
Ours were the following: * No adoptions to give to someone as a gift - you want to be sure the person that is adopting the kitten really wants it.
As a surprise gift, you can't be sure.
* No adoptions to someone who refuses to pay adoption fee - This is not about being greedy but let's be honest, if you can't afford a reasonable 'fee' then can really afford to take care of a pet in a proper way? way I see it is if you won't pay 100 dollars for the kitten you certainly won't pay for vet bills if the cat gets sick and needs medical attention...
or most important, pay to get the kitten spayed/neutered.
* No adoptions to anyone that does not agree to spay/neuter the kitten.
No exceptions!! In summary, when thinking of actions you can do to help the creature of this world, i would strongly suggest you consider fostering kittens.
It is a very rewarding experience and a great service.
Fostering is giving these poor animals a home, albeit temporary.
There are multiple benefits in doing this.
For the kitten the most obviously benefit is living in a home and not a cage at some rescue center.
The kitten learns how to interact with humans which will increase their chances of being adopted.
Not many people want to adopt a kitten that cowers in the corner of its cage when a human approaches.
If you have pets of your own, the kitten learns how to interact with them as well.
Imagine someone looking to adopt a kitten but they already have a dog at home.
If your foster home had a dog, this kitten has a better chance of being adopted by this fictitious person since they will be reassured that this kitten will get along fine with their dog back home.
The benefit for yourself is, well, playing with kittens.
Well that is just a side effect but it can be fun nonetheless.
You are really doing a charitable service by fostering a kitten or a puppy for that matter.
Donations to rescue center as always appreciated but I bet if you spoke with one and asked what they needed the most I would not be surprised if the responded foster homes.
You normally see this more in the spring when most kittens are born.
You can even consider fostering a pregnant cat or one that recently gave birth I'm sure you could imagine raising your newborns in the comfort of your home is preferable then in a cage at a rescue center.
also consider that a home would be a healthier environment then a rescue center which could have an issue with colds, viruses and even diseases.
Even the best run rescue centers have these issues, it's just the nature of rescue center, similar to human hospitals.
We one had the chance to foster a few day old kittens who's mom had died in the birth.
Sad as it was, we were able to bottle feed these little angels, watch them grown up healthy and find new homes.
But fair warning, that was a lot of work as then need to be fed VERY often.
The negatives, well there are some but they are out weighted by the positives.
One is costs, you obviously incurs some costs such as the cat food, litter boxes, cages to keep them from wondering around at night, and other miscellaneous cat supplies.
But most of these are a one time investment and you could consider this as charitable donation in lieu of a donation to a rescue center (by all means do that as well if you can afford it).
Though most adoptions should have a small 'fee' involved to help offset some of your costs.
The fee is not about making a profit but using that money to help other cats The other 'negative' is when they leave.
You do get attached and might want to keep them for yourself.
But realize that if you re-home them then there is now an additional space in your house to foster another.
plus you should insist to be involved with the screening of potential adopters.
Set up guidelines to follow, they are guidelines not absolute rules so use your best judgment.
Ours were the following: * No adoptions to give to someone as a gift - you want to be sure the person that is adopting the kitten really wants it.
As a surprise gift, you can't be sure.
* No adoptions to someone who refuses to pay adoption fee - This is not about being greedy but let's be honest, if you can't afford a reasonable 'fee' then can really afford to take care of a pet in a proper way? way I see it is if you won't pay 100 dollars for the kitten you certainly won't pay for vet bills if the cat gets sick and needs medical attention...
or most important, pay to get the kitten spayed/neutered.
* No adoptions to anyone that does not agree to spay/neuter the kitten.
No exceptions!! In summary, when thinking of actions you can do to help the creature of this world, i would strongly suggest you consider fostering kittens.
It is a very rewarding experience and a great service.
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