We truly can’t do this work without the help and love of our fosters. And, as the need to pull more animals from shelters increases, so too does our need for more fosters!
If you’ve been thinking about fostering with us, one of our first-time cat fosters sums up the experience perfectly:
This little monster is going to his forever home tomorrow morning. His new family is a great match for him — experienced cat owners, a big house with stairs for him to run on and low windows where he can watch the birds. There’s no doubt in my mind as to how happy and loved he will be.
He was a pretty perfect first foster. And a LOT of people thought I was going to keep him! But it’s actually not THAT hard to let him go. We’ve been good friends to each other for the time that we had — he got to adjust to living indoors with one consistent human to love him, and I got to learn “how cats work” from a snuggly and easygoing first companion — but he was never “mine”. He’s just been visiting.
I’d never had a cat before, and I learned a lot from Teddy. Now I know roughly how much they eat, how to manage a litter box, what their natural behavior patterns are, even how to give eye drops and medication and sub-Q fluids. I also know how hilarious they are, and how sweet it can be to have something soft and purring greet you at the door and snuggle up with you in the evenings.
But I am also just selfish enough to remember a time B.C. (“Before Cat” ?)… when I did not need earplugs at 4:00 AM, when I was not constantly stepping on tracked litter, when my clothes were not covered in hair, when I could get my work done without a creature walking on the keyboard. And I’ll thoroughly enjoy having THAT life back for a little while, too.
Which is why fostering is great — because everybody wins. I’m getting multiple animals into their forever homes; I get to experience lots of different personalities; all the costs are covered; there’s SO much support from the organization; the only thing I need to provide is love… and I also get regular chunks of time WITHOUT the responsibility of pet ownership. ? If you’ve been considering becoming a foster — so far, I highly recommend it.
