“What is fostering? And how can I help?” You might ask!
At SOS, we cannot do what we do without the help of people like you! We always seek committed foster homes to help save even more lives. Every cat at SOS is placed into a foster home to receive all the one-on-one love, medical attention, and socialization they need. The number of lives we can save is limited by the number of foster homes we have available.
Have you thought about ways you can help animals in need but are not ready to adopt? Why not give fostering a try?! Not only will you get to enjoy the companionship of a wonderful cat without the financial obligations of adopting, you get to have an incredibly rewarding experience seeing your cat(s) in need blossoming into the best version of themselves, and ultimately finding their forever happy endings.
“Why do cats need foster care?”
Here are several possible reasons:
* Foster care can help save lives when a shelter is full.
* Some cats don’t do well in a shelter environment (they are scared or need a little extra care).
* Newborn kittens need around-the-clock care through bottle-feeding by foster parents as
no municipal shelter is staffed for that level of attention.
* Some cats need time to recover from an illness, surgery, or injury before adoption.
Whatever the individual reason, these cats need some extra love and care before they can be adopted. Providing foster care for a few days, weeks, or months can be a lifesaving gift for an animal.
Fostering is a temporary commitment where you provide a safe, loving home and we cover the medical care and necessary supplies (food, litter, blankets etc.). Unfortunately, we are unable to predict/guarantee the length of a foster cat’s stay; the typically lengths for cats/kittens in foster care varies anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks (sometimes longer). The length of a foster stay can vary depending on various factors, such as medical needs and the time it takes to find the right adopter. For hospice cats, the timeline is unpredictable, and the journey ultimately ends with the cat’s passing. We want to be honest – these cases can be the most challenging! While these cats are incredibly loving and grateful to be in a home, their condition is not expected to improve. Here at SOS, we are committed to providing them with all the love and care they deserve, no matter how long or short their time with us are. .
As an ideal foster, we’d like you to be committed to fostering your cat for an indefinite period of time. We require at least seven days’ notice should you be become unable to continue fostering so that we can find placement for them in another home.
Fostering for SOS means that we provide all pre–approved medical care which includes vaccinations, spay/neuter surgeries, and treatment for any medical issues that the cat in your care may have. SOS will also support you every step of the way with our network of experienced fosters.
In return, we ask that you make your foster cat available for vet appointments and meet-and-greets. We also ask that you provide us with photos and information about your foster cat’s personality so we can advertise them on our website, Adopt-A-Cat, Petfinder, Facebook and Instagram to match them with their best forever families. Photos and videos combined with compelling stories increase the cat’s chance to find a home!
If the time comes and you may decide that you simply cannot part with your foster cat or kitten, you’re welcome to “foster fail.” This is the best kind of “failure” you will ever experience since you are only “failing” your foster cat on the promise to find him or her a new home by adopting him or her yourself into your home (the place the cat already knows and loves!).
If you’d like to get started or need additional information, please submit your foster application and one of our fabulous volunteers will reach out to answer all questions.
SOS Cat Rescue AZ, P.O.Box 35002, Tucson, AZ 85740-5002 phone (520) 445-3889
info@SOScatrescueAZ.org