Fostering

Could you foster a cat or kitten?

As spaces are limited, we are becoming increasingly more anxious to find temporary foster carers.  Our resources are stretched to the limit.  Full help and backup is given.  This is an urgent appeal and would ensure a happier life for a cat.

If you think you might be able to help and would like to know more about fostering, please write to Cats' Aid, P.O. Box 2874, Dublin 4.  Or call us on (01) 668 3529 or email catsaid@gmail.com   We will arrange a home visit to discuss it further.  Please give it some thought, you could make a difference.

We are urgently in need of people willing to foster for us - this would enable us to help many more cats and kittens. Here are a number of situations when a fosterer is desperately needed:

• A cat has appeared in a garden, friendly and in good condition but hungry and obviously lost.
  Often there is evidence of a collar having been worn. The person contacting us is unable to take the cat into the house and would like us to take it into care and this would be the best option for the cat. But we have limited accommodation and often the best we can do is advise the contact to advertise the cat (this ad is free for a 'found' cat) continue to feed him and give him attention . He is put on the waiting list and we can only hope that he will still be there when his turn comes to be taken into care. It would be far better for him if he could go to a foster home until such time as his owner is found (sadly, this seldom happens) or a new home is found for him. Before going to his foster home he would be vaccinated and given a thorough health check.
• At this time of the year especially, foster homes are urgently needed for pregnant cats and mothers and kittens who have been abandoned by their owners.
  Also the many kittens who are handed in to be killed, surplus to requirement! Taking them into kennels is not advisable as there is always the risk of infection and it is difficult to socialise kittens in an institutional environment. A home situation makes it much easier to home them and they would be found homes as soon as possible.
• Then there is the cat suffering from a terminal illness who is in need of hospice care.
  She has either been abandoned or her owner feels unable to cope and contacts Cats' Aid for help. With lots of TLC and expert veterinary treatment she could have a good quality of life for the time that she has left. Medical and special dietary expenses would be met by Cats' Aid and also help and support would be available at all times - you would never have to feel you are doing this alone. Those who have fostered a cat nearing the end of its journey, find it sad but immensely rewarding.
• If you think you might be able to help and would like to know more about fostering, please write to Cats' Aid, Box 2874, Dublin 4, call us on (01) 668 3529 and we will arrange a home visit to discuss it further. Please give it some thought, you could make a difference. MBO'C