What it Involves

Foster caring is an immensely rewarding and enjoyable experience. Foster carers save lives by providing abandoned animals with time. This is something that most shelters and pounds cannot afford to give, but is essential for animals to recover from the trauma of abandonment or sickness, and for permanent and loving homes to be found.

What CatRescue Provides

Foster Carers are vital to CatRescue and we are as equally committed to their well being as we are the animals in their care. We have specifically designed our program to ensure we provide volunteers with maximum support, never overload them, or place them in a situation they are not comfortable with or prepared for. We are extremely flexible in our approach, and understand that people have many other commitments in their life.

CatRescue has a team of experienced Carer Coordinators who are the first point of contact for foster carers. Each new carer will be allocated their own coordinator who will support them until their foster animal has been safely and responsibly rehomed.

It is essential that foster carers remain in regular contact with their coordinator (either by phone or email), and ring them immediately if their foster animal becomes sick to organise veterinary treatment. Coordinators are also responsible for rehoming foster animals, and during this process communication is essential to ensure the information and photos they have are current, and that adoption enquiries can be assessed and followed up.

All veterinary treatment required for animals in our foster care program is covered by CatRescue, including flea and worming treatment. We have accounts with vets around Sydney and appointments are organised by the coordinators. CatRescue can also assist financially with cat food and litter, however this needs to be discussed with the carer’s allocated coordinator prior to sending in any receipts.

What Do You Require?
Kittens in foster care.Foster Carers are required to have reliable access to a car for veterinary appointments, a computer and digital camera. Regular communication with their coordinator is absolutely essential, and any problems (especially relating to the health of their animal) must be relayed as quickly as possible.

The length of time it takes to find an animal a home varies and we always strive to fit in with the carer’s schedule. Before accepting a foster animal, carers need to specify up front the length of time they’re available for, if they have holidays planned, or are thinking of moving.

We also understand that people’s circumstances can change, or their foster animal may not adjust to their new environment or be compatible with existing pets. If this happens we need as much warning as possible to organise alternative accommodation.

Where Our Animals Come From

CatRescue NSW primarily rescues animals from council pounds, however when resources are available we will always assist with stray animals.

The animals we rescue can be grouped into a variety of categories and we require people with different availabilities and skill sets to provide them with the type of care they need. For example:

Adult Cats can sometimes take longer to rehome and so require longer term foster carers. However, they are the least demanding of time and experience and so are ideal for new carers or people with hectic lives.

Healthy Kittens 7 to 14 weeks of age require more time as they are still very much babies. We always rehome kittens in pairs, so the minimum number of kittens with a carer will be two, the maximum being four. Most of our carers work full time away from home, and leaving kittens alone during the day is fine. However they do need regular feeding and litter changes.

Sick Kittens need more intensive care, the degree to which depends on their age and illness, and experienced carers may be required to nurse them. However if the kittens are not in a critical condition, this can be a great opportunity for less experienced carers to learn new skills.

Mums with Babies will require more space (usually a spare room), but if the kittens are healthy, the mums do all the hard work. Sadly, a lot of cats rescued from pounds have been exposed to cat flu, and this can greatly impact the health of newborns. As a consequence it is not unusual to need to hand rear the kittens, or to have kittens die. Mums with large litters (7+ kittens) will often need support with feeding their kittens, especially if they were in a poor condition when rescued.

Orphaned Neonates are unweaned kittens who have lost their mum. They require intensive care, two hourly feeds (even over night) and cannot be left at home during work hours. Experience is essential, and carers will need to the ability to seek veterinary assistance at the drop of a hat.

Before taking in an animal, foster carers need to specify the ‘category’ of animal they are able to care for based on their level of experience, and available space and time. To assist with this decision, carers are provided with information about each rescued animal needing care, including personality, where they were rescued from, and the state of their health.

CatRescue always has a shortage of adult cat carers because they can be slower to rehome, and kittens are so appealing. Anyone thinking of becoming a carer should consider whether they could help one or two of our very special, but sadly often forgotten, adults.

Training

CatRescue regularly holds training sessions to help existing foster carers develop new skills, and to introduce new carers to how our program works. Aside from the training aspect, it’s a great opportunity to meet like minded, compassionate people.

For information on up coming training sessions please check our website regularly or sign up to our email list.

Rehoming

Kitten being rehomed.CatRescue NSW has a rigorous rehoming procedure to ensure that every animal we rescue finds the love, happiness and ‘forever’ home they deserve. We take rehoming incredibly seriously, and are committed to avoiding the same mistakes which often results with animals being discarded or surrendered to pounds.

Each animal in foster care (depending on age and health) is listed on Pet Rescue and the CatRescue website. We also make posters which are distributed across Sydney, and send emails to our distribution list advertising animals needing homes. Using this method our rehoming rate is very successful, and each year we rehome many hundreds of animals who would otherwise have been destroyed.

All adoption enquires are received by the Carer Coordinators (we never advertise the contact details of foster carers) who conduct a thorough phone interview. If we think a person is suitable to adopt we discuss their details and information with the respective foster carer to ensure that they also feel happy to proceed. Foster carers have a great insight into their animal’s personality and are critical to the decision making process.

The next step is to organise a time for the foster carer to introduce their animal to the prospective adoptee. Not everyone feels comfortable with meeting new people in which case we can organise an alternative, such as arranging to meet at the Carer Coordinator’s house. If requested, the coordinator may also be present at the foster carer’s house during the meeting to provide support and guidance.

If the carer is satisfied that the person is suitable to adopt their foster animal, a Trial Adoption will commence. For more information please click here. If, however, the person is not appropriate to adopt, the Carer Coordinator is responsible for notifying them of the decision.

CatRescue commits to the animals it has rescued for the duration of their lives. If at any point an animal needs to be returned (even if they were adopted many years ago) we will always step in to assist.

Foster Carer Agreement

People interested in becoming a foster carer are required to complete a Foster Carer Agreement form. Please click here to download. If you would like further information or have any specific questions, please email info@catrescue.com.au.

Recommended Shopping List for new foster carers

Adult cats

Can be purchased from Vets or Pet Supply shops

  • Science Diet or Royal Canin dry food
  • Flea treatment (Advantage or Revolution is recommended)
  • Worming paste (Felix paste is recommended)
  • NB: CatRescue will reimburse for costs of flea & worm treatment upon receipt.

Can be purchased from your Supermarket

  • Breeders Choice (recycled paper cat litter)
  • Litter trays (we recommend two trays per cat)
  • Wet food (a variety is recommended such as chicken breast and raw necks and tinned food)

Can be purchased from a discount variety store

  • Scratching post
  • Toys

NB:  CatRescue will provide all new carer’s who require it with the loan of a secure cat carry cage. Please advise your carer coordinator if you require us to loan you a carry cage for the duration of your foster caring experience.

Kittens

Can be purchased from Vets or Pet Supply shops

  • Science Diet or Royal Canin dry kitten food
  • Flea treatment (Advantage for kittens is recommended)
  • Worming paste (Felix paste is recommended)

NB: CatRescue will reimburse for costs of flea & worm treatment upon receipt.

Can be purchased from your Supermarket

  • Breeders Choice (recycled paper cat litter is essential for kittens as they will experiment with eating their litter and the clay variety can be fatal)
  • Litter trays (we recommend two trays per kitten)
  • Whiskas kitten sachets

Can be purchased from a discount variety store

  • Scratching post
  • Toys (be very wary of buying toys on elastic as kittens can strangle themselves if left with these unsupervised) such as ping pong balls and soft toys that they can carry around

NB:  CatRescue will provide all new carer’s who require it with the loan of a secure cat carry cage. Please advise your carer coordinator if you require us to loan you a carry cage for the duration of your foster caring experience.