Cat Resources

What is required of me as a foster parent?

Providing a safe, ‘kitten-proofed’ room in your home that contains the kittens’ necessities; food, water, bedding, litter box, toys, etc.  You are responsible for ensuring that your kitten receives any scheduled medical treatments on time, is healthy, and well socialized. 

I found a litter of kittens.  Can I foster them through your program?

Yes, with approval and appointment. We will try to work with you on setting an appointment if you are the foster parent. If you cannot foster this litter it may take us some time to find a foster home. We will do our best to work with you.

What are the requirements for a foster room?

The foster room needs to be a designated place for your foster kittens to live the entire time.  SSHS recommends a bathroom for ease of cleaning. A spare bedroom, or other room could work as well. This room will need to be ‘kitten-proofed’ and have plenty of space for a litter box, food and water dishes, as well as sleep and play areas. 

What supplies do I need to provide myself?

SSHS will provide you with a baby bag full of basic medical supplies as well as provide all vaccines and medication necessary for your kittens.   We also have food, bowls, litter, aluminum litter pans and a few toys available for foster kittens. 

How much do I need to supervise my foster group?

You need to do welfare checks on your foster group three times a day.  This is to make sure everyone is healthy, eating, and using the litter box.  You need to spend about 1-2 hours per day interacting with your foster group so that they become well socialized. 

Can my foster kittens and mom cat interact with my resident pets?

You must wait at least two weeks before introducing vaccinated foster kittens to your resident pets. You cannot introduce unvaccinated kittens to your resident pets until five days after the kittens receive their first vaccines. If your kittens or resident pets are sick, they cannot interact with each other. You must supervise all interactions between your kittens and resident animals. 

Can my children interact with the foster kittens?

We encourage your children to have supervised interaction with foster kittens.  Children should not be permitted to handle newborn kittens.  Caution and direct supervision is a must! 

Do I need to give my own vaccines? Can I learn?

The foster coordinator will be in touch with you the week that vaccines are due. We encourage foster parents to learn to give vaccines and can show you how.

If my foster kittens get sick do I take them to my own vet?

All veterinary care will be provided through SSHS. Foster parents are not permitted to seek veterinary care from outside clinics.  Any visits to outside veterinarians that are not pre-approved will be the financial responsibility of the foster parent. 

What do I do if my own cats get sick?

Your kittens should be kept separately from your resident cats.  However, we do recognize that cross contamination can happen.  If your own cats get sick it is your responsibility to seek veterinary treatment.  In some instances, SSHS may be able to help you by seeing your cat and prescribing medications for specific conditions.  However, this is not possible for us to do all of the time and you should not count on this service. Remember there is always an inherent risk of disease when you bring new animals into your home. This is why we require that all animals in the home are currently on vaccinations.

Do my resident pets have to be up to date on their vaccines?

For everyone’s protection and safety your resident pets are required to be up to date on vaccines. 

What if I have to leave town unexpectedly?

Contact the foster coordinator as soon as possible so that we can find alternate placement for your kittens. If you have a trusted family member or friend that is willing to help care for the kittens, that would work out well too!