The Best Way to Get the Best Cat

Jun 12, 2023

Let me suggest something you might view as crazy, though it makes perfect sense. Before you buy or adopt a cat or kitten, foster first.

Fostering is like trying on clothes at the mall. It gives you the chance to “try on” a cat in your home with little to no financial commitment. The process isn’t as quick as buying a new pair of jeans, but it is as telling.

Fostering does its work by helping you to answer the following four (4) questions.

Are you willing to be a cat’s daily advocate throughout its lifespan?
Are you able and willing to make the long-term financial commitment to a furry feline?
Is the foster cat the right cat for you?
Is the foster cat the right cat for the other pets in your home?

You provide a clean home, care, feeding, enrichment, and love. The shelter or rescue with whom you contract pays* for the food, litter, and veterinary support.

(*If you pay for these things on behalf of the rescue or shelter, you may be able to claim the expenses on your tax return. Consult your accountant before assuming this to be true for you.)

While you foster, the cat stays in your home until a permanent home is found. That permanent home could be yours if you connect with the cat! If not, you’ll have learned a great deal about yourself and the type of feline that suits your lifestyle. After your foster cat is adopted, you get another opportunity to find your best-fit pet.

a cat needs a daily advocate. Is that you?

Fostering will reveal things about yourself you may not know. Top of that list is whether or not you have capacity, or can make space, for a cat in your life.

If you live alone, you will be responsible for your cat’s daily well-being, 365 day, for 15 to 20 years, or more. Fostering will help you determine if you really want to make to make such a long-term obligation.

If you live with others, how willing are they to help? Will you require kids to help? What are the consequences of them not helping? The cat’s well-being is not a bargaining tool. Are you willing to be the leader your cat needs you to be?

Cat care appears to be minimal: provide food and clean water daily, scoop the litter box once a day, brush teeth and fur regularly, clip toenails as needed, play often.

What happens when a cat needs or demands more? Some cats rouse their people from sleep before the crack of dawn to be fed. Others knock items off counters for attention or curiosity. Some climb curtains, scratch furniture, or get stuck in odd places.

Fostering will give you the chance to understand how you and others in your household react to an animal doing something unexpected or unwanted.

If you need to work late, wish to travel, or anticipate a hospital stay who can step in? Can the helper provide what your cat needs beyond food, water and a clean litter box? Do they have time for cuddling and play?

My friend’s cat channeled the anxiety of being left for two weeks into chewing all the electrical cords in her home. Thankfully, my friend had unplugged everything from the wall. The cost to replace the cords for the lamps, tv, internet, and fans, however, came with a price.

When you provide a foster home for a cat, you will quickly learn if a long-term commitment to a feline friend is truly something for you.

Cat care costs money

Even if you get a “free” cat or kitten, it will only be free for that moment in time.

Check out the ASPCA chart of general cat care costs, including estimates for food, litter, routine vet care, measures such as flea, tick and heartworm prevention, health insurance, licenses, grooming supplies, microchips, and initial supplies such as cat carriers, litter boxes and toys.

Their estimate of $1,149 for annual cat care costs is low in my opinion. The chart was created in 2021. Cat food alone has increased significantly since.

Do you know the fastest way to throw $800 out the window? Don’t brush your cat’s teeth. A dental cleaning to remove plaque is like a surgery procedure but without the scalpel. Your cat is placed under general anesthesia. If any teeth need extraction due to cavities or rotting, the cost goes up.

Do you know the best way to save money on cat care costs? Follow good preventative measures – brush teeth and fur. Clip toenails. Maintain a healthy weight. Sounds boring? Maybe so, but your cat and your wallet will thank you.

Cornell University has a series of videos on the best way to brush your cat’s teeth and another series on how to clip toenails.

best fit pet

When my husband and I were looking for our first house, the real estate agent warned us, “Don’t fall in love at first sight.” That is also true for choosing a furry feline for your home. Don’t let your heart lead. For your sanity and the health of your pet, let logic rule.

Fur is inevitable. Are you ok with it on your furniture and clothes? How do you feel about finding cat hair in your lunch?

Long and short-haired cats need regular grooming. A cat with painful matted fur is not a happy cat. Fostering will provide insight into your willingness to brush a cat with regularity.

Is anyone in your house allergic to dander? If you have young kids who’ve not been exposed to cats, why commit to a pet until you know if cat hair will cause problems.

If you’re interested in a kitten, do you really have the tolerance for hours of play that may include climbing screens and drapery, knocking things off counters and tables, snagging your clothes with sharp toenails? The Kitten Lady website has a number of blogs on what it takes to foster kittens.

Have a soft spot for senior animals? So many need homes! Foster a senior to explore your tolerance for the time, medical needs, and specialty care that can accompany an older animal.

Fostering provides the opportunity to test the waters with a cat. If you fall in love and all works, adopt the cat. If not, find the cat a home then keep looking for your best-fit pet.

best fit with resident pets

You may be in love with your foster cat, but do your current animal residents feel the same?

Got a dog? Does it respect cats?

Got a cat? Does it warm to the idea of another feline in its territory? Read Introducing a New Cat to Your Resident Cat by Class Act Cats to understand the best way to introduce cats. Consult with your rescue or shelter program as they may have guidance and restrictions such as, no introductions until all cats have had proper vaccinations.

Got a mouse or hamster? Is it cowering in its cage because of a stalking hunter?

The longer a foster cat lives in your home, the more information you’ll get about how your current pets will connect, or not, with your guest.

how to foster

Every rescue and shelter across the U.S. is overwhelmed with animals in their care. The need for foster help right now is immense.

This page on the Pet Haven website has some great information for people interested in fostering through their program. The organization has been around for over 60 years. Their foster program will provide an in-depth framework to help you assess the program you are considering.

When you call to inquire about fostering, ask about the type of support the shelter or rescue provides.

Will they give you food and litter?
Will they give you a tax document to support your out-of-pocket expenses?
Who pays for medical bills?
Who arranges medical appointments?

What is the fostering process?

Do you need to complete an application?
What type of information do they ask on the application?
Do they have a foster manual?
Are you required to foster a certain number of animals?
Will you need a car or access to readily available transportation? (most important for emergency situations.)

Do you have say in the type of cat you get to foster? If so, know where you want to start. Do you want to foster kitten(s), pregnant mom, senior, male, female, long-hair, short-hair…?

What is their adoption process?

Do they have an online presence to promote animals available for adoption?
Will you have to screen all the potential adopters or will there be help?
Do they have a mentor program?

Is there a return policy for adopted animals?

Can you foster to adopt?

You will never have all the answers before your first foster experience. A good program, however, will support your efforts along the way.

Fostering is a win-win!

Fostering is a win for the animal that is released from a shelter to the comfort of your home. The cat gets to begin healing from the stress of communal, non-home living.

Fostering is a win for the next animal in need of shelter care. When you say yes to fostering, the cat you foster leaves behind an open kennel. A new animal in need of shelter can fill that space – with the hope of going to a foster or permanent home.

Fostering is also a win for you. Like trying on clothes in a store, you get to determine if the cat that blossoms in your love and care is the right fit for you and your home. If not, once the cat is adopted, you get to try again.

Best wishes in your search for a best-fit pet!

Like People, Like Pets by Cindy Ojczyk

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