why foster?
Fostering kittens is one of the most rewarding and impactful ways to help animals in need. Here’s why you should consider it:
- You Save Lives: Many shelters are overcrowded, and kittens – especially newborns or those needing medical care – are at high risk. Fostering gives them a safe space to grow, heal and thrive.
- Temporary Commitment: Fostering is ideal if you can’t adopt but still want the joy of having animals in your life. You provide love and care for a few weeks or months, then help them find forever homes.
- Healthier Kittens: Kittens in shelters are particularly susceptible to diseases from the constant influx of new cats. Housing kittens in a private home provides a clean environment free from constant exposure and from the stresses of shelter life. Home fostering teaches the kittens how to grow and live in a household, setting them up for success in their forever homes.
- Socialization and Growth: Kittens need positive human interaction to become well-adjusted pets. Foster homes give them the attention and socialization that’s hard to get in a shelter environment.
- You Make Room in Shelters: Every foster home opens up a spot in a shelter or rescue group, allowing them to save more animals.
- It’s a Learning Experience: You gain hands-on experience caring for animals, including bottle-feeding, basic medical care and behavioral training – all while making a real difference.
- You’re Part of Their Happy Ending: Seeing your foster kittens grow, thrive, and move on to loving homes is incredibly fulfilling. You become a crucial part of their rescue story.
- In short, fostering kittens helps them survive and thrive – and enriches your life in the process.
what fostering involves
Responsibilities:
- Daily Care – Feeding, grooming, socializing, and keeping kittens clean and comfortable.
- Health Monitoring – Watching for signs of illness, administering medication if needed, and attending vet appointments (usually covered by the rescue). TTF foster report the weights of their underage kittens at least weekly.
- Socialization – Gently exposing kittens to people, sounds, and home environments to help them become adoptable.
- Litter Training – Helping kittens learn to use the litter box, especially as they grow and develop.
- Communication – Staying in touch with the rescue organization, giving updates, and helping with adoption bios or events.
Benefits:
- Saving Lives – You give vulnerable kittens a chance to survive, grow, and find forever homes.
- Temporary Commitment – Fostering is flexible—ideal for people who want pets but can’t commit long-term.
- Emotional Rewards – Watching kittens grow, heal, and flourish is deeply fulfilling.
- Learning Experience – You gain valuable knowledge about animal care, behavior, and health.
- Helping the Rescue – Fosters are the backbone of most rescue operations; your help frees up shelter space and resources.
- Joy and Companionship – Kittens are fun, loving, and endlessly entertaining companions.
Fostering is a meaningful way to make a difference—with a big impact for a small time investment. TTF has volunteers with the knowledge and abilities to foster kittens and cats who need time to grow, develop, and heal before they are ready to find their forever family and home.
Underage kittens are the most euthanized group of animals in the shelter system. With too many kittens arriving at the shelters with too few resources to care for these babies, help is needed. Our team will work with you to create a positive experience fostering and providing guidance on any questions you may have along the way.
REQUIREMENTS TO FOSTER
The fostering requirements vary depending on the age of the kittens.
- Bottle-baby kitties are a big time commitment as they require feeding every 2-3 hours around the clock. Many bottle fosters travel with their babies so they do not miss a feeding.
- Weaned kittens are a mid-level time commitment – they need socialization so require caretakers who are around throughout the day to feed and play with them at regular intervals.
- Adult cats and females with litters are generally a lower-level time commitment, as they do not need regular interventions throughout the day.
- All foster kitties require a space that can be easily cleaned, a place to separate them from resident pets (at least until they are acclimated), a place for a litter box, and a place in your heart.
- TTF provides all of the supplies you need, and a great network of foster to coach and support you every step of the way.
- Fostering is an amazing experience! It is so rewarding to see your kitties leave for their forever homes. Most people come back for more fosters – it’s addicting to see such happy endings!