What Does It Mean to Foster a Cat? Everything You Need to Know

You’ve likely heard of the concept of fostering a cat, but do you know what it truly means? Some people will decide to foster a cat in need to help out local shelters or animal organizations while providing a temporary and loving home to a feline in need. Typically, this is a voluntary task that is emotionally rewarding for the foster parent. Not only that, but offering a temporary home can be a game changer for the precious kitty who needs love and support.

This article will explain everything you need to know about fostering a cat, including some great reasons why you should consider doing so. 

What Does Fostering a Cat Entail?

Fostering a cat means providing a safe and loving home to a cat in need until it finds its forever home. When you foster a cat, you aren’t giving it a permanent home. Rather, you are providing a temporary home as a local animal shelter or rescue organization seeks a family to adopt the kitten or adult cat permanently. 

Many people will foster cats to ensure local shelters are less overwhelmed. Not only that, but a home is often a warmer environment for a cat than a shelter, and it can prepare the feline for adoption. Fostering a cat is also a great option for those who might not have the budget to fully adopt a cat or might simply want to experiment with owning a cat. Typically, most foster parents will only keep a cat for a few weeks or months, depending on its adoption situation, age, and health. Nevertheless, this is a selfless and charitable thing to do.

Reasons to Foster a Cat

Here are five of the best reasons to provide a loving bridge home to a cat in need.

1. Helps Free Up Room at a Shelter

One of the top reasons people decide to foster a cat is to help free up room at a local shelter. With so many animals in need of homes, shelters and rescue organizations can quickly become overwhelmed. To help, many people will foster multiple cats at once or continue to do so on an ongoing basis. The less swamped a shelter or animal rescue organization is, the more precious animals they can help and save.

2. Offers a Warm and Loving Environment to a Cat in Need

Another common reason people might consider fostering a cat is to provide a warm and loving home as they wait to find their permanent family. Many of these cats have endured difficult traumas, unhealthy living circumstances, and other unfortunate events. In other words, they have lacked the love and support they deserve — something you can offer. By fostering a cat or kitten, you are opening your home and your heart to a feline in need.

3. Helps Socialize the Cat

Cats benefit from foster care because they can socialize with other animals and/or humans. Many of these cats have come from harsh or isolated environments, while others are just newborns that have not yet been socialized. By socializing them in your home, you help prepare them for their forever home and family. Socializing a cat is extremely important for their survival, happiness, and overall health.

4. Reveals the Cat’s Personality

Typically, once a cat is comfortable enough in your home, it will begin to develop its personality. This helps shelters or rescue organizations match the cat with its permanent family. For example, a particularly shy and anxious cat might be a better match for a quieter, calmer family, while an energetic and playful cat or kitten might be best suited for a more boisterous household with children. 

When you foster a cat, you allow it the comfort to be who it truly is. Just as humans will often open up and show their true selves over time, once comfortable, cats operate the same way. This will help you match your cat with the right people who will love them unconditionally. 

5. Familiarizes You With Pet Parenting

As mentioned earlier, many people will foster a cat before choosing to adopt one. This allows you a bit of a trial period to decide whether you would enjoy having a cat as a forever loved one. 

When you foster a cat, you eventually give it to a new and more permanent family, or you can even decide to adopt it yourself. The few weeks you spend with your feline friend might be all you need to decide that you do, indeed, want to be a cat parent yourself.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Olga Apanasenko/Shutterstock.com