Foster Home

Becoming a foster is a vital role in helping our rescue save more lives and a rewarding way to give back by helping homeless cats and kittens in our community! This page is dedicated to shining a spotlight on the importance of fostering! If you are interested in becoming a foster, please complete a volunteer application, and someone from our organization will be in touch to discuss fostering with our rescue.

What is fostering?

Fostering is bringing a cat or kitten into your home for a limited amount of time and caring for them until that kitty is ready for adoption and the right furrever home has been found. As a foster home, you are the bridge connecting a cat between their former life and their new life with their furrever family.

Where do you get your cats and kittens?

The homeless cats and kittens that come to our rescue come from all walks of life such as from kill shelters, hoarding situations, surrendered by owners who can no longer keep them, and strays from the streets.

Why do we need foster homes?

Since we do not operate a shelter and our Roswell PetSmart location can only house a small number of healthy cats and kittens, we are always in need of temporary foster homes for the rest of the homeless cats and kittens that come to our rescue.

The cats or kittens that need fostering may be comprised of the following groups:

Pregnant mother cats or mother cats with newborn kittens that need time to allow their babies to grow and develop.
Orphaned newborn kittens that require around-the-clock care.
Young kittens that need some socialization and time to develop until they are old enough to receive their vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries.
Cats or kittens recovering from surgery, illness, or injury that need a safe place to recuperate.
Cats or kittens that come from an abusive or neglectful situations that need the calm loving environment of a foster home to give them time to decompress.
Senior cats where the shelter can be too stressful of an environment.

What is the time commitment?

The time commitment for fostering will vary depending on the age and health condition of each foster kitty. As a potential foster, you will discuss with our foster coordinator the type of fostering and your time commitment as well as the current needs of our rescue.

What are the foster responsibilities?

Be at least eighteen years or older. Children who are under the age of eighteen who want to foster for our rescue must have their parent’s approval.
Live in Roswell, Georgia, or the surrounding Georgia areas. If you rent, please review your lease agreement to ensure that you are eligible to foster and there are no restrictions on the number of cats you can keep in your residence.
Foster kitties do not require much space, just a spare bathroom, bedroom, or office will do as long as they are kept separate from resident pets. Separation is necessary to keep resident pets happy and to avoid any risks of exposure to potential health issues. Per the regulations of the Georgia Department of Agriculture, we will inspect your foster room to ensure your home is appropriately set up for a foster animal.
Ensure that your resident pets’ vaccinations are up to date and they have been spayed or neutered.
Have reliable transportation to transport foster kitties to and from vet appointments¹ and adoption events² (as needed).
Ability to feed, scoop the litter box daily, and keep their area clean.
Monitor and report any health conditions.
Have the time to love, play, socialize, and cuddle with them!

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¹Our partner veterinarians that provide vetting services to our kitties are VCA Pets Are People Too Roswell Animal Hospital and, Community Cat Clinic. For those living in other areas, please discuss your location with our foster coordinator.

²We hold adoption events every Saturday from 1 PM to 5 PM in the Adoption Center inside the PetSmart located at 625 W Crossville Road, Roswell, GA 30075. Additional adoption times are made by appointment with an approved adoption application and schedules will be coordinated with the foster home.

What are the rescue responsibilities?

We will pay all expenses for our foster kitties until they are ready for us to find them their furrever homes including the following:

We cover all necessary medical vetting, including spay/neuter surgeries, age-appropriate vaccinations (FVRCP and FeLV) to help guard against feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia, and age-appropriate rabies shot, testing (FeLV/FIV/HW), deworming, flea treatments, microchipping, and any other routine care.
In addition to the medical vetting described above, we cover any extra medical expenses that might be needed such as dental, bloodwork, x-rays, medications, and emergency care.
We will provide supplies for our foster kitties (as needed) such as food, litter, litter box, scoop, bowls, beds, toys, carriers, and cardboard scratchers.
When the cat or kitten has been properly vetted and is ready for adoption, the foster family will provide current photos and a written bio to include a description of the ideal home so we can list the kitty on our adoption sites. With foster input, we search to find the right home for each cat or kitten that comes to our rescue and we pride ourselves on matching their personalities with each potential home.

When is a cat or kitten ready for adoption?

Our rescue does not allow any cat or kitten to be adopted to their new home unless they have been spayed/neutered, tested for FIV/FeLV/HW, received age-appropriate vaccinations/rabies, microchipped, dewormed, and flea treated. Per the guidance of our veterinarian, unless there are any medical issues, female kittens can be spayed when they weigh 2 1/2 pounds and male kittens can be neutered when they weigh 2 pounds.

As a general rule, we expect healthy cats and kittens will go to the Adoption Center inside Roswell PetSmart for adoption provided there is space available a few days after they are fixed by our veterinarian. The PetSmart resident kitties will have the best chance of being adopted sooner because they will receive a lot of exposure to potential adopters. Per PetSmart guidelines, our PetSmart resident kitties are rotated every three weeks.

Why should I foster?

You are saving the life of an animal that would have died in a shelter not knowing love and giving them the opportunity of a new life. Since we do not operate a shelter, the number of cats and kittens we can rescue is largely dependent on the number of foster homes available. We can save more cats and kittens if we have more foster homes. You are playing a vital role in saving lives by providing a temporary, safe, and caring environment. It is a small investment with a huge return on saving an animal’s life.

You will use your nurturing skills to teach your fosters about love, provide them with the tools they need to succeed, and give them the chance to know the love of a furrever home. You are raising a new best friend for a kid who has never had a cat before, a companion for the lonely, a feline family member for a bustling household or a retired family. You might think that your foster kitty is so comfortable and happy that they will love only you and they cannot be happy anywhere else but believe us when we tell you they can! They will love other people and will do so because of the love you gave them. Your foster thriving in their furrever home means that you did your job well. You only need to look at the smiling happy faces of the families and the contented kitties in their arms to know that you are making a difference. The love you have shown your fosters will be with them for the rest of their life and that is what makes fostering so special!

Your goodbye is their hello to a new life. Most importantly, it opens up space in your home to save more lives, and believe us when we say there are always other homeless cats or kittens in need of a caring person like you! Fostering is the cycle of saving lives. You will have the opportunity to love so many fur babies while saving so many lives and making an impact by giving a new feline family member who will bring entertainment, joy, and unlimited amounts of love to their new forever home!