Life as a foster family - your story

Nody

So this is something that's been hanging around in my head for a while as I know there are multiple foster families in this forum and people involved with rescues. To give people an idea how being a foster family is and to show how rewarding it is and the workload involved (and make no mistake we're all pitching for YOU to become a foster as well).

Hence I thought a chance for foster families to share their story could be worth a go; the standard rules apply of not naming any rescues etc.

So in my case we've said we wanted to become a foster family after we had adopted our latest rescues. We could not do it at the time but as we moved into a new place we said let's do it. We got eased into it all with three kittens who needed to be further socialized before being placed in their final homes. This would be a relatively normal route from my understanding that you get an “easy” start to get you going into things. Having three kittens meant introducing them to the rest of the gang, separate feeding and a bit of additional cleaning duty (kittens have problem remembering that there’s a toilet next room so they will go there and then). Of course we got to enjoy having kittens around which is great and placing them was really, really hard to let them go but we knew it was for the best so we could help more (and five years down the line we still get pictures sent to us of them which we greatly appreciate). In all honesty being a foster like this means you get soooo much back for minimal workload (you get to pay a bit more for food, a bit more playtime etc.) but make a huge difference in their life.

Fast forward to today; as I posted in the post your pet picks #2 we just took in another guy. We’ve now become a “difficult placement foster family” home; what that means is we’ll get the cats who need quarantine (i.e. taken directly from the street which is pretty much guaranteed they'll bring guests with them from fleas to ticks to worms to parasites etc.), who’ll need operations/surgery, going to strangers who've found a cat etc. or simply a last minute placements. This was our choice and I want to stress that; it means we get last minute calls (our latest kitty we got a call on Sunday at 6pm and he was here at 7pm), it means we do 3am emergency vet visits and in general have to put in a bit more work and being flexible. On the other hand, it also means we get to see the transformation from their poor state they come in to a being adopted out healthy and full of life and that our rescue knowns if a difficult case comes up we're most likely going to be there to help (they always ask us if we can and are willing to take them in; we've never had pressure on us to take them in if we feel we can't).

It’s tougher and definitely not for everyone but in general rescues don’t need to many of our type of homes either, what they do need are “normal” homes to help socialize, adjust and bring them back to life again and this is where you can help. Being a foster family means you’ll have one or two more members, it means a bit of more work at the start to get everyone to get along but also the enjoyment of knowing what difference you’ve made to that cat or dog’s life. Someone asked if it is not difficult to let them go (failed foster families is a term for a reason!) and it’s true but you know as well for each foster you let go to their permanent home that is another cat or dog you can take in to make a difference to their life so it becomes a rewarding circle. As a side benefit you'll also learn quite a bit more about cats & dogs which helps you with your own pets as well; now that's a win - win - win situation in my book.

Zapperzy

Tried, failed and kept her. Don't regret it at all Waiting for her to grow up a little and share a bedroom with her sister so it can free up the spare room again. That's if il be allowed foster again :rolleyes:

Choc Chip

I love the idea of this thread. It's something I'm considering in 7 or 8 months if I think our dog has settled in enough and it'd be great to hear about people's experiences.

aonb

Im another FAILED fosterer!
Took in our first kitten - she was half dead and feral (her siblings died) - I volunteer with a shelter and it couldnt have her at the time, so I was 'stuck' with her - boy am I glad I did!!! Im now a converted cat person - she is the light of my life - even my totally-anti-cat-mother who is staying with me for a few months, is totally besotted with her Shes a beauty and I love her to bits, and I wouldnt rehome her anymore than I would my children!!!

As I mentioned, I work with a rescue/shelter. Our shelter is always bursting at the seams. If it werent for the foster families who take our puppies, shy/anxious/difficult dogs, injured/malnourished/terrified dogs, or just the dogs that have been in the shelter or straying too long, that need a bit of TLC, need to trust humans, need to be handled and shown not all humans are to be feared, I dont know where some of these poor dogs would end up.

Fostering is a wonderful way to find the new love of your life!! If you are new to dogs or cats (or pigs/horses/ponies/goats - we've had them all!!) and want to see how you would get on with a pet, or how your family would get on with one, then you might find fostering works for you. If you want to foster because you are going to be home for a few months or whatever, fostering and bringing on a dog/cat would be a great way to spend your home-time. Bringing a dog/cat home to your house, is a win/win situation - you are sheltering and helping an animal, you get love in return, and the brownie points are through the roof! A lot of people say that they couldnt bear to part with a dog/cat after it has become part of your family for weeks/months, but most people are ok when they see that (1) the new family will take just as good care of the animal and (2) they have space to foster and bring on another animal. Fostering often FAILS because the dog/cat becomes part of the family and never leaves - what a great thing to be a failure!!! But most of our foster families, are in the mindset that they have done the job with the cat/dog, then with lots of tears and sadness wave good by to them knowing they are going to a new family and the feel-good factor is high.

I suppose I'm a failed fosterer as well. I have a kitten a few months now that I was only supposed to have a few days. I absolutely adore him and nothing would make me give him up at this stage!
I always planned to foster dogs when I had the time and space. Im not sure I could do it now after my experience with this kitten. I get so attached so fast. Anyways, it turns out I can't regardless because my own dog has a permanent lung condition that makes her very susceptible to picking up illness/diseases and then not being able to fight them off so even the common kennel cough could be a huge problem for her. For that reason my vet doesn't think bringing various dogs with unknown medical backgrounds into my home would be the safest idea.
But now I have a somewhat unique view of fosterers. I need you. I love dogs, have two and want more more MORE. I will only rescue. But if I take directly from a shelter/pound I'd need to 'quarantine' for a substantial amount of time because some conditions aren't immediately obvious. I'd find that really hard and need a lot of space to even make it feasible. For that reason fosterers are invaluable to me. They have the dog in their home for long enough to know any issues it may have which could be a danger to my ill dog.
My second dog was got this way and it was great to be able to do immediate introductions and let him settle into our family without any worries! The people who had been looking after him were able to tell me all about him, gave me a run down on everything the vet had done and said about him and reassured me that they hadn't noticed any issues re: coughing etc. It was great. In return I've been keeping them up to date on his life with us and I know they're very happy with how happy and loved he is.