Foster an animal

Would you like to join our vital network of fosterers?

We need fosterers for a variety of animals including cats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

Fostering gives you the benefit of animal companionship without the worries of permanent ownership. And it can be a very rewarding experience, allowing you to see an animal develop into a pet able to lead a happy fulfilled life.

Why our fosterers are so important

Many of the animals that come into our care are in desperate need – starving, neglected, abandoned, or injured. It is therefore important to give them as much comfort and security as possible. We therefore try to foster all of them into a home environment, which is much less stressful than a spell in the kennels. And as fostering is cheaper than kenneling, it means that we can help more animals.

So what does it take to be a fosterer?

Just a love of animals and the desire to help them. It is ideal if you can pay for the animal’s daily needs (food, litter, etc.) but HAWS can help with any necessary equipment (bedding, hutches, litter, etc.). HAWS will also fund veterinary treatment for the fostered animals and can offer advice on all aspects of the animals care.

Foster a cat

If you are not sure whether you can look after a cat for the rest of its life please do not adopt one. Why not consider fostering? You could have one of any age for just a few days, from time to time, or for as long as it takes for us to find it a home. Alternatively you could take on one of our senior residents and keep them for the rest of their lives as they are unlikely to be adopted.If you don’t have a garden, this is not a problem. You could consider fostering an indoor cat or one with FIV. Mother cats and kittens can also be fostered in flats as they don’t stay long enough for this to be a problem.

Do your children want a kitten but you know they might lose interest and/or you don’t know where you’ll be in a few months or a year? Why not offer to foster a cat, perhaps a mum and kittens? After a few months we will have them all adopted for you! If you get attached to them, you can always foster again. All you need is an area of a room and some TLC. We can provide a pen and all the necessary food and equipment. If you have other pets, you will probably need a spare room to house your foster kitties. Keeping your pets and the foster animal separate can prevent them getting upset initially with each other, and also, more importantly, to prevent any spread of infection between animals during a short quarantine period.

We are always inundated with cats and desperately need more foster homes for them. We never put any animal to sleep even if it has been with us for years or needs frequent medical treatment. This means that many of our foster homes are taken up with elderly cats or cats with FIV and other conditions.

Any questions about fostering a cat? Click here to email us.

Foster other animals

Email us to enquire about fostering other animals.