• Kittens who are too young to be adopted.
• Moms with nursing kittens.
• Kittens who are old enough to be adopted but need a foster home until room at Petsmart.
• Cats that need socialization because they are very shy, have never been around people or have been abused or neglected.
• Older cats who do not do well in multi cat foster homes.
• Cats with special medical needs.
• Adoptable adult cats.
• Feral cats or kittens that show potential to be adoptable.
• Cats with behavioral problems.

• You must have a reliable car and be willing to bring the animal to vet when vaccines are needed and other medical treatments are needed.
• Provide a clean, nurturing, safe, indoor home for the cat until they are adopted.
• Give medication as needed.
• On occasion bring the kitty to mobile adoption sites and pick them up if not adopted.
• Allow pre-screened potential adopters to set up an appointment with you to show your foster kitty at your home, or if you feel more comfortable, we'll set up a time to meet at Orchard Animal Clinic.

1. Do I have a room in my house or a separate building away from my own pets?
2. Can I handle the emotional part of fostering?
3. Do I have the time needed to care for my foster cat?
4. Can I handle saying good-bye to them when they get adopted?
5. Am I patient enough to handle a shy cat who may hide?
6. Am I patient in the amount of time it takes in introducing my foster to my own pets?
   Knowing it takes a while for the adjustment, your foster cat should be kept in a separate room for at lease 14 days.
7. Can I handle it if a young kitten passes away while in my care? 
   Kittens can be quite fragile and you could lose one to illness without much or any warning.
8. Is my house and family "cat safe"?
9. Am I patient and willing to clean up after cats and kittens?
   Kittens can be especially messy!

• The regular is usually about $3.00 for the 25lb bag and the clumping is about $5.50 for the 25lb box.

• We also like to use Yesterday's News for cats that don't seem to like the clay.

• Preferred dry food is: Purina Cat Chow or Purina Indoor.  But any kind of dry or can cat food is always appreciated!
• Specialty food we need is Hill's Science Diet k/d can or dry for our cats on a special kidney diet, Science Diet Kitten can, Science Diet i/d or a/d cans.
• Cat Treats

The foster cats love these little cheapie one-story condos that can be found almost anywhere,  usually around $10.00.  They love the little single cozy sleeping places.  They also like to scratch them up and tend to go through quite a few.

They go through quite a few scratch posts, too!  These are always welcome gifts.

We, as Foster Cat Caretakers, tend to like these little "crate beds" for cat beds.  The small size is perfect for cats, and very easy on the washing machine!  These are usually found at pet supply stores like Petsmart. 

Snugglesafe Microwaveable Heaters

We use these a lot and we actually need more.  They heat in the microwave and they really do give off heat for 10 to 12 hours.  Great when there are no electrical outlets available.  Since they do get hotter than a cat or dog's body temp, we like to get them with the insulated covers to prevent burns.
They can be purchased online from the following places:

http://cozywinters.com/shop/snugglesafe.html

http://www.entirelypets.com/snugglesafe.html

http://www.preparedpet.com/bulldoglinks.html

We have purchased from Cozy Winters before and not had any problems.

These Pro-Select heaters are great.  Durable, sealed, and easy to clean.  Safe and easy - no controls to adjust, one side gets 80 degrees, the other side 98 degrees.  Will not over-heat the kitties.  Round-the-clock heat with no worries.  The small size (15 3/8 Inch x 11 7/8 Inch) is perfect for cats.  We only have one right now and often wish we had one or two more.
Some online sellers:

http://www.petsalley.com/pskennelpad.asp

http://www.petshed.com/products/item6472.asp

http://buypetstuff.com/productidPE-TP882.htm

All of the cats love these.  Cats have a higher body temperature than us and it's natural for them to seek out warm places to maintain it.  These beds insulate them from cold surfaces and reflect their body heat back to them.
Available at Drs Foster and Smith:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product

• First of all, if you like to coordinate volunteers, let us know!  This would involve keeping a list of people who want to volunteer, contacting interested people, scheduling volunteers for events.
• Make follow-up calls to families who recently adopted from us to check on how the cats are doing.
• Call back people about our spay/neuter program or refer them to other agencies.
• Yard sale coordinator.  Plan, set up or host yard sales.
• Event coordinator.  We often try to have sale booths at events like craft shows, cat shows or pet fairs. 
• Work at special events or yard sales - manning booths and talking to people about us.
• Research and write grants.
• Data entry.
• Help with projects such as building shelters for feral cats.
• Foster home coordinator.  Keeping track of foster homes.  Approving them.  Helping them with questions.
• Petsmart adoption center coordinator.  Taking cats that are ready for adoption to Petsmart.  Making sure the cages stay full.
• Design and distribute flyers such as advertising for events.
• Put together adoption packages (putting various adoption materials and paperwork in bags).
• Creating greeting cards or calendars featuring our foster cats to sell.
• Make and donate crafts to sell at fundraising events.  Any crafts especially pet related items, like cat toys, small washable pet beds.
• Newsletter - put one together quarterly and get them ready for mailing.
• Organize a cat food and litter drives at work or school
• Find an ink cartridge recycling fundraising program
• Make calls to businesses to see if we can place a donation box at their location
• Find businesses that would us to have a small area to sell a few crafts without wanting a commission
• Host a fundraising "Microchip Day".  If you can get enough interested coworkers, friends and family we can set up a day to microchip their pets for only $30.  Normal pricing is up to $65.  100% of profit goes to the kitties.
• Volunteer to be an eBay advocate for online auction fundraising.