We urgently need foster homes for cats and kittens

Can you look after a sick cat for a couple of weeks? SPCA Auckland desperately needs short-term foster homes and lots of them, fast.

Thousands of cats and kittens are rescued, found, or accepted by SPCA Auckland each year but not all of them are ready for adoption straight away – so the organisation sends them out to foster homes for short periods of time to recover from illness, regain strength, or gain weight.

The result: SPCA Auckland needs between 10 and 15 new foster homes for cats and kittens every day.

“It’s a huge target and we often don’t quite get there,” says Christine Kalin, SPCA Auckland CEO.

“Often we fall short by between 5 and 8 foster homes per day – and that figure gets worse during Easter and school holidays because many of our loyal foster families go away on holiday themselves.

“So we need caring Aucklanders to put their hands up and volunteer to look after cats and kittens who need a bit of love and attention to get back on their feet again.

“Fostering is an incredibly rewarding experience – you’re essentially extending a lifeline to a living creature and giving it the chance of a new life. Many people find it becomes a good habit that they don’t want to break, a tangible way to give something back to the community.”

To foster cats and kittens in your home you will need a small room isolated from any other pets (a laundry or spare bedroom are ideal), some spare time, and a loving heart. SPCA Auckland provides all the food (from Hills Pet Nutrition), litter, litter trays, bedding, toys, medication training, and support you’ll need, although you will have to transport the animal(s) to and from SPCA Auckland yourself.

The minimum fostering period is two weeks but it can take as long as six weeks or longer for cats and kittens to be completely ready for adoption. Kittens are fostered out in pairs or up to a maximum of six, and may be with or without their mum.

To foster a cat or kitten, please contact the Foster Coordinators: Samantha Cramond or Lorna Crouth on (09) 256 2525 or email fostering@spca.org.nz. For more information and to download an application form, go to: www.spca.org.nz/GetInvolved/fostering.aspx
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