Fostering a cat or kitten

There is a pressing need for more foster parent volunteers to raise the feral kittens found throughout Brevard County. The current foster homes are overloaded and cannot take in more kittens. What this means is that new kittens found and not fostered will have no future as pets in good homes.

The socialization process needs to be started at a young age (6-8 weeks) to be effective. Older feral kittens are harder to tame and will probably be shy or unresponsive. Some older kittens may adapt better with another cat in the household. Other shy kittens will eventually become affectionate if given lots of time and patience. Some may never tame down to be adoptable. Young, social kittens have the best adoption rate. Older, shy kittens are harder to place since they require special people willing to give a little more for a special cat. Any kitten that remains antisocial and not adoptable will be treated like an adult feral cat as a last resort and returned to its feral cat colony.

These small helpless victims of humans’ carelessness require very little to be fostered. A small room, some water, a little food, and someone's time are all that is needed. The foster parents are responsible for preliminary vet care including spay/neuter and vaccinations, as well as the adoption process. SCFN provides adoption support through advertising, pre-arranged adoption locations, and adoption applications and adoption contracts.

The rewards for this small investment are tremendous:

• The knowledge that an animal has been saved from a harsh, uncertain future in the wild.
• The satisfaction of making a difference in the life of another creature.
• The thrill of the love returned as they learn to accept and give love and trust.

Many people don't foster because they fear the emotional stress involved in giving the kittens up for adoption. Through careful screening and follow up checks, good adoptive relations can be maintained. The sad truth is that without people taking this risk, many animals that could be saved are lost. Why not take some of your time and energy to put some love back into this sometimes sad, cruel world?

If you would like to consider becoming a foster parent, please call 321-631-SPAY (7729)