Become a Foster Volunteer

We provide foster homes for cats and kittens that are rescued from being abandoned, neglected, sick, injured or maltreated. We have no central shelter facility but instead provide individual foster spaces within the homes of our foster carers, where our cats receive the individual care and attention they need to recover and be ready for adoption into loving new homes.

Most of our fosterers offer one room in their home as a dedicated foster space. If you have no pets and no young children you might be able to offer a whole home foster.

A small number of our foster carers have purpose built cat pens in their gardens, these are mainly used for cats who are fearful of human contact or cats with infections/behaviours that make a cat pen a more appropriate environment for their needs.

Most of our fosterers live within 30 minutes drive of Fareham, enabling acceptable travelling times for appointments at our approved veterinary practices and for collecting supplies from our foster store.

Experience of living with and looking after cats is very useful. However, a willingness to follow the advice and guidance of The Cat Welfare Group is the most important thing as training and support will be provided, and your skills will develop with experience.

Some of our carers foster a wide range of cats and kittens, others take mainly adult cats, some specialise in mums with kittens, others in neonatal kittens.

We match the facilities, experience and skills of our fosterers to the needs of the cats requiring care.

Foster carers provide for all of their cats needs including feeding, grooming, playing, socialising and giving medications. Hygiene is very important so there are high standards of cleaning and sanitising of the foster space.

When cats are ready for adoption the Adoption Co-ordinator liaises with foster carers to find mutually convenient times for potential adopters to meet the cats/kittens, and then if things go well for adopters, for them to subsequently collect their new family members.

The length of time depends on the individual cat and can be difficult to predict.

Generally, animals stay with their fosterer until adopted and we don’t always know how long that will be. Healthy kittens stay with their fosterer until at least nine weeks of age.

Where cats and kittens have medical or behavioural issues the time taken until they are ready to be placed into suitable homes may vary considerably.

No a garden isn’t necessary as all foster cats are kept safely indoors at all times.

It’s preferable to have access to a car so you can take your fosters to vet appointments.

You know your animals best and it’s helpful if you are present at vet visits. However it’s not essential. Where a fosterer doesn’t have transport, or isn’t able to attend a particular appointment, we have Transport Volunteers who can help with vet visits.

Yes we will pay mileage for pre-authorised journeys and expenses for approved out of pocket expenses.

Yes we provide everything that is needed, carriers, litter trays, beds, toys, equipment, food and medicines. Each month there is an opportunity to request replacement supplies.

Yes, providing you have a separate room in your home that can be solely dedicated to your foster cat/kittens that is quiet, safe and to which there is no access by your own pets.

All pet cats in the home must be neutered and fully up to date with their vaccinations.

We adopt cats and kittens to families with children and believe that growing up with animals and learning how to look after and respect them is important.

Foster cats however are not yet ready for adoption and may have special needs requiring a different environment.

Foster cats and kittens may not be left unsupervised at home with anyone under the age of 18. We would be very happy to discuss your individual circumstances during the application process.

Rescue cats often come to us with illness, injury, behaviour or lack of socialisation issues

requiring both time and attention to resolve. We are therefore looking for people who can consistently give time each day to care for their foster animals, looking after not only their basic needs for a safe, clean environment with food and water but also their need for regular socialisation and playtime.

Being out all day for the majority of the week would not meet this need. However, if you’d still like to help us our Fundraising or Transport volunteer roles may be of interest to you.

When applicants are approved to foster they receive a personal Set up and Induction

Meeting and will be given a copy of our Foster Handbook which contains guidance on how to care for foster animals. Volunteers will have access to the online feline training modules from the Battersea Academy with whom we partner. We are also currently developing an in-house intranet Training Library that will be available later this year.

Our online Staff Room and Foster Room will always be available to ask questions or seek advice from fellow fosterers, who are a lively and highly supportive group with a wealth of experience. Each foster carer is also assigned a Foster Liaison Officer and our Director of Volunteer Engagement will provide guidance and support with any volunteering matters.

We highly value all our volunteers, we simply couldn’t do what we do without them and we are constantly striving to add value to the volunteering experience with us.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no, but caring for rescued cats and kittens is always worthwhile and rewarding.

Being able to meet a cat’s individual needs and help them develop into a healthy, happy cat ready to go to a loving forever home undoubtedly gives our fosterers a real sense of achievement.

Fostering is not however without its challenges, the condition of cats on arrival can be distressing, hygiene is very important so there will be a lot of cleaning involved.

You will become very familiar with poo - sorry but it’s true,

poo is like a health report card being printed out by your foster cat and can tell you a great deal about their health. Sometimes you will worry about how your foster cat is doing, and sometimes despite everyones best efforts not every cat will make it. There will always be support to help you through the difficult times, but its important to know from the outset that whilst fostering is fabulous it’s not always easy, and personal resilience is important.

No, we really appreciate all offers of support however, not everyone is able to provide what our foster animals need. We are looking for volunteers that can provide a safe, secure and suitable environment and who are committed to helping us on a long term basis.

The resources, training and support we put in place for our volunteers is not without financial and opportunity cost and we must use our resources wisely to help as many cats as possible.

Fostering is not meant to be a route to adoption but we appreciate that there may be a cat that you initially look after as a foster placement that you would like to adopt, and we are happy to talk to you about this if it happens.

We understand that Foster Carers have their own commitments and aren’t always available. If you have holidays or other commitments planned, please let us know and we will work around these dates when considering foster placements.

If you have had a cat on foster for a while and an unexpected commitment arises let us know as soon as possible and we will make alternate arrangements for your foster.

We prioritise the welfare of both our cats and fosterers and actively encourage and support volunteers to take appropriate time out to maintain a healthy volunteer life balance.

Our fosterers find it incredibly rewarding to see their foster animals recover, blossom and go on to be successfully rehomed.

They enjoy being part of an amazing team and are proud of the things that we achieve together.

Our foster carers tell us that it makes them feel good to be able to give back, to have purpose and to know they are doing important work that makes a real difference to the lives of cats and kittens in need.