On a whim I googled “rent a kitten” or something along that line as I:
would like to have a kitten
don’t want the long term commitment
I assumed I wouldn’t find anything - as I assume kittens are in demand more than cats, but some sites came up for fostering kittens - claiming they can’t spend the time they need as kittens.
I haven’t looked into this deeply, but my first reaction was - this must be a scam. I realize I am jaded, but it crossed my mind I might get the kitten home - take care of it for x amount of time - try to “return” it - and then be told “sure bring it back - oh by the way - give it extra love and attention on the drive over, because we will probably have to put it to sleep - unless you want to keep it”.
So - before I do more research on this - thought I would ask here if anyone has experience with this. I realize this probably horrifies some of you, but I really only am interested in a short term commitment. Yes, I realize I might fall in love with the kitty. Yes I’m sure there are lots of older cats that need love.
I don’t want to be tied down for the next ten years or anything, but do have lots of free time right now - and am willing to spend a good deal of it taking care of the kitten. I have taken care of a kitten before - and gave it to a friend after I moved - and I believe she is still living 15 years later. I didn’t know what I was doing them, but am willing to learn the “correct” way.
So:
What is involved?
What is the shortest time commitment you can make? I would like at least a couple weeks - but probably not more than a few months.
How young can they be fostered?
How old is a kitten when it can navigate stairs?
I would not (obviously) take any trips or anything while the kitten was in my care, but would I be able to leave for a couple hours to go shopping and stuff?
Any good resources on this? I live in the Baltimore area if that matters. Money and square footage aren’t really an issue.
A reputable shelter with a vigorous foster program shouldn’t be hard to find. No-kill shelters only have so much space, and until kittens are old enough for spay/neuter and subesquent adoption, they’re taking up space another cat could use. A decent shelter will have you sign a fostering agreement, and the kitten will be on a vaccination/deworming and possibly other treatment schedule, for which you will need to take the kitten in every week or two for weigh-in and treatments. At least that’s how my shelter does things.
Foster homes have different skill sets. There are just a few that can take true orphans that need to be bottle fed and are anywhere from a day to two weeks old. Other foster homes take the slightly older ones that are starting to eat on their own and keep them until they’re old enough for surgery (generally at least 8 weeks and at least 2 pounds). Most kittens socialize better and do better in pairs, plus most are abandoned as litters, so don’t be surprised if you are asked to take at least two. They maul each other instead of your hands and that’s a good thing. Cats that learn to play with hands and bite, either don’t get adopted or get returned quickly - not good.
Foster homes that have no other cats are actually sought after - no “resident” cats to get sick or stressed from the invaders. As they get more experienced, they can sometimes take cats or kittens that might need some light medical care like antibiotics for eye/ear infections or mild upper respiratory issues that are difficult to treat inside the shelter. My shelter would send home with you any needed meds and would be no extra expense for you aside from extra time and possibly extra trips for checkups. But that’s possibly way down the road, or not on the table at all for you, and that would be fine. Foster homes are always needed.
Just make sure to research the shelter to make sure it’s not one that may try to dump the cat on you. It can happen. There are brick-and-mortar shelters that may have longer reputations and been around longer, and there are rescue organizations that are entirely foster based with no physical shelter. Either one can be fine, you will find different levels of organization and reliability with either type - I would look more for longevity and maybe Yelp reviews and even try to find other foster homes to find out if you and they are a good fit.
Not quite the same, but a shelter near where I used to live had a program where volunteers would come over to play with the animals, to keep them healthy, active, and well-socialized until they could be adopted out permanently. You wouldn’t take them home, though, and I don’t know if you’d deal with the same animals on repeated visits.
No scam at all. My shelter sought volunteers like you all the time.
We found nests of feral kittens, and separated the six week old kittens from their mom just as the inprint phase began. If the kittens stayed with their mom, they would learn from her to hate humans. So we put the nest with a volunteer like you , who would have time to socialize the kittens. When the kittens were declared healthy at 10-12 weeks, prospective new owners would go to the volunteer (you) and choose a kitten. Hardly ever the volunteer was left with a cat, and although he sometimes fell in love with a cat and wanted to keep it, any cats left over were returned to the shelter.
So, in yourcircumstances, absolutely go for it! You’ll have fun and the shelter will be very happy with your offer.
We’re a foster home for dogs. The organization we volunteer for is a no-kill volunteer rescue organization and their (new) facility only has so much room, so they depend on foster homes. We generally have dogs for 2 or 3 months and spend time getting it healthy and doing some basic training, if it’s old enough. We started doing this back when the rescue was starting up (I used to carpool with the (now) President of the org and was one of the first volunteers) so had no training requirements, but now foster homes have to do some training in things like how to handle sick/injured/untrained dogs and the homes are checked out for compatibility for different animals.
Totally not a scam, and in many cases, foster homes are urgently needed. The one we foster for takes in up to 150+ dogs a month, and can only handle 10 in the shelter, so the rest go to foster homes, which are in high need. Just make sure it’s a reputable rescue organization before you commit (and no-kill, if that’s one of your priorities).
The ASPCA in NYC has a huge foster program. They pay for everything including food, vet care and litter – and they reimburse your cab fare if you need one to return the kitteh. They run a training class once a month; mine was attended by around 25 families.
They have standard kitten foster - this is usually for a couple weeks until they are big enough to neuter/spay, “Adult cat summer camp” where you take an older adult cat for a couple months during kitten season, and care-foster where the cat or kitten needs minor medical treatment, like pills for a week, or a temporary special diet, that make them inappropriate to adopt until the issue is cleared up.
Foster homes help reduce the stress of shelter life, free up space for the most immediately adoptable animals, and help the shelter in idetifying any behavioral elements that adopters will want to know – shy? cuddly? good with children? hates other cats? etc. I’m on the list, but we haven’t taken a cat as our own cat had some health issues, but we’re looking forward to doing so.
Kittens do not need to be watched constantly. No sane rescue would require your to monitor an animal 24 hours a day. Provide a safe space, sure. but literally watch? no.