FOSTER A CAT TODAY
Do you have experience with and love cats and have been considering being a foster? Reach out to us and let’s discuss!
Our Foster Program is the life force of Freedom Hearts. Because we don’t have a brick and mortar facility, our capacity to rescue cats relies on volunteers who are willing to open their homes and care for the cats in our care. By having access to a compassionate community of Foster Volunteers, our cats get a safe space to heal, grow, socialize, and get prepared for their forever homes. Being able to have reliable fosters allows us to keep accepting cats.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD FOSTER?
We have a broad range of Foster Volunteers within our community. While rescuing cats is super fun, it does take responsibility and work. We’re looking for people who…
Are 21 years or older
Ideally have previous cat care experience
Have a space in their home separate from other animals for fosters
Are observant and communicative
Are able to respond to communication from FHAR quickly
Are comfortable giving medication
We provide all the tools you need for fostering, including covering medical care for our foster cats.
We want your focus to be on taking care of the cats we place in your care, not worrying about how to afford the care for them. Let us handle that. Your role as a foster parent is to provide daily care, close monitoring, and a loving home for our cats. You get to be part of the process of getting your cats adopted, as we allow you to name cats in your care and routinely ask for photos, videos, and personality descriptions so that we can help cats find their ideal homes.
We offer different types of fostering opportunities:
Kittens: Kittens are not ready to be adopted until they are at least ten weeks old. They need time in foster care to develop physically, socialize with people appropriately, get their initial vetting (deworming and vaccines), and get big enough for their spay/neuter surgery. For kittens that have additional medical needs, their time in foster care may be longer as we get them needed medical attention and treatment.
Momma Cats: We rescue pregnant moms and care for them in home through pregnancy, delivery, and until everyone (mom included!) has a home! A cat’s gestation time is around 10 weeks, so depending on when a momma comes into our care, litters that come from pregnant moms can be with our fosters for multiple months in a year. It is a very critical part of our work and you get the opportunity to save an entire family!
Socialization: Many of the cats we take into our care had harsh beginnings and may be scared of people and everything around them. We count on fosters to help soothe these cats, providing them routine, play, patience, and love to help them open their hearts to humans again.
Sick/Injured Cats: While we are not primarily a medical rescue, it is not uncommon for animals in our care to have some incidental, birth-related, or stress-related illness during their time in foster care. As such, we rely on our fosters being able to follow the medical guidance our veterinarians provide and use the resources we provide to deliver the best treatment for our cats.
READY TO FOSTER?
Step 1. Complete our application by following this link or completing the application below. This form provides us with basic information about you, your interests, and your experience caring for cats. We try to review foster applications within a few business days of receiving them.
Step 2. Connect with our Foster Program for a Consultation. Once we receive your application, someone from our Foster Program will reach out to you to schedule a time to talk. Our team then reviews your application and information from your consultation call to come to a decision about your application.
Step 3. Receive status of your application. If your application is approved, you will be welcomed and onboarded onto our foster volunteer team! We will send you all the information you need to get started!
Step 4. Pick up your foster kitty! This is the moment you’ve been waiting for, huh? You’re now officially a Freedom Hearts Animal Rescue (FHAR) Foster Volunteer! We are so thankful for you dedicating your time, home, and talent to save vulnerable cats in our area! We look forward to working with you.
Still have questions? Feel free to reach out to our Foster Team.
