Do you have a safe, quiet place in your home where you can keep a cat and give the cat the affection and care it deserves for a length of time of your choosing?  

Animals in South Orange and Maplewood are in need of caring foster homes. 

Maplewood’s animal control needs are attended to by St. Hubert’s Animal Rescue, but South Orange does not have a shelter at the moment.  In South Orange, kittens born to feral mothers, as well as the occasional homeless, but tame cat, are being sent out of town, where their futures are uncertain.  

We think the people of South Orange and Maplewood can do better than this.  

Rescue organizations in Soma take care of these animals, but they need help.

CATS

Why foster?

In order to be good candidates for adoption, cats must be handled and socialized by human beings. They need to be taught that people are to be trusted and that good things come from interacting with people. 

Spring is kitten season.  It’s the time of the year when many feral or stray, tame cats give birth, and their kittens need a safe place to mature until they ready to be adopted or released.  

It is crucial for the development of kittens that the human/animal bond be established.  It’s a wonderful learning experience for children if you have little ones in your home who would benefit from watching kittens being born and grow.  It is, of course, essential that you also be able to supervise their interactions with the tiny kittens.  

Older cats, too, benefit from human interaction.  The experience of spending months, even years, in a cage can lead to depression in cats, so even a few weeks respite from the cage environment can give a cat a much needed boost.  

What’s Involved?

Do you have a quiet place in your home where you can sequester a mother cat and/or her kittens? 

Here are two kittens who are currently being cared for, but a back-up foster situation would be great to secure:

So, if you have a quiet place, whether it be in the basement, attic, or a spare room, for mothers who are sure to come this Spring, let either Morgan Le Fay Cat Rescue or Furry Hearts Rescue know.   

What are the costs?

Well, it depends.  

If you agree to foster a pregnant mother, you will need to feed her, give her water, and provide a litterbox, cleaned once a day.  When she gives birth, mama does all the work.  She feeds and cleans her kittens herself until she weans them.  

There are rescue organizations here in South Orange and Maplewood —  Furry Hearts Rescue and Morgan Le Fay Rescue  — who will give you guidance and advice about fostering animals.  They will give you recommendations about the food and the litter you need.  The costs of fostering may be tax deductible for you, so it’s a good idea to talk with your accountant about that possibility.  

Vet bills are an issue, and here, too, these wonderful organizations will help you make contact with vets who will provide veterinary services at a reduced cost. 

So, yes, there will be costs, but those costs will be minimized as much as possible with the help of more established rescue organizations.

Here’s an article about taxes and fostering costs:   

https://www.petfinder.com/blog/2014/01/considering-your-taxes-dont-forget-your-foster-pets/

Time Commitment

CATS

How long will you be responsible for fostering the kittens?  And what are the arrangements for ending your fostering duties?

At the present time, April of 2016, once you’ve accepted a cat into your household, that cat will remain with you until such time as it is adopted.  Morgan Le Fay Cat Rescue and Furry Hearts Rescue would continue to advertise the availability of the cats for adoption and would, of course, be ready to advise you on the fostering process.  You would need to bring the cat(s) to adoption events, which would be run by Morgan Le Fay, and Morgan Le Fay would assist you in that effort. 

DOGS

There is a infrequent need for foster homes for dogs, and you would be working with Furry Hearts Rescue, if the need arose.  In fact, right now, Furry Hearts is fostering Ethel, who is pictured elsewhere on this site:

If you have a fenced outdoor space, and you can bring a dog into your home, Furry Hearts will help you get your foster dog situated and give you advice and assistance with issues that might arise.  

If you’re willing to foster a dog, it would also be an open-ended time commitment.  Furry Hearts will help in finding a permanent home for the dog, but you will need to be willing to keep the dog for an indefinite period of time.  

With any animal you foster, you would need to communicate with Morgan Le Fay Rescue or Furry Hearts Rescue on a regular basis and be prepared to allow representatives of the rescues to check on the welfare of the animals you foster.  

If you are interested in helping provide shelter for animals who find themselves without homes in South Orange, please call either of these organizations:

Furry Hearts Rescue:  contact Lisa Lerts, 973-641-6893, info@furryheartsrescue.org

Morgan Le Fay Cat Rescue:  contact Virginia Canino, morganlefay@optonline.net

More advice about fostering animals can be found here:

https://www.petfinder.com/tags/helping-pets/

4/14//2016