Your foster's first introduction to your home should be in a “sanctuary room” – including food, water, bedding, toys, and litter box (not too close to the food). A spare bathroom is ideal because limited hiding places make it easy to pet and bond with your kitty. Cats feels safer and more secure in small spaces so please do not feel bad about restricting the amount of space they have. This will also allow you to monitor them closely to ensure they are eating adequately, using the litter box and not showing any signs of illness.


Before placing your foster in the sanctuary room ensure that it has been kitten-proofed.

• Close and lock all windows

• Remove breakables

• Remove medications, lotions or cosmetics from any accessible surfaces

• Close the toilet seat if using a bathroom and place the toilet paper out of reach

• Make sure that all trash cans are covered or latched

• Wires should be covered and unplugged

• Cords or other hanging items should be placed out of reach

• Ensure vent and heat registers have covers

• Securely block any holes in walls, ceiling, cupboards, furniture, etc.

• Remove any house plants

• Remove anything that may be ingested

Caution: A bedroom is not a good safe room – because a shy kitty could hide under the bed, out of reach of your bonding efforts. Laundry rooms are hazardous for kittens as they can easily hide behind or inside the workings of washers or dryers. If you use a laundry room for a mom and her newborns, you'll need to move the family to a safer room once the kittens start waling.

Toronto Cat Rescue divides its foster homes in to two different groups for intake purposes. Foster homes in the GTA area are primarily used to rescue cats from Toronto Animal Services. Those foster homes in the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge/Guelph area assist local shelters, strays and some surrenders.

Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge/Guelph Foster Homes
Your foster coordinator will arrange intake directly with you.

GTA Foster Homes
Several times a week, Toronto Animal Services will send our intake coordinator(s) a transfer proposal list of cats. These are cats that are not suitable for their adoption program for various reasons such as illness, injury, age, and behaviour. Cats find shelters extremely stressful, and when they are in a stressed state they are prone to illness and fear behaviour such as hiding or aggression. Once out of the shelter they become healthy and lovely companions.

The transfer proposal list includes details such as their sex, age, weight, description, health status, behaviour status and any medical concerns/needs are noted. The intake coordinator(s) then email this information to all GTA foster homes. Foster parents then choose which cat they would like to foster. It is important to remember that we are often the last hope for these cats, and they desperately need a foster home in order to save their life.

You can expect to receive a rescue proposal email several times a week, and up to daily during the busy kitten season. Inclusion on the rescue distribution list is mandatory for all foster parents.

Foster parents should be available to receive their foster cat within 24hrs. There are times when cats/kittens need to be out of the shelter within hours. If you are unable to pick up your foster from the shelter directly, a volunteer driver can be arranged in some cases. Volunteer drivers are always in short supply so we ask foster parents to be as self-sufficient as possible.

Before arriving at the shelter you will be given the cat's ID number by the intake coordinator. The intake coordinator will have informed staff that you will be arriving, but sometimes we have several rescues the same day and want to ensure that you pick up the correct cat. You will need to bring a carrier with you to the shelter. If you do not have a carrier please inform that intake coordinator so that she can make arrangements for one to be loaned to you. When you arrive at the shelter tell the staff at the front desk that you are from TCR and picking up cat number xxxxx. They will take your carrier and have a staff member go to the back to get your cat. The staff will have the medical records and any vaccination or microchip tags for you to take with you. Please do not leave until you have these documents as you will need to provide them to the adopter. The whole process generally takes about 10 minutes.

Once you have your foster cat settled in its sanctuary room, email the intake coordinator to confirm that you have picked up the cat. The intake coordinator will then enter the cat's information in to our database and inform your foster coordinator that you have a new guest. From this point on, all communication about your foster cat should be done with your foster coordinator.

An initial two-week quarantine period is necessary for all new cats to our program in order to monitor the health of the cat/kitten. TCR cannot guarantee that all rescued cats and kittens are healthy or that they are free of contagious diseases or viruses such as: parasites, URI (upper respiratory infections), Feline Leukemia, FIV, Feline Distemper (FVP- Feline Panleukopenia), etc.

A separate room -or area of your house where there is no contact with resident cats is an ideal location for foster cats. This is an important safety precaution. TCR recommends washing hands between handling foster cats and your own cats. Bleach is the only disinfectant that kills contagious viruses. A bleach/water solution (1 to 10 parts) is the ideal cleaner, and washing any cat towels and bedding with bleach is suggested. Medical professionals strongly encourage people to change clothes and shoes between visiting foster cats and one’s own cat(s).

This quarantine period also allows the cat to decompress from the shelter or other traumatic events in an environment that is as stress free as possible.

*Please note: These extreme precautions are usually only required during the two-week quarantine period. This does not guarantee that after the two-week quarantine period is complete, the kittens or cats will be free of contagious diseases, viruses, or parasites.

Before the arrival of your first foster you should ensure that you have the following items:

Required Items

• Food dishes

• Toys

• Litter box & scoop

• Towels and blankets for bedding

• Carrier

• Litter (do not use clumping clay litter with kittens)

• Food (wet is mandatory for kittens under 2 months)

Suggested Items

• Scratching post

• Jars of baby food (chicken or turkey) for feeding finicky or ill cats and kittens

• Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR) -for kitten foster parents

• Hot water bottle (if fostering ill or orphan kittens)

• Crate (to socialize or create isolation space)

• Brush and nail clippers

• Enzymatic stain remover

• Baby gate

• Kitchen digital scale (to weigh kittens to ensure they are growing and weigh enough prior to surgery)

Feeding
All foster cats should be fed a diet of dry cat food, unless otherwise specified by the foster coordinator. We ask that you use the highest quality food that is financially feasible. Wet food can be fed at the discretion of the foster parent, or at the direction of the foster coordinator. Feed your foster cat once or twice daily; the amount will be based on the age and weight of your foster cat. Weaned kittens should have dry food available at all time. Make sure the cat always has access to fresh, clean water.

You can give your foster cat treats of any kind (unless he/she has known allergies, of course); giving treats helps you and your foster cat to bond with each other.

Daily Routine
When you first take your foster cat home, take care not to overwhelm her with too many new experiences all at once. Moving to a new environment is stressful in itself for many cats, so keep introductions to people and animals to a minimum during the first couple of weeks after you bring your foster cat home. It also helps to establish a daily routine of regularly scheduled feedings and play times.

In addition, on a daily basis, be aware of your foster cat’s appetite and energy level. If she’s not eating well or seems listless, something may be wrong medically. You might want to record your observations to make it easier to notice any health issues.

Litter Box Habits
You can help your foster cat be more adoptable by paying close attention to his litter box habits and making the litter box as inviting as possible. The litter box should be located in a place that the cat can access easily. If you have other cats, there should be one litter box for each cat in the house, plus one extra. The litter boxes should be placed in quiet, low-traffic spots so that the cats aren't startled when trying to take care of business.

We advise against the use of covered litter boxes because some cats don’t like them, which can create litter box problems from the start. Covered litter boxes can trap odors inside the box, which is nice for you, but not for your cat. Cats are often quite fastidious; they are sensitive to the smell of urine and feces, as well as deodorizers.

You can also prevent litter box issues by keeping the litter box as clean as possible. Scoop out each litter box at least once daily, and empty it completely to clean it every two weeks. When you clean the litter box, use a mild soap (such as dishwashing soap), not strong-smelling detergents or ammonia.

If your foster cat is not using the litter box, please notify the foster coordinator immediately so you can work on resolving the issue before not using the box becomes a habit. Keep in mind that a cat may miss the litter box if she has a medical issue like diarrhea or she may avoid the box if she has a urinary tract infection, which causes pain when urinating.

If your foster cat has an accident, don’t discipline or punish her. It will only teach her to fear and mistrust you. Clean up all accidents with an enzymatic cleaner. Nature's Miracle and Simple Solution are two products containing natural enzymes that tackle tough stains and odors and remove them permanently.

Grooming
A clean and well-groomed cat has a better chance of getting adopted, so brush your foster cat regularly, especially if he has longer hair. Contact the foster coordinator if you feel that your foster cat needs to see a professional groomer. If you are comfortable with it, you can trim his nails. But please be careful because you can cause pain and bleeding if you trim the nails too short. Check the ears weekly and gently remove any build up with a soft cloth. Never use Q-tips to clean a cat's ears.

Cats don’t generally like being bathed, so please don’t give your foster cat any baths.

Mental Stimulation and Exercise
Because play time provides stimulation, encourages socialization and releases excess energy, provide your foster cat with at least one or two play sessions per day. The length of the play sessions will vary, depending on the cat’s age and health. Try a variety of toys (balls, squeaky toys, feather toys, etc.) to see which ones your foster cat prefers. Cat toys don’t have to be fancy or expensive. Cats often enjoy playing with something as simple as a paper bag (remove the handles for safety) or a box with holes cut in the sides.

Don’t leave your foster cat alone with any toys that could be easily ingested or cause harm to the cat. Examples are string toys, yarn and Da Bird (feathers dangling from a string and wand). Toys such as ping-pong balls and toilet paper tubes are safe. Discourage your foster cat from play-biting your hands and feet. This is something that adopters may not find desirable.

Sanitizing Your Home Between Foster Animals

In order to prevent disease and parasite infestations in your home, thoroughly clean areas where the foster animal has stayed.

• Wash bedding in hot water, detergent and bleach.
• Discard non-washable toys (those that can’t be bleached or washed in a washing machine).
• Disinfect all washable surfaces with a mild bleach and water solution (bleach/water ratio of 1:32 or 4oz of bleach per gallon of water is recommended). Bleach solutions should be prepared as needed, because they lose their strength after 24 hours. Bleach is inactive in the presence of organic matter so clean up dirt, hair, feces, etc. before using bleach to disinfect. Bleach solution must stay in contact with the surface being sanitized for at least 10 minutes to be effective.
• Vacuum all carpeted areas.
• Soak toys in bleach water for 20 minutes and scrub and bleach crates, carriers, scoops, food bowls and litter boxes.
• Clean any urine or feces-soiled areas with an enzyme cleaner immediately to avoid residual odor (Nature’s Miracle Stain and Odor Remover works well).