Foster
Care Guidelines
This set of guidelines is intended to give you a
realistic perspective of fostering animals. It can
be a very rewarding experience; it also represents
an extraordinary commitment of time and can be very
taxing emotionally. Thank you for your gracious understanding
and assistance.
Foster Parent Training Class
Everyone considering participation in North County
Humane Society’s Foster Care Program is required to
attend a foster care training class. These will be
held at the shelter by our Foster Care Coordinator.
Please contact
us for upcoming dates of training sessions.
Basics
Puppies and kittens are not always neat. Their job is to run, play and grow. Our job is to make sure they stay healthy and happy. Very young animals require feedings several times a day and night just like human babies. Your schedule must often be built around their needs.
Potential Illness and Death
Sometimes, despite
everything we do to care for them, animals, and particularly
very young animals, may not survive to adulthood.
This is no one's fault; it's just one of those things
we
humans find especially painful.
There are any number of reasons why a baby animal
might not survive. The young may lose their ability
to suckle and/or move food through the gastrointestinal
tract. They may have contracted an illness from the
mother before birth, or even have parasites from the
mother, which later causes health problems.
A a foster parent, all you can do is be as well informed as possible, keep your eyes open for potential problems, and alert the NCHS whenever problems arise. Be on the alert for runny eyes or nose, coughs, irregular breathing, lackluster behavior, etc. If a cat's membrane shows in the corner of its eye, be on the alert for further illness. As a volunteer who is considering fostering animals, you must think seriously about whether you could handle the heartache that is sometimes part of the job. Fostering animals is not for everyone.
Food and Feeding
The NCHS & SPCA will provide high-quality food for the foster animals. A specific diet and feeding routine will be designed for your animal; these menu items are readily available at your local pet supply or animal feed store. Very young animals that are being bottle fed may be fed every two hours, and should be fed when they cry for food. These animals can generally be weaned onto solid food starting at 4-5 weeks of age.
Elimination
Stools should be firm in healthy animals. Runny stool
may indicate a multitude of issues, pPlease consult
the NCHS staff should this arise. Young puppies and
kittens
cannot eliminate on their own; normally, the mother
assists them with elimination by licking their bottoms,
which stimulates the reflex to eliminate. Foster parents
should mimic the parent role by wiping puppies and
kittens with a warm, moist cloth after feeding to stimulate
elimination. This is especially important in kittens,
as they can become sick or die from blocked intestinal
tracts if not properly stimulated. Kittens should be
placed in litter boxes at an early age when they can
dig and scratch.
Urine and fecal scalding are common in puppies and kittens. Their bottoms need to be washed frequently as they become repeatedly soiled. Think of yourself as a mother cat who is always licking her young at every opportunity.
Keeping your own Pets Safe and Healthy
Foster animals should always be kept away from personal pets at home to prevent the possible spread of illness and parasites. This procedure protects both the foster animal and your pets. Keep in mind that the foster animals are generally too young to be immunized. If you have dogs or cats of your own, be certain that they are inoculated against all of the diseases that foster care animals are likely to have. If possible, your personal animals should not be allowed to come into contact with the foster animals at all. At the very least, do not allow them to eat out of the same bowls.
