I encourage everyone I know to foster — even if they’re set on adopting.

Not only does fostering provide an invaluable service to rescue groups and the shelters who depend on foster homes (not to mention the pets themselves), it’s a great way to learn about your own needs as a pet parent. (You can’t know if you’ve got what it takes to walk a young puppy at 1, 3 and 6 a.m. until you’ve done it!)

Foster care can give temporarily unadoptable animals a second chance at adoption. It provides these animals with an environment where they can prosper. Such a program allows staff and volunteers to provide foster care in their homes to currently unadoptable animals until they are in “adoptable” condition. Additionally, a foster care program can do wonders for staff and volunteer morale as well as promote positive public relations.

A Critical Link Between Shelters and Forever Homes

While foster programs are not a new concept for animal shelters, their role has increased in recent years as most shelters are no longer choosing to simply euthanize animals when they are filled to capacity. Many shelters now house more cats and kittens in foster homes than in their actual facilities during much of the year. It is not unusual for shelters to have as many as 200 to 300 cats in foster care during the height of kitten season. A robust network of fosters can be a lifeline during the spring, summer and early fall when most shelters are inundated with hundreds or even thousands of kittens, many of which are still nursing and cannot be adopted yet.

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8 Reasons Why You Should Foster a Pet

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