What you will need
Here is a list of supplies you will need organised at your home prior to your foster cat's arrival:
- Litter tray and litter (please avoid crystal litter as it is highly toxic to kitten if ingested)
- Cat food
- Bowls for food and water
The following items are ideal but not required:
- Toys
- Bedding
- Carrier
- Animal crate / play-pen (Highly recommended for timid / shutdown cats and kittens)
As we are a non-for-profit, we rely on donations. While we can support fosters with food and litter this depends on the availability of our supplies, as such we ask fosters to provide the essential and to reach out if they need assistance. All our fosters have access to our amazing discounted range from Royal Canin each month, not only for their fosters but their resident cat. This partnership with Royal Canin is in place to help our foster carers with essential supplies. Carriers are not needed but ideal as we are happy to lend one during the duration of your foster caring.
Isolation
All foster cats and kittens will need to be quarantined from existing household pets, unless otherwise specified. This is for a period of 14 days as the cat is coming straight from a pound we must ensure the health and safety of the cat and your current pets. A recommended way to isolate is using a bathroom, laundry or spare room, where your foster can be completely separated for the isolation period. Isolation reduces the chance of disease or illnesses spreading, as symptoms may appear during this period allowing us to treat effectively. This also allows any treatment given on intake to do it's thing (flea and worm treatment, first vaccination).
Transportation
Access to transportation is vital as your foster will likely need vetwork, it is also extremely important in the case of an emergency. Having access to a car is ideal, however certainly not a deal-breaker as we have a dedicated team of transport volunteers always ready to help and often get in cats need minimal to no transport requirement. Many of the cats and kittens we rescue are not yet desexed, microchipped or vaccinated, so we arrange for these procedures at partner vets closest to you.
Our partner vets are located in:
- Dandenong 💉🏥👩⚕️
- Sunshine 🏥
- Lower Plenty 💉🏥👩⚕️
- Cranbourne 💉🏥
- Bayswater 🏥
- Yarraville 💉👩⚕️
- East Bentleigh 💉
- Mountain Gate 💉
- Malvern East 💉
- Glen Iris 💉
🏥 Desexing | 💉 Vaccination | 👩⚕️ Consultation
Foster carer support chat
Upon the arrival of your first foster cat, you will be invited to our exclusive Foster Carer Facebook support chat group. Communication is super important when fostering. Questions are fantastic and always encouraged. There is no such thing as a silly question! If you are concerned, or have any questions please reach out to a member of our admin team or write it in the support group chat. It’s also a great place to share pictures of your cats with the rest of the group and provide tips and tricks to each other. Teamwork makes the dream work! The Foster Carer Facebook support chat is a fantastic tool. It’s a group filled with people going through the exact same things you are, all with varying levels of experience and success. It’s a safe space and we encourage you to use it as much as you need and feel comfortable doing so.
Weekly check-ins
At least once per week, we require you to provide us with an update on your foster cat. Ideally, this includes an updated picture and written update on how the cat is going in your care, any changes in temperament, how it’s getting along with other pets in your household, how it’s getting along with you and your other family members etc. The weekly check-in isn’t only for the cats welfare, it is also a welfare check on you! Sometimes foster caring can be tough, we know that. You can try and try and a cat can just continue to be stubborn and not come out from under the bed, and sometimes that wears you down a bit and makes you feel a bit flat. Those feelings of “failure” are perfectly normal and every single one of our team members have experienced that. We’re here to ensure every one of our foster carers is supported so that they can care for and support their foster cat. If you forget to reach out to us at least once per week, don’t worry – you’ll find a Strong Hearts volunteer will be in touch with you anyway to touch base.
Adoption Process
Photographing your fosters:
While the cat is in your care, we ask that you keep us updated with regular pictures and videos. Look for photo opportunities when possible. A good photo is the difference between a kitten or cat staying in care for weeks. Photos with good lighting that really capture the cuteness, quirks and personality of your foster will really help with their adoption. We use all of the cute photos and videos to post on their Pet Rescue page to help them find their forever home. The more content you have, the better! Pictures of them sleeping, playing, in their favourite spot, that bring out their personality.
Meet and Greets:
Using the details and photos you provide we will set up profiles and start looking for suitable and beautiful homes. Once a successful application is submitted a thorough phone interview will take place, if this is successful a coordinator will reach out to you to organise a meet and greet. If the meet and greet goes well the adoption can take place on the day. You will need to tell your coordinator how the meet and greet goes. If successful your coordinator will send through the account details to the adopter and email through all vet paperwork (desexing certificate, vaccination history, microchip details and change of owner forms.)
After adoption:
Saying goodbye is bittersweet, however it is important to remember that your goodbye is their hello to a long and beautiful life in a loving home, and then you have space to save another life. Adopting saves one life, fostering saves hundreds. We are always seeking foster carers to provide care to our cats. Once your cat has been adopted, please let us know if you would consider taking on another cat as a foster, if you need a little bit of a pause in-between or if you think this was a one-off thing. No matter how long of a break you take we will always be happy to welcome you back.
Foster failing - wanting to adopt your foster:
If you do fall completely in love with one of your foster cats please let your coordinator or a team member know as soon as possible where we can direct you through the adoption process. This will involve filling out the application and paying the adoption fee. This is to help go towards vetwork, supplies and the running of the rescue. Like you, the entire team is a volunteer run organisation that relies solely on adoption fees and donations to continue saving lives.
Adoption Days
Most weekends, Strong Hearts hosts an Adoption Day. These are usually hosted out the Strong Hearts Adoption Centre (SHAC) in East Melbourne. Adoption Days are a hugely successful way to showcase as many of the cats we have in our care as possible, and invite the community to come and see them and hopefully take one (or more!) home to their forever home. We will contact you with about a weeks notice about an upcoming Adoption Day and will let you know if we would like the cat you are caring for to be in attendance. It would be great if you could drop the cat off at the event on the day, and pick it up if the cat unfortunately hasn’t been adopted. In some cases, we have Adoption Coordinators travelling past your area and they may be able to collect and drop off the cat one way or both. Either way, please let us know which suits and we will do our best to accommodate.
Vet Appointments
At Strong Hearts, our dedicated team, including experienced vet nurses, is often able to triage and address various medical conditions within our rescue. Leveraging our collective expertise and resources, we work to provide prompt care for our cats. If you notice any signs of illness or have concerns about a cat in your care, please reach out to us. While we strive to handle many health issues internally, there are instances where symptoms may require professional veterinary intervention beyond our capabilities. In such cases, we always prioritise the wellbeing of our cats and coordinate with you to book an appointment at one of our vet partner clinics. Strong Hearts has established partnerships with trusted veterinary practices to ensure our cats receive the best possible care.If you've made us aware of an illness or concern, rest assured that Strong Hearts will take the necessary steps to arrange an appointment with one of our partnered vet clinics. We kindly request that you refrain from independently booking appointments with your local vet or our pre-approved vets. As a registered rescue, we adhere to legislated procedures, and it is crucial that a Strong Hearts administrator oversees and facilitates the appointment through the proper channels we have in place.Strong Hearts have a pre-approved list of vet clinics that provide care to our cats. If you have reported an illness or concern about one of the cats in your care, Strong Hearts will arrange to book an appointment with one of our partnered vet clinics. While you think you are trying to be helpful, we ask that you please do not book the cat in to your local vet, or try to book the cat into one of our pre-approved vets yourself.
Turns out fostering isn't for me
That’s okay. These things happen. Please contact your Strong Hearts admin as soon as you make this decision. Please be mindful, Strong Hearts is run solely on the goodwill of volunteers who dedicate as much time as they can to the rescue, but they do have other jobs and family commitments. We will do our best to re-home the cat as soon as possible but please be aware this may take us 5-7 days to find another temporary home. We just ask for your patience while we do this.