188 Chapter 12● Have a home with sufficient space. A spare room that can be used as a safe area
for the cat, and during initial integration into the household, will often be required.
● Already have experience of cat ownership, and have some knowledge of feline
behavioural and welfare needs or be willing and able to learn.
● Be calm and patient. It may take time to gain the cat’s confidence, especially if it
is not well socialized or has come from a situation where it might have been sub-
jected to abuse.
● Be prepared for potential issues such as house soiling or parasites being intro-
duced into the house.
● Be flexible as to each individual cat’s needs and have the necessary time available
to devote to the cat and its care.
● Be willing to receive training and/or mentoring.
● Be willing and able to keep in regular contact with the fostering organization.
● Be able to transport the cat as and when necessary.
● Be willing to ‘let go’ at the end of the term of fostering.
Compiled with reference to Halls, 2017.
Adoption
The ultimate aim of most rescue organizations is to find suitable and caring homes
for the animals in their care.
● It is very important to allow cats in rescue centres to hide but this can mean that
the cat may not always be ‘on show’ for prospective owners. Information about
the cat, including a photograph, should therefore be provided on the outside of
the pen. It is important, however, that this is not located in a position where peo-
ple reading the information could be misperceived by the cat as staring into the
pen in a threatening manner.
● Keep in mind that the standards of care and husbandry seen in the centre may be
replicated by the new owners. For example, very small amounts of cat litter may be
used in the centre to minimize costs but if the new owners continue to use such min-
imal amounts of cat litter this could potentially result in inappropriate house soiling.
● Owners should be questioned as to why they want a cat and be advised sensitively
if a rescue cat might not be the best pet for them (see Chapter 9).
Home inspections
A home visit to check the suitability of the new home is advisable, and home visitors
should have sufficient knowledge of feline health and behavioural requirements to be
able to correctly advise the new owners and check on the following:
● How well do the new owners understand feline behaviour and behavioural
requirements? Advice and handouts should be provided on subjects such as:
● Diet.
● Environmental enrichment (see Appendix 1).
● Provision of essential resources (see Appendix 3).