Thursday, March 28, 2024
cats for adoption

Cats for Adoption: Foxy

gray cat with white paws
Foxy.

This beautiful girl needs a home! Look at those dainty white toes—purrhaps she dipped them in paint.

Foxy was tossed out when her owners found out she was pregnant. She had her kittens outside then she and kittens were rescued and fostered. One kitten was adopted on his own, then Foxy and her other kitten were adopted as well. Then hard times hit and Foxy and kitten needed another new home. The kitten was adopted, and Foxy is all alone. She is at PetSmart in Pleasant Hills, south of Pittsburgh, available through FosterCat.

About FosterCat, Inc.

fostercat logo
FosterCat logo

FosterCat is exactly that—an organization that fosters cats until they can find a forever home. There is no shelter, just a system of homes and people who are glad to open their hearts to a kitty in need. Everything in the organization is done by volunteers, and all fundraising goes either into direct care for the cats in foster or to promoting the organization to find new foster homes or to place cats.

No animal likes to spend time in a cage. Any shelter will tell you that an animal who has spent time prior to adoption in a foster home is much more likely to be relaxed about the transition to a forever home.

FosterCat was founded by a group of individuals who saw adult cats spending weeks or longer in cages in a shelter, often becoming less adoptable all the time as they became less socialized and more stressed, and often not transitioning well to a permanent home after living in a cage, sometimes returned to the shelter for behavior issues related to stress.

Fostering cats, most importantly, saves their lives because they are no longer in danger of euthanasia from overcrowding in shelters. Secondly, it keeps them in a good frame of mind while they wait for their dream home to come along, and if they have any health issues they can be more closely attended in a foster home. Fostering families can vouch for their personality in a much more realistic way.

black cat in cage
So long, girls, good luck!

FosterCat and their fostering families

FosterCat is set up to support the families who foster with medications, food and litter as needed plus any veterinary expenses associated with fostering the cat. How could anyone lose? The kitty gets a safe temporary home and you get to love a kitty, and you are supported in kitty’s care. FosterCat screens potential foster homes with an application and home visit, so go to the “Become a FosterCat Foster Parent” page on their website, read more, and download the application.

The volunteers of FosterCat get cats out into the public as often as possible to increase chances of adoption, and maintain their own website of adoptable cats, advertising the website address to encourage people to browse for their next kitty. The organization also participates in local “Adopt-a-thon” events and utilizes the cat adoption program at PetSmart, frequently cycling cats into the store and back home so they don’t spend too much time in the cage, but just enough to remain socialized about meeting the public.

In this way they’ve been doing an incredible job finding homes for kittens and cats taken in during TNR clinics and socialized by the Homeless Cat Management Team. The Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement takes care of socializing the cats and providing medical care, then they are placed in PetSmart under FosterCat’s name and there have been many happy adoptions since that partnership has begun.

When foster space opens up, they visit shelters to pick up cats in danger of euthanasia, they keep in touch with rescue organizations and occasionally take private surrenders as they did for me when a large black and white cat walked into a meeting I was attending.

And Rachel, at right, was rescued from a cemetery with all of her kittens. She had a rough time living in a hollowed out tree and trying to feed her kittens until a nice woman rescued her and her babies. All of her kittens found homes and now it’s Rachel’s turn. She is good with other cats and loves people. She is a very dear, sweet and petite girl who is just full of energy, who especially loves to be petted and craves attention. She has been spayed, tested for feline leukemia and vaccinated. If you’d like to adopt this little gray tabby and white girl, click here or on her photo.

FosterCat Needs Foster Homes

long-haired black and white cat
Pretty Boy lives up to his name, doesn’t he?

I’ve featured a number of cats on The Creative Cat who were available for adoption through FosterCat, Inc., like Pretty Boy, at left, who is staying in the home of a generous family who fosters cats for FosterCat.

I’ve also featured cats like Emily and Amelia who are also in the FosterCat family, but actually live outdoors, cared for by a person who feeds and loves them, but can’t take them in.

FosterCat needs foster homes, it’s that simple. Emily and Amelia could at least have a place to stay if FosterCat had more foster homes, and FosterCat has put out the word that they are looking for special and generous families to agree to foster for them.

Volunteering for FosterCat

Volunteers for the organization don’t have to foster cats in order to assist. The list of volunteer activities is long and varied, from driving cats to vet appointments to helping organize the annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser.

If you’re interested in becoming a foster family for FosterCat, you can contact FosterCat at [email protected] or send a message along to me and I will be glad to forward it. If you’d like to make a donation to FosterCat on behalf of any of the cats you’ve seen here or just to help them out, visit their website at www.fostercat.org where you can make a donation using PayPal or find contact information where you can send your donation.

The website also includes alumni stories from adopters who have reported back months or even years after the adoption, and a memorial page for any kitty, not just alumni.

And I’m pretty proud of that website—I designed it, and all but one of the kitties you see in the header photos is or was one who lived with me, at least as a foster.


Now who else is looking for a home? Browse a few more rescued cats and kittens!

All photos courtesy the kittens’ foster homes.

RECENTLY FEATURED:

A Very Special Lucky Boy

white cat with gray spots
Lucky Boy says “hi!”

We’ve Been Waiting!

tabby cat fostercat
Meet Wallace!

Rocky is Ready, and Salem and Sabrina, Start Collecting Black Cats!

big black cat
“Rocky” is ready to go home with you!

Meet Spike and a Very Special Person

woman wth cat
Spike has something to say about this!

An injured kitty rescued and an in need of donations

Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement received a call about an injured and emaciated cat on the South Side last night, and thorugh networking people and transportation had the kitty rescued and at the clinic in Tarentum in two hours. She has a broken jaw and a ruptured eye. She is less than one year old and INCREDIBLY sweet!

She has already received care and food and will receive whatever treatments she needs at the clinic. Donations to help cover the cost of her care would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be made via PayPal to frankiesfriendscatrescue@gmail.com. No donation is too small, even $5 will help! You can specify South Side kitty in the notes, if there are leftover funds they will be used for other emergency situations. Please let me know you have made a donation and I will send you a gift certificate to my Etsy shop as a thanks for your generosity.

I have not included the photo of this kitty because it may be upsetting to some viewers. Click here to bring up Lucy’s photo.


Can’t adopt? Foster! Can’t foster? Donate or volunteer.

There are so many ways you can help cats who need homes and care. You may not have room to adopt another cat, but can foster a cat or kitten for a few weeks. If not that, you can volunteer at a shelter or with a rescue, or donate. You do this because you love your cat, and by doing so you help all cats. No matter which of these actions you take, you help to save a life, and make life better for all cats.

  • Adopt one of the cats I’ve posted here, or from any shelter or rescue near you, or from Petfinder, to open up a space for another cat to be rescued and fostered.
  • Offer to foster cats or kittens for a shelter or rescue near you.
  • Volunteer at a shelter or rescue.
  • Find a group of volunteers who work with homeless cats and help them with their efforts.
  • Donate to a shelter or rescue near you.

If you can foster kittens or adults cats to help prepare them for a forever home, please run to your nearest shelter and find a cat who needs you! Anyone can help with this effort at any level, even if all you do is donate to a shelter or rescue so they can help to pay for the food or medications needed for their foster, or the spay/neuter/veterinary care during a clinic.

Need to know more? Read Fostering for Your Shelter and Fostering Saves Lives


2014 Homeless Cat Management Team Clinics

FAST TRACK CLINICS
($30 PER FERAL – See below for other costs)
May 15
June 15 Father’s Day – free neuters – get those daddy cats too!

FREE CLINICS
May 4 – in memory of Milton Lendl

Other spay/neuter and low-cost veterinary options

Please check my Shelters, Assistance, Spay/Neuter page for opportunities in Pittsburgh and beyond.


All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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