Fostering

 The Animal Welfare League takes care of 12,000 stray and surrendered animals in Queensland. The Foster Care Program has been developed to help rehome as many of these animals as possible.

Who needs fostering? 

A high percentage of the animals in AWL Qld care are kittens and puppies. These babies make up approximately 95% of the Foster Programme requirements. The other 5% is made up of mums with babies (we try to keep these together for at least 5-6 weeks), and older animals who may need time to recover from surgery, non-contagious infections, malnutrition or over-indulging.

Fostering period           

The fostering period can be anywhere from one week to eight weeks - each situation is different. Mums with new born babies rely on finding special foster homes. These carers would be prepared to keep all of them together for five weeks, at least, until mum can return to us for desexing and rehoming while her babies grow on solid food and learn some independence. Puppies and kittens need to be eight weeks of age before returning to us, however kittens also need to be over 1kg in weight.

Requirements for a foster carer

We look for a safe, secure home environment with lots of love, attention and handling so our little ones return happy and well socialised and ready to go to a new home. Carers need to be aware that socialising is as important as keeping animals healthy.
Foster carers don't need to be home all day to look after their four legged charges. However, they do need to provide love and companionship for at least a few hours a day so that they return to us well-socialised, and have the best chance of finding a permanent, loving home.
If you have your own animals and prefer them not to interact with your visitors, yes, you can still foster. Most carers allow their charges full run of the house and this certainly helps with their socialising. However, not everyone is able to provide this - some resident pets will not tolerate visiting furries in their territory and others may stress too much. Don't think you can't foster if this is you. If you are able to provide a safe, restricted environment for little ones then it is still possible for you to foster.
Kittens can be contained in smaller spaces e.g. spare bathrooms, laundries or studies etc. and, as already mentioned, if the carer is able to spend a few hours a day with these babies it is sufficient.
If you have pets of your own, they must be fully vaccinated.

 What do you need to provide

The answer is absolutely nothing but love and care. The AWL provides everything that a carer needs while fostering - food, bedding, toys, litter and litter trays for kitties, and any other necessities for the comfort of the animals while they are in a foster home. Also available to carers is a Vet Clinic service which is available 7 days a week should there be any health issues which occur during the foster period.

If you love animals, can offer a safe home environment and have spare time to sit and cuddle the foster babies, you can apply to be a foster carer by clicking here to download our foster application form.