cat fostering

[eub]

Today I went to the Seattle Animal Shelter's monthly orientation session for prospective cat foster parents. One thing I hadn't realized was that the single most common reason for fostering out a shelter cat is that it has an upper respiratory infection, and will do better in a low-stress environment (plus, the shelter's isolation space for contagious cats is limited). Others are kittens needing socialization, kittens without a mother, and injured cats. The shelter and the fosterer try to place the cat for adoption directly out of foster care, and they figure usually a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on what the cat needs to recover from, and then how irresistable they are to adopters.

So, I'm thinking of fostering a cat, a relatively easy non-feral non-kitten to start with, since [ominous chords] I have not actually kept a cat.

Logistics:

Would need to be a cat that will be okay during weekdays. Looking ahead, I might be away for a day or two around Thanksgiving, and will be for a week around Christmas; would need help there. Other cat-fosterers can often cover if that becomes necessary.

Cat paraphernalia:

Food. Shelter suggests "Science Diet Growth" (for older cats too?).

Food and water dishes.

Litterbox.

Litter. They say non-clumping for cats under six months; otherwise unspecified.

Scratching post. Cardboard kind will do.

Cardboard crate from shelter usable both as carrier and as hiding place?

Odor neutralizer.

What else?

House prep:

One bathroom can be cat-owned.

Houseplants which are non-toxic: orchid, mint, African violet, mother fern, ginger (presumably), bay (presumably).
Toxic, but dead anyway: tomato plant.
Unknown: Australian tree fern. "True ferns" are reported as okay.

May be best to clear precarious stacks of cruft off high horizontal surfaces.

Pin up blinds cords.

What am I not thinking of?