Cat Crusaders’ Foster To Adopt program helps match potential adopters with teen and adult cats by allowing a trial period in the comfort of your own home. See their true personality shine in a natural environment, watch how they integrate into your household, and determine whether they’re a perfect fit for you and your family!
All of our eligible Foster To Adopt cats have been spayed/neutered, microchipped, tested negative for FIV and FeLv, and received at least their first round of shots.
There are lots of reasons why we might put a cat, or even in some cases a kitten, into our Foster To Adopt program. Oftentimes these felines are incredibly sweet at their foster homes but have a hard time handling all the sights, sounds, and smells at PetSmart. Not every cat responds well to being in a cage, and can you blame them? We call it “not performing well”, because the sad reality is that people at the store are looking for cats that are super playful and super cuddly and want to be held, and while these Foster To Adopt cats may fit those descriptions in real life they get too terrified at PetSmart to let their true personalities shine, and potential adopters never see how special they really are. Despite how much our Adoption Counselors try to reassure people, it’s hard to commit to taking home a cat based on a personality that someone says they have, but that you haven’t witnessed firsthand. With our Foster To Adopt program, potential adopters are given the opportunity to interact and bond with these cats in a more natural setting and over a longer period of time, which allows you to see their true personalities and better determine whether they’re a good fit for your household.
Change can be scary, especially for older cats. The most important part of Fostering To Adopt is making sure that you properly introduce your new cat/kitten into your household. This will make for the simplest transition and allow your new foster to bond more quickly with both you and your current pets. When your new FTA kitty arrives, make sure that you have a separate room prepared for them. It is crucial that they have a space on their own where they can feel safe. Don’t be surprised if for the first few days they hide or seem scared, this is perfectly normal. Give them time to adjust, spend time in the room with them even if they’re hiding and make sure that they have access to plenty of food and water. As they grow more comfortable, spend as much time as you can playing with them, snuggling them, and allowing them to bond with you.
During that week, make an effort to exchange scents between your new foster and your current pets. Swap their blankets at some point, be sure to allow the others to sniff your hand after petting your foster, so that they become familiar with the new scent. When everyone is ready, open the door and allow your foster to venture out and meet your current pets. Don’t be alarmed if there’s some initial hissing, that’s normal. If there’s any aggression between one of your current pets and your foster, simply separate them and give your foster some more time in their room before reintroducing.
The amount of time you need to wait for a successful introduction varies with each pet – your current pets and new foster may be comfortable in less time than that, or they may need a little more time than a week. Give them as long as they need!
There are lots of situations where adopting a teenage or adult cat is a better fit for the household. Because older cats are sometimes harder to introduce if you already have adult cats at home, potential adopters are often concerned about whether or not their current pets will befriend the new one, or even accept it in the first place. In many cases this fear hinders potential adopters from ever pulling the trigger, but it doesn’t have to.
We understand that personality matters, and that even though you may fall in love with a cat that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will fit properly into your house dynamic with your current pets. That’s why we’ve put our Foster To Adopt program in place.
You select one of the eligible cats from our Foster To Adopt program.
You’ll speak with the foster coordinator or current foster of the cat you’ve chosen to Foster To Adopt, who will bring you up to speed on any medical history and share details about the cat’s personality, what they like and don’t like, habits, etc.
You’ll be given an agreed upon period of time to “foster” your new feline, bringing them into your home and allowing them a chance to bond with yourself and any other pets or family members you may have. The amount of time you’re given to Foster To Adopt varies based on the age of the cat you’d like to foster – older cats can take more time to adjust to a new home, and as such are allowed a longer FTA time period. Consider this your “trial run”, a chance to see whether the cat you’ve chosen is a perfect fit for your household.
Cat Crusaders will cover the bill for any and all medical expenses that occur while the cat is under your care, you just need to provide transportation to Cat Crusaders' vet if they are sick.
At the end of your Foster To Adopt trial (or before, if you fall in love immediately!) you choose whether or not you want to adopt your new friend! If for some reason your Foster To Adopt wasn’t a match made in heaven, your cat/kitten will be placed back into the Cat Crusaders foster program and continue their search for a forever home.
