Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity and our vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs. Cats are at the centre of everything we do and our objectives are: homing, neutering and educating people about cats and their care. We help thousands of cats across the UK each year thanks to our network of dedicated volunteers, staff and supporters.
Across the UK, many cats are cared for by volunteer fosterers who provide a stable, safe and loving environment in their homes or in purpose-built pens in their gardens. They provide vital hands-on care and accommodation to stray or abandoned cats or cats whose owners could sadly no longer keep them, and are part of a dedicated team of volunteers committed to finding new homes for cats in need. Our fosterers carry out this role with support from their local branch or centre.
Most of our fosterers care for one or two cats at a time and enjoy providing lots of TLC to those cats, who have been pre-loved or have had a difficult start in life. Some of our fosterers look after new mums and kittens and provide round-the-clock care to newborns to give them the best start in life.
Requirements: applicants will ideally have access to a car for vet trips and emergencies. If you live in rented accomodation we will need permission from your landlord to say you can have animals in the property.
We require 2 referees. Referees must not be a close relative. Without 2 referees we cannot process your application.
*Please note: To maintain our extremely high standards of cat care, there is an interview, selection, induction and training process for all of our volunteers.
Being a Cats protection Fosterer is a tremendously rewarding role!
There are many reasons a cat needs that extra care of a foster home. They may be a nursing mum with kittens, or even a kitten who has lost their mum! They may be an adult cat who just needs to regain their trust in humans and needs some time to do this. They may be poorly and need treatment before they can find their forever home.
If you have a spare room in your home and the time to help a cat in need why not apply to be a fosterer?
Cats Protection offer an extensive online learning programme and support from our cat care team to ensure you have the skills and knowledge to care for our cats. We also provide everything your foster cat needs such as food, litter, bedding, toys, and cleaning supplies.
The main thing we ask from you is time. Time to learn how we care for our cats and time spent with your foster cat to help prepare them for their adoption.
If you would like more information to start your foster journey please apply!
You will develop new skills, expand your knowledge and make a significant contribution to improving the lives of cats and kittens in need by caring for them before they find new, loving homes. You will also meet new people, make new friends and be part of a dedicated team of volunteers.
Our volunteer fosterers usually spend one and a half hours per day on average (around 10 to 13 hours per week) in this role, but this might vary depending on the number of cats or kittens in care. In order to help you feel confident in your fosterer role we ask that prior to looking after your first foster cat you complete some online cat welfare learning modules.
At Cats Protection we believe our volunteers should be happy and confident in their roles. We provide support and guidance from our National Cat Centre and through our regional and local volunteer groups and teams. We offer engaging online and face-to-face training, expenses and have policies and processes to help volunteers get the most out of their time with us.
The wellbeing of our people is important and at Cats Protection we are committed to safeguarding children, adults at risk and all those that we come into contact with as part of our activities.