Why Are We Always Looking for Cat Foster Carers?

At BMD Cat Welfare, all new cats and kittens entering our care undergo an assessment process and veterinary care if needed.

No - shelters or pounds with their cages - No staff knock-off times. All cats and kittens with BMD Cat Welfare live 24/7 in real homes with real families. Our network of Cat Foster Carers is what keeps us going. AND, why we need you.

Word is out that BMD volunteers will do whatever they can to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome the disowned—making for an enormous stretch of resources and difficult decisions when our volunteers are constantly bombarded with requests for help.

BMD volunteers cover towns and villages within the Blue Mountains, Lithgow, Bathurst and beyond. The 'beyond' is often stretched when volunteers are lured to Sydney and other locations, as no one else who will respond to pleas for help can be found.

Decide to foster a cat today and experience the joy and fulfillment that comes with it.

BMD services towns and villages within the Blue Mountains, Lithgow, Bathurst, and beyond.

Role and Essential Requirements of a Cat Foster Carer:

Becoming a Cat Foster Carer may seem daunting initially, but it's a journey filled with compassion, triumph, and furry cuddles. You become a beacon of hope in their journey towards wellness and a forever home by providing a safe, loving home to cats needing temporary or long-term care. Every foster experience significantly contributes, whether a few weeks or several months.

Key responsibilities of a Cat Foster Carer:

• Creating a Cat Haven: Your home should be a sanctuary for your foster cat— comfortable, safe, warm, clean, and full of love. A separate space may be needed if other pets are at home or for behavioural and medical reasons.

• Indoor Accommodation: Foster cats should predominantly stay indoors. Outdoor access, if any, should be in a secure cat enclosure or under supervision.

• Providing Transport: For routine vet check-ups, emergency visits, or potential adoption 'meet and greets', sound transport arrangements are vital. Note - BMD covers fuel expenses.

• Health Monitoring: Keeping a close eye on your foster cat's health and administering medications is part of the gig. Swiftly reporting signs of illness or distress to your BMD contact is crucial.

• Grooming: Depending on the cat, grooming may include brushing their fur, cleaning their ears, trimming their nails, and occasionally, bath times.

• Socialisation and Play: Fosters need quality time to socialise and adapt to a home environment, play with interactive toys, and have supervised interactions with other household members and pets.

• Monitoring Progress: Keeping a record of their antics, quirks, and behavioural changes helps draft an accurate profile for when they're ready to adopt.

Additional Commitments as a Cat Foster Carer:

• Family Agreement: Every member of your household should support the decision to foster.

• Time: Your foster cat will need your attendance, care, and quality bonding time.

• A driver's licence, vehicle, and proper cat transport equipment are prerequisites for vet visits and meets.

• Commitment to the cat's wellbeing whilst in Foster Care

• Maintain open communication with your BMD cat foster care contact: safeguarding necessary support and guidance on your journey.

Being a cat foster carer is a vibrant blend of responsibilities and rewards. So, if you're ready to dive into an enriching adventure of cat foster care, overwhelmingly filled with purrs, meows, and fluffy companions, we're here to support you every step of the way!

10 Benefits of Becoming a Cat Foster Carer:

Becoming a Cat Foster Carer is your chance to shine a light in a world often overshadowed by indifference. By choosing to foster a cat, kittens and cats are given a second chance at a loving home. Moreover, cat foster care provides you with an enriched life filled with purrs, companionship, and the knowledge that you're making a real difference. Here are just a few of the many benefits:

• Committed Conductor for Change: As a cat foster carer, your commitment, even if temporary, gives cats and kittens in need the lifeline they deserve.

• Trial Run with Adoption: If you've been considering the decision to adopt a cat, fostering provides a practical, hands-on experience to help you gauge long-term commitments.

• Making an Impact: As a cat foster care volunteer, you make a tangible difference by directly contributing to the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of needy felines.

• Unrivalled Support: At BMD, we offer all necessary resources and support, from cat food and litter to medical care and ongoing support from experienced volunteers, easing your foster journey every step of the way.

• Flexibility Designed for You: With cat fostering, you are free to choose an arrangement that fits your lifestyle. Be it short-term or long-term fostering, a single cat or more, we tailor experiences to your suitability.

• Building Bonds: Cat foster care fosters compassion and empathy within families – the perfect way to strengthen bonds while teaching younger family members about responsibility and care.

• Skill Building: As you foster a cat, you learn new skills, including understanding feline health, behaviour, and even aspects of cat rescue for the keen enthusiasts.

• Enrichment of Life: Fostering a cat adds an extra dose of fun, warmth, and companionship to your life – a blissful cat's purr is indeed the best stress buster.

• Furry Companions for Your Pets: If you already have pets, fostering a cat stimulates enriching social experiences for them, opening opportunities to make new friends.

• Behavioural Insights: Your foster experience generates invaluable information about the cat's behaviour. This helps potential adopters understand the cats better and find the right forever homes.

Summing up, fostering a cat establishes an avenue of care that doesn't just better the lives of the cats, but enriches yours too. Foster a cat, be a beacon of hope – all it takes is one simple, yet powerful, choice.

Fostering First Hand 

"Being a Cat Foster Carer makes a difference" (Christine)

"Foster caring is a reminder that you can put good out into the world, and there is nothing quite like the absolute joy it can bring. Seeing cats go to their forever homes where they have people who love them and won't disappoint them is probably the absolute best thing" (Krystelle)

What Foster Carers Say:

Christine, BMD Senior Carer

"Being a Cat Foster Carer Makes a Difference -

I make a difference"

I see the cats I have rescued from terrible situations recover and flourish, then be adopted into loving, safe homes and families. I can't explain it, and it brings tears to my eyes to see how happy, healthy and content they become. I am both happy and a little sad as I let them go. Take little Cricket, found in a car engine. I thought she would break; she was so starving and tiny. Like many other cats and kittens I have fostered, Cricket is now adopted and thriving in her new forever home.

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Ethan, BMD Cat Foster Carer

"Getting through to a cat with a lot of trouble socialising or trusting people is fantastic"

Foster caring is not always a happy thing. People overbreed cats, mistreat them, and don't care about the consequences of their actions. Foster caring is making a difference where we can. We've had a lot of cats that have come into care with horrible experiences. Getting through to a cat with a lot of trouble socialising or trusting people is fantastic. It's like speaking an alien language. It's wonderful that once they realise they are safe, they can be happy and healthy and start to trust again, which means the world.

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Krystelle, BMD Cat Foster Carer

Foster caring for me is something that I fell into accidentally:

 We had space and we decided that we could take the cats in. Life as a foster carer is not always easy. We tend to take on complicated, unsocialised or cats with medical issues. Fortunately, We have an incredibly loving group of cats in our home who care for new arrivals. Regularly, I see our big, ex-tomcats take tiny kittens under their wing for warmth, safety and bathing. It is absolutely beautiful. Cats are incredibly caring creatures, and it takes a lot to earn their trust. They all respond differently to a foster family. Most eventually learn that they are safe and loved. 

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What we Provide for Cat Foster Carers - We've Got Your Back!

Once you foster a cat, we ensure you are not walking this path alone. We provide food, litter, veterinary care expenses, and ongoing support. We understand that fostering can come with unexpected challenges, and our goal is to assist you in making this journey enjoyable and fulfilling for you and your feline companions.

• BMD Cat Welfare Group provides food and litter and will co-ordinate, supervise, and fund any necessary veterinary treatment and medications.
• Provide support and assistance when needed.
• Pay vet bills. Illness or veterinary care needs to be discussed and co-ordinated with your BMD Contact.

Foster a Cat - Enrich Lives - Final Words

Becoming a cat foster parent is truly a win-win situation. You are granted the chance to share your life with these beautiful creatures without a long-term commitment. At the same time, the cats secure a routine for rehabilitation and rehoming in a caring environment.

Overall, cat foster care is an incredible way to help cats while enriching your life.

Your involvement in foster care for cats will contribute significantly to a cat's health, happiness, and adopted future.

Rescue cats make exceptional pets. They are loving and grateful, and each comes with a unique story. Fostering a rescued cat helps us save more lives and showcases the joys of adopting a rescue instead of buying from breeders or pet stores.