Animal Welfare Professionals

I'm thinking outside the box and am looking for anyone that may have done this and can offer some advice/tips. 

We are working with a small municipality who has just hired their first ACO.  They have partnered with us to TNR throughout the entire community.   They do not have a shelter; they will continue to contract with the county shelter when a sheltering need arises.

There are litters of kittens being reported by  members of the community.   They aren't old enought to TNR and taking them to the county shelter puts them at great risk of euthanasia because that shelter does not have a volunteer or foster program.  We are at capacity in our shelter and while we can intake some of the kittensm, we are pretty limited right now, especially in terms of staffing and funds.

Last week a litter of kittens was brought to the police department.  The ACO asked me what to do about them. Yes, we couldn've taken them but I knew this first litter was just one out of many that will need fostering and we can not absorb them all.   I told her to put a post out asking for a foster for the kittens.  

That one single post resulted in about a dozen people stepping up to say they'd like to foster!   And willing to take on the responsibility for the kittens until they are old enough for spay/neuter. We knew we were onto a gold mine of community support! 

But how to manage it?   We plan to compile our list of people who want to help and then set them up with foster kittens.  The kittens will not be intaked to a shelter until they are old enough for spay/neuter. This will alleviate the strain on our resources and utulize a network of caring people in the community to self-foster.

We think this will work - we won't know until we try! 

Has anyone tried this approach?   I'm looking for a template of an agreement we could have them sign that stipulates they are taking on responsibility for caring for the kittens until they are 8 weeks old.  At that time, our end of the bargain will be that we'll intake them into our program to prepare for adoption.  We are hoping to put together "kitten kits" to provide supplies to the fosters so that we can utilize people that may otherwise find it a financial hardship to foster.  We won't formally be providing medical support but we will ask a network of experienced fosters and vet techs to provide support.  And our shelter veterinarian will provide medical support if needed.

Am I crazy?  Have I gone too far over the box to think this will work?   

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Joy 

This is so AMAZING!!! I'm sure others have better ones, but I found this on Petfinder: http://members.petfinder.com/~IA21/Foster-Agreement.pdf

Please keep us up to date ond let us know how this goes!

Thanks so much!   We have a standard foster agreement similar to this one that designates us as the responsible party,  I'm looking for verbiage that states we are not responsible .  They are assuming responsibility for the kittens but we will agree to intake then when they are of age/weight.   Also, we want to put a clause in that if they rehome any of the kittens they will agree to take responsibility for ensuring they are spayed/neutered.   

I do something similar as the local TNR person and foster volunteer. When I trap kittens under 2#, I check them in with the shelter, but not physically, just the paperwork. At home I do the intake exam (which is usually done by kennel techs), give the first vaccines, dewormer, and flea treatment. Then either I, or another volunteer keeps them in foster care until they are old enough to be spayed/neutered. Oftentimes I coordinate with the shelter vet to drop off for surgery and take home to recover. A few days later they go right to adoption floor. This all serves to minimize shelter time and stress, which is especially important for feral kittens.

Thanks Dorian - this is just what we're thinking of.  Do you have any sort of written agreement with the shelter?  What happens if the kittens need medical intervention during the foster period?  Who covers the cost if they need to see a veterinarian?  

We don't have anything. Unfortunately staff is not proactive, no one is responsible, the foster "program" is not a program, just a few volunteers doing their own thing, on their own initiative, without guidance of any sort. Staff doesn't even bother to call volunteers when foster homes are needed, unless it is for bottle babies. It is very sad, and I have addressed the problem with the new director. Will see what happens. As for me, I communicate directly with the shelter vet, and I have taken kittens to work with me when necessary, and the shelter paid. But the other volunteers don't work at a vet clinic, and we all need guidelines on what to do and how to react to medical issues. Hence I am hoping to find ideas here in this forum, things that I can present to the shelter director.

I'm going to be putting together documents for the "program".  I"ll share back with the group so everyone can provide me with input and suggestions.  

Very interested in this concept, have you been able to put together anything yet?

That's great that the community is so supportive! Do y'all have a foster donation fund, where in case someone is unable to actually foster but still wants to help, can put money towards helping build kitten kits?
I copied the contract I use for fosters to sign prior to taking their pets, but I apologize for the small font. I had to copy it to edit out the foster's personal information. (Note: They're not usually out for that long, but "Bowie" is being considered as a new family member, and I've given the family more time with him). I realize not all of the contract is relevant to you, but maybe it'll help give you an idea as far as what to put on yours? (Please let me know if it works, as I've never shared images on here before)

I hope it helps! 

*Otherwise, I can send it to you in a message!

Thanks so much - I would love it if you could email it to me at joy@fieldhaven.com.  I do have an agreement for our "regular" foster program  but I'd love to see your version.   I'm looking for some different language for this program.  I am talking with a local vet that I think will be willing to set up a fund that people can donate to provide for urgent vet care.  This town is about 45 minutes from our shelter to having them come to see our shelter vet is usually practical.  I'm hoping to get donations and funding to put together kittens kits too.   

I will definitely email you a clear version! I hope it all works out and you start to get funding soon!!! 

Hi Joy,

You might consider talking to Stray Cat Alliance to talk about their Safe at Home program which engages community members to foster before the pet enters the shelter. @Avarie can you comment?

Thanks for the tip!  I looked on their website and don't see anything about the Safe at Home program. @Avarie, I'll look forward to hearing from you.