BECOME A FOSTER CARER
Furry Friends operates as a non-shelter rescue, placing cats and kittens with foster carers until they find permanent homes.
Fostering is a rewarding experience open to almost anyone.
Before approval, it is VERT IMPORTANT to note that we conduct a virtual home tour to ensure safety, prioritizing secure doors and windows and quarantine space.
HOME
Ultimately, we try to ensure that our foster carers are as little out of pocket as possible, but seeing as we are only funded by donations, sometimes food supply costs can impact our rescue.
Furry Friends Animal Rescue QLD does have certain requirements that need to be met before you can become a foster carer, one of these requirements is a virtual home tour to ensure your home is suitable for cats or kittens.
Most of our requirements are all fairly normal requirements of being a responsible pet owner. Our major goal is to ensure all our foster animals are healthy, happy, social and well mannered and ready for adoption.
Your Home
Is your home escape proof? Do you have screens on your windows and doors?
Kittens will test everything.
Transport
All cats and kittens must be transported in a secure cat carrier large enough for them to stand.
Personality
To build our profile for adoption day, we need to know all the little traits of the cat or kitten.
Quarantine
All cats and kittens coming into your care need to complete 10 days quarantine, so you will need the space.
Photos and Videos
We need plenty of good photos and videos for social media and so we can create a beautiful profile come adoption time.
Treatments
All worm and flea treatments must be administered on schedule and communicated.
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Why do we have to quarantine cute little kittens?When a cat or kitten comes into your care, it is a requirement that they are quarantined for 14 days. This is to protect the kittens as well as any animals you may have in your household. Kittens may not be vaccinated at this time, and if they have come from either the pound or found outside, there are many unknown elements they may have been exposed to. For example, parasites, worms, and ringworm. 14 days allow you to see if anything appears to be an issue and we can treat it prior to the kittens being introduced to your household.
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How long will I have the cat or kitten for?This will depend on many factors such as age, health, temperament, and so on. Some of our cats come to us very timid and will require additional time allowing you to build their trust and confidence. The general timeframe can be between 2 – 12 weeks, however, there are no guarantees; some may need that extra time for that someone special to find them.
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Do my own cats or dogs need to be vaccinated?Yes, all resident cats and dogs in your household should be vaccinated. This is part of being a responsible pet owner, and for the health and safety of your animals in general they should have the core vaccinations recommended by your vet. Even though kittens coming into your care are quarantined for 14 days, they do not receive their vaccinations until later, so they are being exposed to illnesses that are preventable.
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Does Furry Friends provide food?Furry Friends relies on donations from the public for all our supplies, so we kindly ask, if you can afford to buy food we would truly appreciate it. Although we understand if you are caring for multiple kittens at once, we will ensure that donated supplies are provided to you as a priority. If you have a cat or kitten that requires special dietary food, we will provide this if it is not possible for you to purchase.
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Does Furry Friends provide Kitty Litter?Furry Friends relies on donations from the public for all our supplies, so we kindly ask, if you can afford to buy kitty litter we would truly appreciate it. Although we understand if you are caring for multiple kittens at once, we will ensure that donated supplies are provided to you as a priority.
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Who pays for vet bills if veterinary care is required?FFARQ is responsible for all vetwork (desexing, microchipping, vaccination, heartworm test as well as any extra vet work) that may be required during foster care. ​ All vet work must be requested via our form and pre-approve. If there is a need for emergency care, you will be provided with a contact to discuss options and approval for emergency vet care. The approval process is essential for any small rescue, as emergency vet care is very expensive and an overnight stay in an emergency facility can cost up to $2000.
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When do I have to worm and who pays for the treatment?When a cat or kitten comes into your care, you will receive a treatment plan from the Cats Team, detailing the dates of worming. Depending on the age of your kitten, you will be provided with the relevant worming treatment by Furry Friends (either syrup or tablets).
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Who pays for the flea and worm treatments?You will be provided with flea and worm treatment relevant to the age and number of cats in your care. Furry Friends will provide this to you. If you wish to buy these treatments (as a donation to us) it would be greatly appreciated as this is a large recurring cost to our small rescue.
If you believe that you can give one or more of our cats or kittens a great temporary home, please complete the foster application form and one of our volunteers will contact you.
For further information, please download our Foster Carer Guide.