FOSTER FAMILY
The Refuge pour chats de Verdun does not have an office or a site where cats are kept and we have no employees.
We are all volunteers and the cats we take in all live in foster families until they are adopted. We urgently needs foster families to help us house these cats in need.
Without more help, we will not be able to take any more new cats into our foster.
Becoming a foster family means keeping one or more cats in your home for an indeterminate period which may be just a few weeks or months but could be up to a year or more in certain cases. While these cats belong to the Refuge, foster families provide food and litter, a scratching post and lots of love. The Refuge pays for any veterinary expenses but the foster family will be asked to provide the appropriate medical care if the cat becomes sick.
All cats placed in a foster home have been seen by a veterinarian, and treated for fleas, ear mites, ticks and, if necessary, dewormed. They are vaccinated at the age of 8 weeks and sterilized (except for kittens under five months because they are too young to be sterilized). If you already have a cat at the house, we recommend you have its vaccines brought up to date.
You must be available on Adoption Days, every second Sunday. If you have a car and could being the cat to the adoption center in the morning (about 9:30 / 10 am) and take it back in the afternoon (about 3 / 3:30 pm) if it is not adopted, that would help us a great deal but if you don’t have a car, one of our volunteers will pick up and drop off the cat. We understand that you may not always be available every adoption day, but it is important that if you become a foster family, to be available as often as possible. When a foster family is not available too often, the chances of getting the cat adopted quickly are greatly diminished.
If, after a certain time, you or someone you know wants to adopt the cat you are fostering, you have to follow the procedures for regular adoptions and sign a contract with the Refuge and pay a fee for adoption. As the cat you are fostering belongs to the Refuge, you can not give it away to anyone without our permission.
Becoming a foster family is not something to be taken lightly but if you love animals, it is a gratifying act as you are saving the life of a cat. If you want to become a foster family, you agree to keep the cat until it is adopted. However, if something should happen and you can’t continue to keep the cat, we will find a new home for it. In any case, you need to give us time to find a new home. You must also let us know if you think the cat is ill or has another problem. We ask that you keep the cat indoors, even if it meows to go outside or if you have another cat that does go out. It is the only way to ensure that the cat does not get lost and that it stays healthy while waiting to be adopted. Finally, you will need patience and the time to care for this cat, to help it develop good habits, shows it how to use a scratching post, etc. And while we are not responsible for any damage the cat may cause while it is in your home, we are always available to give you advice in case you have problems and you can always look at the section on our web site called Conseils (Advice) at any time.