[story time] Becoming a Host Family for a Cat Association, my return from experience

Christmas is approaching and this is the period when associations receive the most requests for adoption… to give a cat or a dog as a gift. Every day, I see on my Facebook “such and such an association no longer accepts adoption requests before Christmas. Animals aren’t objects. Do not offer animals for Christmas etc.”

Having been part of a cat rescue association for more than 3 years, I totally agree with this speech. You don’t give away an animal. We adopt it!

I will reveal to you behind the scenes and tell you about my own experience as a foster family for a cat protection association.

Well, if you follow this blog more or less, you know that we have adopted Rosalie. She comes from the association Félin Possible, based in Rennes. It’s while looking for a cat to adopt that I discovered the world of cat associations – the notion of adopters, adoption fees, foster families etc. One year after Rosalie’s adoption, we thought that we could surely help other “Rosalie’s” by becoming a foster family. But since we are in Paris, it is better that we look for a Parisian association (it makes sense).

What is an animal protection association?

So, basically, we have the shelters, partly financed by the state. And associations created by private individuals. The size of the associations varies enormously, to the point of becoming a big foundation like that of Brigitte Bardot or 30 million friends…

Shelters save animals (stray, abandoned or mistreated cats…). Generally, they have their own infrastructure and the animals are kept in boxes; volunteers come several times a day to clean, feed, etc.

Associations also rescue animals (stray, abandoned or mistreated cats…) and generally have no infrastructure and must rely on volunteers i.e. foster families who keep one or more cats at home until they are adopted.

How do they make money?

These associations are often 1901 associations, i.e. they aren’t intended to make a profit.

They earn money :

• thanks to the cat adoption fees
• thanks to donations
• thanks to a small state aid

But they often spend much more:

• to flea, vaccinate, spay, neuter, deworm, do a health check-up of all cats that “enter” the association – i.e. they spend money before they even know if the cat can be adopted or not
• to take care of sick animals (the bills are often very heavy)

The results are often more negative than positive, because sick cats aren’t immediately adoptable; cats with health problems aren’t always the best candidates for adoption… Many associations are closing down because they spend more than they receive donations. In order to have a healthy balance sheet, they need to bring in as many cats as there are adopted cats.

Thus, they need :

• foster families to welcome the cats while waiting for the adoptive parents
• of adopters to give a permanent home to the rescued cats, and to free a “place” in the foster families, to welcome others
• donations to continue saving other cats and to care for “non-adoptable” cats

How to find your association?

If the associations are almost all associations under the 1901 law, the functioning differs from one association to another, that’s why it is really necessary to inquire before choosing your association.

The associations are generally very strict and choose foster families more carefully than adopters. Indeed, if they rely on a foster family to take in a cat – and the foster family changes their mind at the last minute, they risk ending up with one cat too many on their arm, with no possibility of welcoming it properly.

Knowing that when a cat “enters” an association, there are different stages:

1. Trapping the cat
2. Visit to the vet to do the necessary: chip or tattoo, vaccinations, deworming, sterilization, health check-up
3. Minimum 3 weeks quarantine: the cat must not be in contact with other cats. During this period, the cat is often isolated in a separate room or cage, the time it needs to get a makeover, get rid of fleas, recover from sterilization…
4. The cat is all clean and beautiful and can join a host family:
   1. he is social, ready to be adopted: the foster family takes his photos, writes a short text about his character..
   2. he is asocial, not ready to be adopted: the foster family will socialize him until he is ready to be adopted.
5. The cat is adopted and joins his definitive family

Therefore, volunteers can intervene in one of the first 4 steps. There are volunteers who only do trapping, or only the 3 weeks of quarantine (they have a dedicated room just for that)..

I only take care of step 4.

This is why it is very important to choose your association. Because if step 3 cannot be done at a member of the association, you may be asked to take care of step 3 + step 4 as well. And if you don’t have an empty room (or room for a cage) at home, it will be difficult.

Or you don’t have a lot of experience and are given a cat that is difficult to handle. A serious association will study the host family’s request and will give them THE cat that suits them best. The goal is that everything goes as well as possible: for the host family, and also for the cat.

In my case, I contacted several associations:

• The first one: I got into trouble with the president of the association for a very stupid story
• The second: hung up on me after 2 minutes because I refused to secure my window, while I insisted that I was aware of the danger of the window and that I would never let the cats out. Associations have very different requirements, it is important to agree on the conditions imposed on foster families.
• The third one: wanted to give me a cat that they had never seen in real life; the same day. An unspayed cat, who was peeing everywhere and about to be abandoned. Basically, they wanted me to do steps 2, 3 and 4.
• The fourth one: we had a long telephone conversation, I filled out a form to check if I was fit to become a foster family. I was able to ask all the questions that came to mind. The president came to my house to give advice on the window, to see my cat Rosalie and to get to know her character. Then, she brought me back a cat compatible with my cat’s character; and corresponding to my level: a sweet cat, with big green eyes, a little meow… in the name of Iza.

This is how I became a host family for the Felis’City association . And 6 other cats are going to succeed Iza and all of them have been adopted (in 3 years). I am not a little proud.

Yes, but what happens when they are adopted?

People fear this moment of separation the most. Let’s say that the association chooses the adopters so well, that when I bring the cat to its definitive family, I leave even happier. Because the environment corresponds perfectly to his needs, and the adopters are waiting for him so impatiently and happily that everyone is happy afterwards.

There is no shortage of cats looking for a host family. As soon as a cat is adopted, within 2-3 days, another cat comes to my home to be pampered.

And I often say it: there are plenty of adopters, but not foster families. I have more impact in front of a foster family (I “saved” 7 cats) than to become an adopter at all (I only “saved” Rosalie by being an adopter).

It helps a lot that the foster families are allowed to drop off the cat to the adopters. This way, it reassures me enormously to see that they are going to live well and be happy. There may be a control visit a few months after the adoption. It isn’t a control as we understand it, but just a friendly discussion between the former foster family and the adopters, to see if everything is going well. And to see my protégés again, happy (and who have completely forgotten me), it does a lot of good too.

What do host families do?

This depends on the experience of the volunteer. But the basic level is just welcoming a cat in your home, giving it love, water, food, litter… while waiting for an adopter.

Then, they can make pretty pictures, write a text about the cat’s character, receive visits from potential adopters (the association only sends serious candidates) and bring, if they wish, the cat to the adopter’s home.

If the cat is sick, the volunteer can take the cat to one of the partner vetos and the expenses are entirely covered by the association. Most foster families pay for food and litter for the cats; but if they have financial difficulties, the association can pay for food and litter as well.

Foster families with more experience can (1) take care of baby kittens (by giving the bottle every hour) (2) do quarantine (3) socialize feral cats etc. It all depends on the skill, willingness and time available.

My experience with a shy black kitten

Well, Iza, with her little face and good character, was quickly adopted. Melody followed. Then Justine (JB’s favorite). After 3 cats with a good character, I told the president that I was now ready to take up a challenge: a shy black kitten.

Black cats, unfortunately, are still considered jinxed. They have great difficulty to be adopted, and moreover, if they are shy, they have almost no chance to be adopted.

But since it’s a kitten, I told myself that I still had hope and that I could eventually socialize it.

The first few days, it was a real disaster, he was climbing the wall to avoid me, I was super super scared of him. For days, he would hide in my closet and only come out at night when the lights were off. I called the President of the association, devastated. She reassured me a lot by saying that she could get the kitten back if I wanted it, but gave me other advice. I told her that I could give her a second chance.

By chance I was unemployed during this period. And every 2 hours, I would stand in front of the cupboard, put some pâtée in my hand and show it to Helios (the cat). At first he was suspicious and didn’t move. But after 10 minutes, he started licking my hand and eating the food. The following days, I would give him pâtée (or boiled chicken) with one hand and with the other hand I would caress his head.

When the cat is too wild, some volunteers pet them with a kitchen glove. The idea is to associate human contact with something pleasant (food, or play).

Then, since he is a kitten, he couldn’t resist the game. With a small cane, I played with him, then I moved the cane further and further away, until his legs protruded from the cupboard, then his head… then his whole body. I continued to give him food in my hand, to talk to him, to caress him… And at the end of one week, Helios completely came out of his hiding place.

After a few months, he learned to kiss me on the mouth when I said “kisses”. He was always purring, offering his belly to be stroked. He remains my favorite cat among all those I’ve been able to welcome. Helios has since been adopted and is now called Misha.

Unfortunately, not all cats in the world can be socialized. For example, Gypsy only let herself be touched when she was playing her favorite app on the iPad 😀 ahahahha but once she was placed with her definitive family, she fell in love with the adoptive mother’s son and he can touch her without any problem. She gets along wonderfully well with the other cats and leads a happy life from now on.

How to adopt cats?

The associations relay the announcements on their Facebook, on specialized sites, on dedicated forums…. but the more active the foster family is, the more likely the cats are to be adopted.

And it all comes down to the first impression: the photo. That’s how I got into photography. I was doing so well in cat portraits that I would even give a helping hand to cats from other foster families, taking beautiful pictures of them.

Other host families

With the other host families, we saw each other at least once a year and it was like a big caring family, it was going great. From time to time, there were “open house” days, where the most sociable cats to be adopted were presented in a room – the future adopters could come and see them. Then, from time to time, we organized food collections at supermarkets, or in front of pet stores. We almost all knew each other, and the families helped each other a lot with cat care during the vacations. I went to give food to the cats and change the litter at a volunteer’s home – during her week of vacation; between noon and two for example.

Some adopters, aware of the animal cause, have also become foster families. As a result, I have regular news of my former protégés, and I also receive their photos… It’s always a great pleasure

Unfortunately, after 3 years, JB developed an allergy to cat hair, and with the tour of the world, we could no longer keep the cats in foster care. Even my cat Rosalie is at my sister’s at the moment, and we pick her up 1 month a year to go on vacation with her in France (in Trans sur Erdre then in Bourville). I will get her back when I come back to France.

Being a host family was an extraordinary experience, and if I could, I would gladly do it again.

If this experience also speaks to you, here are the two associations I recommend:

Felis’City Association: they are veterinarians in the 4 corners of Paris, very practical for host families: https: //www.facebook.com/AssociationFelisCity/

Association Felin Possible: in Rennes, I adopted Rosalie via Felin Possible : https://www.facebook.com/felinpossible/