Hi, I’m fairly new to THS. We have one cat who has been fine with three sits this year and is happy with new people. I am also a volunteer with a cat charity as a foster carer and occasionally have an extra cat who will live in our conservatory until homed. I am wondering whether this would put off sitters (litter trays are involved) and if I should add the extra cat to my listing when I know I’ll definitely have one or just discuss with any sitters who apply as and when. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I mostly sit for cats, and would have no problem with this. I had 2 foster kittens, in addition to the resident cat, on one of my sits. I am a serial cat foster (over 140 so far), so I am more than willing to help another foster out.
I think your listing should refer to the possibility of there being a foster cat in the house. It would be a waste of time (yours and the applicants) if you waited to discuss it when you were in the selection process. Better to weed out the people who would not be comfortable with the arrangement before they even apply.
I would want to make sure that the foster cat had no health or behavioral problems before agreeing to sit. Not just for my own comfort, but I couldn’t risk bringing, say, ringworm, to a future sit.
Also, depending on the length of the sit, I would want to rescue contact info in case there was a problem, and an assurance that the rescue was OK with a sitter taking over foster duties.
Thanks for fostering!
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Thank you so much ! I love fostering and our cat is a ‘failed foster’ that we fell in love with. We’ve had a variety of cats and they are all vet checked before they come. My main problem is that we don’t always know when we will have a foster and I was afraid it might put sitters off if I put it in the listing.
Do you have a choice when you foster a cat @rosearthur92? If so, to make it simpler for you, the sitter and the cat (as well as your own cat), could you not accept this cat until after your holiday period?
Hi, thanks for responding! Yes in an ideal world I wouldn’t take on a foster over a period when I had holiday booked. The problem is that we don’t always know how long they will be with us. It can vary from weeks to months sometimes! It can also sometimes be possible for them to move to a different foster home but we are a small branch and space is limited. By the time they are ready to come in to a foster, they are usually ready to home physically but can be a little shy and part of our role is to get them used to people and everyday home life so the more people they can meet the better. We have rarely had any problems and certainly wouldn’t ask for a sitter if we did . I think I will add it to our listing as a possibility and hope it doesn’t put people off! 
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@rosearthur92 I did a cat sit seven years ago for an owner who was frequently away for business and leisure. I felt sorry for her cat as it wasn’t very affectionate and would appear for food then disappear. So many different people to look after it that it couldn’t bond.
Today she still uses THS just as frequently but has an additional two cats PLUS she fosters cats and kittens as well! There’s rarely been a review now that doesn’t include the sitters looking after a mother cat and its kittens as well. All positive reviews too. So I’m sure you would find cat-loving sitters should you have a foster one as well. I’m not sure how this other owner can foster so many where she is away so frequently.
I am a sitter. I also foster cats. You could plan to only foster lower maintenance kitties for the times you would need a sitter.
I would be happy to sit for a foster cat depending on the cats being fostered.
While traveling, I wouldn’t want to foster:
Bottle babies
Cats not eating or using the litter box
Cats needing to attend adoption events.
Ringworm cats (because I might be going to another pet sit)
I would likely foster:
Cats needing to go to vet visits
Cats needing socializing and extra attention
Cats needing medicating.
As a cat lover (which I would hope that all cat sitters are) It would not put me off…..especially because of the foster factor !
The only thing request I’d have would be for you to let me know before our sitting agreement that this is a possibility; and, if you do have a new foster, to let me know before the sit begins.
Bring on the clowder !!!
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Thank you for sharing your experience, it’s good to hear how people feel. I guess all rescues have their own way of operating, I know we are short of foster spaces partly because the conditions are quite strict. On the plus side we have support from welfare, behaviourist and vet specialists if we need them as well as our branch colleagues.
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Thank you, this is very useful. We would certainly avoid all your exclusions and generally would only go for a short break of a week or less so no vet visits etc during that time. I’ve seen mention of ringworm in a couple of replies and our rescue cats don’t come into foster if they have it but would stay in the rescue centre. The foster stage is the last before they are homed so they have been thorough vet checked .
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Thank you! I’m wondering whether to add “Foster Cat” as a pet on our listing with the general routine we use for all the fosters and then just add details and pictures when we actually have one in residence. Would that work? This is our current foster Treacle.
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Hi Rosearthur
What a star you are fostering!
I am experienced cat sitter (58 cats sat and counting via THS) and would have no problems with an extra cat.
I do think you should add to your listing that you foster cats sometimes with little notice and there may be an extra cat to look after during sits. That way there’s no surprises for any applicants.
I looked after a cat that unfortunately needed chemo treatment during my sit. The HO’s were honest with me and paid for a pet uber there and back. I was happy to continue with the sit.
I’ve also pilled and injected cats but worked for a cat charity in Lanzarote so maybe I’m more skilled than some sitters.
Wow, poor thing! I think you went above and beyond there. It sounds like you are very experienced at looking after poorly cats. Our house cat has daily tablets but luckily she’s really greedy so we just pop them in her food 
We started fostering four years ago after our 21 year old cat died. We thought we would like to travel in our retirement but I really, really missed him. We’ve had fosters from one week to 6 months(although that was a special case ) before they find a home. If I had to guess I’d say an average of four weeks. We managed to let them all go until Elsa arrived!
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My current cat is a foster fail also, in a way. I trapped him and took him home overnight…..10 years ago! I will be picking up 5 kittens this morning (3-4 months old) and had bottle babies for a few days last week. There is a huge stray cat problem where I live (Texas).
Wow, that’s amazing! I feel a bit of a lightweight compared to you . I’ve never had tiny kittens, but we do have a couple of people who specialise in mums and kittens including bottle feeding so I haven’t had to so far. I’m in middle England and we have a lot of stray cats here too .
Let me know when setting up the sit that there might be a foster and I’d have no problems And then as the sits gets closer and you know then update me.
Not exactly the same circustance, but I’ve had several sits with house cats and a feral or 2 who I’d feed outside, including one where the river behind the house froze over and the buzzards who normally would feed from the river fish, took over the cat food bowls on the river side of the house. Of course the ferals moved to the other side of the house and I fed them there until the river thawed and the buzzards left.