Across our three centres, we're seeing an increasing number of animals who need us, and many of them would benefit from being in a foster home.
With costs taken care of; lots of guidance, support and training given; and the chance to make a difference that lasts a lifetime, fostering with Battersea is a flexible and rewarding way to enrich your life with the love of an animal, while transforming theirs for the better.
Can I become a foster carer?
To foster a cat with Battersea, you must be over 18 years of age and have a spare room in your home. This is because many of the cats that would benefit from fostering tend to display nervous and timid behaviours, so a spare room can help them settle in the home and allow them to improve their sociability with people gradually.
Applicants do not need to have a spare room in their home to foster kittens, although having one can be beneficial and provides them with a safe space to play.
As foster cats will need to attend regular health and rehoming appointments, you will need to live within an hour’s drive of one of our three centres.
We are unable to foster cats to homes with children younger than 13 years of age, and we unfortunately can’t accept foster carers who already have their own pets. A lot of the cats in our care that would do well in a foster home are prone to stress, and would be better suited to pet-free and child-free homes. This is by no means a reflection of your child or pet, but more about what our animals are comfortable with.
If you have children over 8 years of age, you can apply to foster with our mums and kittens.
WHY BECOME A FOSTER CARER?
Our foster carers tend to be people who really love animals but are not in a position, for one reason or another, to have one full time. Fostering enables people to have animals in their lives, but without the full-time commitment.
Although fostering can be challenging and requires a lot of time, it is extremely rewarding to see your foster animal blossom and then go on to be successfully rehomed.
We ensure that our foster carers receive ongoing support and behaviour training. In addition, we make sure to provide you with everything your foster animal will need including food, equipment and veterinary treatment.
Fostering is a wonderful way to enrich your life with the love of an animal without the associated costs.
What's the process to become an Adult Cat Foster Carer or Mum and Kitten Foster Carer?
1. Application
Complete the application form and provide as much information as possible.
2. Home check
We ask that you kindly send in footage of your home. This is in no way to judge your home. It is only to check that it is a safe environment for our animals and to determine the best match for you and your set-up.
3. Phone call
A member of the fostering team will call you for an interview and to answer any questions you may have.
4. Inductions
We will invite you to an online induction.
Fostering FAQs
What are the responsibilities of a cat foster carer?
We ask that foster carers are compassionate, empathetic and adaptable to the needs of the animals that come into their care. This care includes feeding, training and taking the cat to any necessary appointments. You don't need prior experience as Battersea will give you all the training, support and guidance you need. However, a lot of the animals that would benefit from foster care may need a little more work, so we really welcome people who have cared for more challenging animals. Battersea will provide you with everything you need to care for your foster animal, including food, bedding, toys and veterinary care. We have a dedicated fostering team who are on hand to answer any queries or concerns and give ongoing support.
We are recruiting both dog and cat foster carers to offer respite to our animals while they await rehoming. The type of foster care role you apply for will depend on your location.
If you live within an hour of one of our three centres you can apply for dog or cat fostering:
- London (SW8 4AA) – London post codes & surrounding areas
- Old Windsor (SL4 2JN) – Reading, High Wycombe, Richmond & surrounding areas
- Brands Hatch (TN15 7HH) – Maidstone, Tonbridge, Orpington & surrounding areas
There are no costs, Battersea will provide you with everything you need to care for your foster animal, including food, bedding, toys and veterinary care.
The length of time varies, and depends on the individual animal. Generally, animals will be fostered until they are rehomed and we don’t always know how long this could take. This could be a couple of weeks to a month or two. Our foster animals often need consistency and predictability, so it's ideal that foster carers can take animals for longer than just a few days. But we do always try and make fostering as flexible as possible for our amazing volunteers so they can enjoy a well-deserved holiday.
We hold monthly group inductions online where we cover everything you need to know before fostering your first animal. This includes general information, animal behaviour, body language, identifying stress signals, and appropriate handling. We will also go into detail about each animal’s background and behaviours before you foster them.
Am I eligible to be a cat foster carer?
We are recruiting both dog and cat foster carers to offer respite to our animals while they await rehoming. The type of foster care role you apply for will depend on your location.
If you live within an hour of one of our three centres you can apply for dog or cat fostering:
- London (SW8 4AA) – London post codes & surrounding areas
- Old Windsor (SL4 2JN) – Reading, High Wycombe, Richmond & surrounding areas
- Brands Hatch (TN15 7HH) – Maidstone, Tonbridge, Orpington & surrounding areas
You don't need prior experience as Battersea will give you all the training, support and guidance you need to look after the cats you'll care for. However, a lot of the animals that would benefit from foster care may need a little more work, so we really welcome people who have cared for more challenging animals. Whether you're experienced or not, our dedicated team is always on hand to answer any questions.
We are currently unable to accept foster applicants who already have their own cats or dogs in the home. We try to be flexible with this where we can, but due to having a significant number of foster homes with their own pets already we are currently only able to accept pet-free foster homes.
For smaller animals these can be considered on a case-by-case basis, and they would need to be in secure housing away from the foster cat. Please note that foster homes with existing pets may have to wait longer to foster as the majority of our dogs and cats need pet free homes.
If you have children over 8 years old, you can apply to help with our mums and kittens. In addition, if you have children 13 years old and older, you can apply to help our adult cats. Foster cats must not be left at home unsupervised with anyone under 18 years old and must only cared for by household members who are 18 or over. This is by no means a reflection of your child, more about what our animals are comfortable with.
Time alone for foster cats needs to be kept to a minimum. For our adult foster cats can be left for a working day. For our foster kittens, we ask for a leave time of no more than four hours daily.
For safety reasons, foster carers aren’t permitted to leave their cat with anyone who hasn’t been on the Battersea fostering induction or leave the cat in another household.
We understand that foster carers have their own commitments and may not always be available. If you know you have holidays or other commitments coming up, then please let us know of this and we will try to work around these dates when considering foster cat placements. If you have had a cat on foster for a while and an unexpected commitment comes up, then please let us know as soon as possible and we will make alternate arrangements for the foster cat.
It is always ideal if you have your own transport, particularly if you live further away, but we understand that this isn’t an option for everyone. We don’t test cats on public transport so we don’t know how they might react, therefore when you take a cat for the first time we can arrange a taxi if collecting from one of our centres. For community foster carers, animals will be brought to you by a member of Battersea staff.
If you are unable to foster but would still like to help the animals in our care then you can sponsor a dog kennel (link tbc) or sponsor a cat cabin (link tbc) with a monthly donation.
What kind of cats will I foster?
Not all of our animals qualify for or need fostering, so we prioritise those that will most benefit from being in a foster home environment. From our three centres we only foster those who have compromised welfare due to stress or medical issues, or those animals that are too young to stay in a cattery environment. For those fostering from a communities location, you will foster animals ready for rehoming who may have been in the cattery longer than average or who would benefit from a home environment as part of their rehoming process. Our fostering team work hard to make sure the right animal is paired to the right foster carer, so rather than select your own animal our fostering team will contact you if they find a suitable match.
Over the course of your time as a foster carer, you may get asked to care for lots of different types of cat. We encourage all our foster carers to look beyond breed stereotypes and see each animal for their own individual, perfectly imperfect, self. And as always, we'll give you the training and support you need to get the best results for your foster animal. Our team will match you with a foster cat who is appropriate for your level of experience and you never have to take a foster cat that you feel is not a good fit for you.
Fostering is not meant to be a means to rehoming. We really need foster carers who can commit to fostering long term so that you can help many different cats who need foster homes. We generally ask for a minimum six-month commitment to fostering. If after this time you have a foster animal that you would like to adopt, we can then discuss this with you. If you’re interested in owning a cat, find out how to rehome a cat.
