Forever Fosters
What is a "Forever Foster"?
Sometimes, when we test a rescued cat, we find that the cat has a health condition such as feline leukemia (feleuk), feline immunodeficiency virus, diabetes, intestinal issues, asthma, or other medical conditions that hinder adoption possibilities.
Depending on the condition, these cats may need on-going special care or merely to be monitored for any illness that presents itself for followup care.
Because it is soul-destroying to euthanize these usually super-friendly cats merely because they have a known, treatable condition, we elect to offer them as "forever foster" cats instead. This means you essentially adopt the cat, to live out their luxe life lived indoors, and we worry about the vet bills, which is the principal reason why people choose not to adopt these cats. Win-win!
Current forever foster cats will be listed as such on our ADOPT page!
Forever Foster applicants must fill out, and be approved for, forever fostering as if it was a true adoption. Please use the button below to fill out the application form. Although this application may seem lengthy, we ask that you take time to answer all the questions as best as possible. Thank you for considering forever fostering, we'll be in touch within a few days. Sometimes, we might take a bit longer because we are such a small group of volunteers. Please take this into consideration before you fill out the application. The process is not as fast as the SPCA or other shelters who have an actual shelter and many more workers.
Remember, Forever Fostering is a situation that allows HCRS to take care of vetting, but is, in essence,
a true adoption in that it is considered to be a life long forever home for the cat. :)
One last note: When you have been approved for a forever foster situation with HCRS, you will be asked to sign a contract that enforces all of the above. HCRS reserves the right to end a forever fostering situation under any circumstance deemed by HCRS to be harmful/stressful to the cat, or is not an ideal situation for that particular cat. We always have the cat's interests first and foremost and hope that you understand this policy.
Tralee
"Hi there,
I just wanted to touch base with an update on Tralee, who I adopted back in 2013 when I lived in Dartmouth. She was quickly renamed Caroline and she’s now an older lady but still doing great. Since we adopted each other over 10 years ago, we’ve had many adventures. We moved to Prince Edward Island in 2015, then to Charleston, South Carolina in 2016 and then on to Athens, Georgia in 2019 where I went to vet school at the University of Georgia. She kept me company all through the many many many hours of studying during vet school. We’re now in Chicago, Illinois where I’m a small animal veterinarian and we’ve added a wife and a dog to our lives. I was doing some volunteer work with a local shelter last week and was thinking about the Halifax Cat Rescue Society and all the work you do back in Nova Scotia. I just made a little donation via EMT and wanted to provide an update and say thanks for all the work you do!
Best,
John and Caroline"
Sweet Pea
Sweet Pea is one of our forever foster cats, rescued from a colony near Prospect Road. She was scooped up by another rescuer who was TNRing the cats at the property, but one of our supporters in the area had stepped up to help. When Sweet Pea escaped from the carrier into her garage, where there was a real risk the cat could escape outdoors, HCRS became involved. We couldn't simply leave one of our valued supporters hanging out there, to figure it out on her own.
Sweet Pea was one of several semi-feral cats from the property. It seems that the elderly residents were in a bad way; the fella was in the late stages of cancer, and his wife was suffering from Alzheimer's. The property would soon be changing hands, which means that returning cats as part of a TNR program would not bode well for the cats. The old fella told us that his wife "loved kittens", suggesting that he would allow the cats to have kittens in the home to entertain his wife, and when they got older, they were simply pitched outside. Next! We could applaud his motive to keep his wife engaged in life, but not the method.
Weighing in at a whopping 6 pounds, Sweet Pea has done very well in foster care in the many years that have transpired since her capture. Recently, her foster mom noticed that she had lost weight and was struggling with diarrhea, so she was hustled into the vet clinic. Some indications of IBD were noted, which could be treated with medication, but the vet also noted that her teeth were a mess. There were two resorptive lesions on one side, and the entire crown was broken off a tooth on the either side, exposing the roots. These two very painful conditions necessitated a hasty dentistry, something that clearly wasn't in our budget. And many of you probably know how expensive dentistries are these days (*hard swallow).
Sweet Pea has been camped out at the food dish since the surgery, which tells us that things are much improved in her little life these days. Relief has thankfully been granted.
We would sure welcome any donations our supporters might offer in support of her dentistry. If you are so inclined, please etransfer to hcrsfundraising@outlook.com or check out other options described on our website: https://www.catsinhalifax.ca/donate
We absolutely LOVE updates on our adopted kitties. Our vision is that every cat we rescue experiences this type of forever happy!
