If you enjoy beginning your mornings by slowly enjoying your first cup of coffee or tea, why not snuggle some foster animals while you sip? If you like to end your work days by decompressing and scrolling through social media, why not use that time to surround yourself with foster animals instead? Continue reading for actionable suggestions and a step-by-step guide on how to help your fostering routine fit into your everyday schedule.
Points to Consider Before You Begin
First of all, you can do this. Everyone can foster if they get creative, plan accordingly, and stick to a routine. No matter what your schedule is like, there is a right group for you to foster.
Follow the steps below to set yourself up for a regimented and successful foster care routine that fits right into your daily life.
Step 1: Evaluate Your Current Routine
Take a look at your daily schedule. Do you rely on a planner or your Google Calendar to get through each day? Review your planning tools for a moment and reflect on what free time you have versus what your work hours are and what time your other commitments take up. If you don’t rely on planning tools to get through your routine, it’s possible that you already have a few moments (and the mental space) to spare for a foster animal or two.
If you don’t already have pets of your own, building in time to care for animals will be a new and exciting process. If you do already have pets, consider how much time you are able to spend with them each day. Would it be possible for you to simply add a few minutes to your pet care routine to care for your foster animals?
In spite of all of these factors, a good rule of thumb according to Hannah Shaw, the Kitten Lady, is if you have time to scroll through social media several times a day or to grab a cup of coffee or two during the work day, you have time to foster!
If you want to dive deeper and find a group of animals that would work best within your routine, please read more here.
Step 2: Evaluate the Foster Animals
The age, health, and behavior of the foster animals will determine how often they need to be fed, cared for, and socialized. Whether you already have the foster animals in your care or are planning to foster a specific group, please consider each of these factors.
You can be prepared to spend anywhere from one hour per day for one or two foster animals up to two or more hours per day. Foster homes who are able to spend two or more hours per day with their foster animals are usually caring for three or more animals, undersocialized animals, or animals who need medical intervention.
Keep in mind that the total number of hours you spend with your fosters each day will be spread out between the time you wake up and the time you go to sleep (or overnight, depending on the age and health of the animal).
Step 3: Create a Fostering Routine
Important elements to include in your fostering routine are:
- Feeding
- Cleaning and grooming
- Handling and socializing
- Play and exercise
- Medication administration as needed
Again, not all of these elements will occur at the same time. To keep yourself sane and to increase the number of times that your adorable fosters get to interact with you, you’ll need to provide this care a couple times throughout the day.
Here is an example of a fostering routine for 1-2 animals:
6:00am to 6:15am – Feed wet and dry food. Refill water. Clean litter box. A few moments of scratches and cuddles. Provide medications if prescribed.
8:00am to 8:05am – Refill dry food and water before heading to work.
4:00pm to 4:15pm – Feed wet food. Refill water. Clean litter box. Provide medications if prescribed. Set up the play tunnel and extra scratchers for exercise.
6:00pm to 6:30pm – Play and cuddle time.
8:30pm to 8:35pm, or right before bed – Refill water and dry food. Feed wet food.
Total time spent: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Depending on the age, health, and behavior of your foster animals, the first fostering routine can look much simpler. It can even simply consist of details such as, “Feed twice a day, scoop the litter box three times a day, and play for an hour.” Gradually working towards a structured fostering routine will help you fit it into your schedule, but don’t expect to reach that point right away.
Give to our current fosters:
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Any contribution is greatly appreciated!
– $6.00 allows us to buy a bag of litter
– $25 helps us buy 12 cans of cat food
– $100+ allows us to fund general medical procedures for any felines that we foster on our own
Thank you so much for considering a donation! 🙂
Any contribution is greatly appreciated!
– $6.00 allows us to buy a bag of litter
– $25 helps us buy 12 cans of cat food
– $100+ allows us to fund general medical procedures for any felines that we foster on our own
Thank you so much for considering a donation! 🙂
Any contribution is greatly appreciated!
– $6.00 allows us to buy a bag of litter
– $25 helps us buy 12 cans of cat food
– $100+ allows us to fund general medical procedures for any felines that we foster on our own
Thank you so much for considering a donation! 🙂
Step 4: Plan to Include Your Fostering Routine Within Your Schedule
Aim for a minimum of two points of contact with your fosters each day. This means that at least twice a day, you’re observing, caring for, and interacting with them.
Here is an example of how to block out your time to include your fostering routine:
5:30am to 6:00am – Start getting ready for the day. Feed and care for resident pets.
6:00am to 6:15am – Feed wet and dry food. Refill water. Clean litter box. A few moments of scratches and cuddles. Provide medications if prescribed.
6:15am to 7:00am – Finish getting ready for the day.
7:00am – Foster Parent 1 leaves for work. Foster Parent 2 walks the dog.
8:00am to 8:05am – Refill dry food and water before Foster Parent 2 heads to work.
4:00pm to 4:15pm – Feed wet food. Refill water. Clean litter box. Provide medications if prescribed. Set up the play tunnel and extra scratchers for exercise.
4:15pm to 4:45pm – Feed and care for resident pets. Walk the dog. Play time and cuddles.
5:00pm to 6:00pm – Dinner, chores, and self-care.
6:00pm to 6:30pm – Play and cuddle time.
8:00pm – Feed and care for resident pets. Walk the dog. Get ready for bed.
8:30pm or right before bed – Refill water and dry food. Feed wet food.
*This example schedule is loosely based on my current fostering routine. One of us is a graduate student working towards a PhD, and the other is a special education provider who works half an hour away. If we can make it work, you can, too! That being said, our extreme example and stressful commitments are made much easier by working in a partnership.
Please don’t get discouraged if you still feel like you aren’t able to spend enough time with them, or if you feel that an hour or two a day is not enough. If you’re able to spend all day with them, that’s amazing! If you’re not, please know that any time your foster animals spend in your home is better than time spent in a stressful, crowded shelter.
Step 5: Partner with People You Trust
Use your resources, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. The worst that can happen is that someone will say “no.”
If you live on your own, reach out to friends and family members to see if they would ever be able to help you out by babysitting or checking in on your fosters every now and then. If you already have pets of your own, you could ask a trusted pet-sitter to care for your fosters if you need to be out of town for a weekend.
If you live with other people and they are comfortable with you fostering animals, ask if they would be willing to pitch in. In my case, if I know I have to work late or if I get stuck in traffic, I can always count on my husband to care for the foster kittens in my place. It really does take a village!
Keep in mind that if you’re fostering for an organization, you’ll need to adhere to any policies they have regarding other people’s interactions with the foster animals. In the event that the organization does not allow unregistered volunteers to care for your foster animals, you can always consider partnering with another foster home and set up a co-foster-parenting schedule!
Step 6: Schedule Appointments Accordingly
Your variety of fostering commitments will involve scheduling and keeping different appointments. You will be responsible for keeping up with routine vet appointments and scheduling them as concerns arise. You will also need to make time to pick up supplies for your fosters and to schedule meetings with adopters.
Make sure you are able to commit to each appointment you say yes to, particularly the vet appointments and the adopter appointments. That being said, don’t be afraid to schedule these commitments around your existing tasks. Your appointments matter, too!
Do Not Lose Sight of What is Important to You
Make sure that you are still making yourself a priority during your fostering journey. After you’ve gone through each step above, take some time to reflect. You should not have to give up essential parts of your schedule in order to start or to continue fostering.
You should also still be able to spend a sufficient amount of time with your resident pets. Please make sure that your fostering experiences are not getting in the way of the time you’ve committed to your lifelong animal companions. I’ll share more about this topic in a future post.
Please don’t make the same mistake I did with my first litter of foster kittens and sacrifice almost your entire schedule to accommodate for their needs. While it may feel necessary to do so in the beginning, I promise it isn’t.
I applaud you for working so hard to find a structured way to fit fostering into your daily schedule! By doing so, you are making an ever-so-small sacrifice to save the lives of animals in need.
Exploring animal welfare one foster kitten at a time
The Kitten Koop 
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