Learn About Fostering
Foster homes are the heart of SOS Prairie Rescue. Every time someone opens their home to a cat in need, it creates space for another life to be saved.
Fostering means providing a temporary home while SOS Prairie Rescue remains responsible for veterinary care, placement, and support.
Most people don’t start out by feeling ready. They start by caring.
Even one foster home can change everything. One safe space means one more life saved — and then another.
Short-term, long-term, kittens, medical — fostering can look different for every home and every schedule.
SOS provides vet care, supplies, and guidance every step of the way. You always have a team behind you.
Fostering brings purpose into your home — the kind you feel in the quiet moments, not just the big ones.
You don’t need experience to start. You gain it — with every cat, every question, every small win.
A few days to a couple of weeks
Several weeksÂ
Medical, recovery or forever foster cases
Before placement, we talk through timelines and what works for you. You are never asked to commit beyond what you’re comfortable with.
Safe indoor space – a spare room, or bathroom
Daily care and routine
Monitoring behaviour and health
Medication if needed
Communication with the Team
Transport support when possibleÂ
SOS Prairie Rescue provides veterinary care, essential supplies, approved expenses, and ongoing support.
You are never doing this alone.
Saying goodbye can be hard. That part is real.
But goodbye means a cat is moving on to safety, stability, and a permanent home — and your space opens for the next life.Â
You don’t need experience to start. We have an experienced team behind you. Â
Most of our fosters begin exactly where you are — wanting to help, but unsure what it will look like. We’ll guide you through everything from day one, and you’ll always have a team to lean on when questions come up.
Every cat teaches you something new. You don’t need to have all the answers — just the willingness to learn.Â
We’ll always work with you to find the right fit — but it’s not always exact.
Many of the cats we bring in come with unknown backgrounds. We’re often meeting them for the first time alongside you. Because of that, placements are based on your home, your comfort level, and your experience — and what we know in that moment.
We’ll never ask you to take on something you’re not ready for. This only works when it works for you, too.
One important note: we do not place single kittens. Kittens need each other to learn how to be cats — and the truth is, there’s almost never just one anyway.
Most of our fosters have resident pets.
We do require a short isolation period at the start — this protects your pets and gives your foster cat time to settle and decompress. After that, introductions happen gradually and with support.
We’ll guide you through safe, slow introductions so everyone has the best chance to succeed.Â
That’s okay — fostering is flexible.
If you have plans coming up, just let us know. We can arrange temporary fosters or support to make sure your cat is cared for while you’re away.
We work around real life — not the other way around. We all juggle these same comittments.Â
You’re not alone in this.
If something feels off — behaviour, appetite, health — you reach out and we step in with you. Medical care is coordinated through our team, and we’ll guide next steps every time.
In emergencies, we have clear protocols and contacts to make sure your foster gets help quickly.
You will.
And that’s not a problem — it’s the point.
Saying goodbye is hard because it mattered. But that goodbye means your foster cat is moving on to a permanent home… and your space opens for the next life that needs it.
We promise seeing your foster cat loved and treasured by their adoptive home will fill your heart more than you can imagine.Â
And if one truly feels like yours — we understand that too.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Apply to become a foster and help change what happens next.
