Spring brings warmer weather, green grass, flowers, and kittens. Kitten season is coming, which means your local shelters and rescues are going to be filled with kittens who are to young to adopt out and need a foster home for a short time. 

5 Reasons to Foster A Pet 

You may not realize it, but there are countless animals in your own community that may need a temporary home. Maybe it’s a nursing mother cat with a litter of kittens who needs a safe warm and loving place to flourish and thrive until the kittens are old enough to be adopted and then the mother cat will be spayed and placed in a loving home as well. It could be a heartworm positive dog who needs a quiet place to recuperate during his treatment.  Don’t forget small animals like rabbits, rats, and guinea pigs. They often need fostering until they are old enough to be adopted. 

If you’ve ever thought about fostering, here are 5 reasons you should foster a pet in need.

Who Doesn’t Love Baby Animals?

Seriously, who can resist cute kittens and puppies? Believe me, I struggle to resist all day long.

When You Foster A Pet in Your Home, You Are Making Room For Another Pet In Need.

By fostering an animal in your home, you are helping to open up a spot in that animal shelter or rescue organization for another animal in need. You aren’t just helping the animal(s) in your care, your help directly impacts another pet in a positive way. How cool is that?

Fostering Teaches Your Children Empathy and Responsibility.

There is lots of research available on how beneficial pet ownership is for everyone. Children raised with pets learn empathy and responsibility and how to be gentle and caring with animals that need our help.

You Just May Find Your New Best Friend.

Foster failure may become a familiar term to you. It doesn’t mean you have failed as a foster parent, it means that you are now the proud pet parent of your new best friend. Way to go!

It Feels So Darn Good!

It really does! Taking care of an animal in need, whether it’s for a couple short weeks or a month or more, and seeing them flourish under your loving care is an amazing experience. Knowing you are giving them a second chance at a wonderful future with their forever family feels damn good.

You can check with your local humane society or rescue groups to find out what you need to do to get started fostering pets in need in your community. It just may turn out to be one of the best things you’ve ever done.

Fostering a pet is great, but so is adopting a pet. Which brings me to Sombra, our Lollypop Farm Pet of the Week!

Sombra #34192155

Sombra is a 3-year-old female domestic shorthair who’s looking for a new home. This is her second stay at Lollypop Farm through no fault of her own. She was brought in as a stray and adopted but her new humans had allergy problems and had to bring her back. We’d love to find her a home where everything works out for her for a long time to come. Come meet her and all her feline friends at Lollypop Farm!