2010 Feline Companion Program – Foster Pets for Seniors
Every year during “kitten season”, adult cats in animal shelters are overlooked by potential adopters. Once the kittens have all been adopted we know adult cat adoptions will increase, but spending months on end in a shelter is not good for any animal! To get these lovely kitties into a home environment while they await their chance at adoption, PEHS created the Feline Companion Program. From May to October each year, adoptable adult cats can live in a foster home with a senior citizen who may otherwise not be able to have a cat.
PEHS’s Feline Companion Program is designed to give seniors who cannot undertake full time pet ownership the opportunity to temporarily enjoy the company of an adult cat.
The program also gives the adult cat a break from living in our shelter during a time when permanent adoption is unlikely.
Foster placement will average 3 to 6 months duration for each animal.
All participating cats are adults. They are adoptable, spayed or neutered, current on vaccinations, and healthy.
PEHS reserves the right to remove the cat if the placement doesn’t work.
Who is eligible to participate?
- people at least 55 years of age
- people approved for foster placement according to the guidelines of PEHS
What is required?
- assurance that the cat will never be allowed outside
- assurance that Prairie’s Edge Humane Society will be contacted if you are unable to care for this pet even for a brief period of time
- assurance that the pet will be returned to PEHS if you can no longer provide its care, and at the end of its foster period
- assurance that the pet will not be given away or released to anyone other than PEHS
- assurance that the cat will be provided with good care and lots of TLC, and that Prairie’s Edge Humane Society will be notified of any change in the cat’s condition
- The program begins in May and runs til October: Cats who are fostered in this program must be returned to the shelter by October 31 to be made available for adoption
What is provided?
- food & litter (The foster will need to provide bowls and a litter box)
- basic health care
Please call the shelter at 507-334-7117 for more information about the Feline Companion Program.
May 27, 2010 - 6:22 am
My mother who will be 80 years old in June was lucky enough to be a part of this program. Trevor, a beautiful orange tabby came to live with my mother thru the Feline Companion Program. Trevor’s owner had passed away and he had lived in a couple of different homes prior to coming to the shelter. He was 9 years old at the time and unfortunately older cats do not always get adopted in a timely manner. My father had passed away four years earlier so my mother was living alone after 56 years of marriage. These two were in need of each other. After fostering Trevor for a couple of months they were inseperable and Trevor was then adopted as a “gift” to my mother by her children and so that she does not have to worry about the cost of food/litter/vet care, etc., she now receives these items from her children for her birthdays, Mother’s Day, Christmas, etc. instead of “stuff” she does not need. Trevor now has a forever home and my mother has a constant companion. This is a wonderful way for seniors to have the companionship of a pet without the cost. My mother was not sure about adopting a cat prior to fostering Trevor for a few months, so this was a way for her to have the experience with the cat prior to deciding to adopt him and to see if Trevor was the cat for her. If you have an elderly parent or friend please consider this program. The rewards are many, not only for the cats involved, but for the humans as well!