Kitten Foster Program Tools & Resources

From program setup to recruiting and training volunteers to medical and veterinary protocols and more, these resources will help you create and enhance your kitten foster program.

And be sure to join our Feline Resources for Shelters and Rescues Facebook group to share ideas with colleagues in the field to help you save even more lives.

Webinar

Foster Management

In this webinar, we will provide various tools, resources, and best practices for how to effectively manage your foster program.

Watch the Webinar

How-Tos

How to Cut Foster Home Wait Times With On-Deck System

Find out how an on-deck foster system can streamline your process and move animals more quickly into foster homes.

Job Aid Downloads

Intake Protocol for Kitten Foster Programs

Download and customize this kitten intake protocol to help make your organization’s intake screening procedures thorough and consistent.

Job Aid Downloads

URI Protocol for Kitten Foster Programs

Download and customize this kitten URI protocol to help move your foster kittens through your organization as efficiently as possible.

Job Aid Downloads

Diarrhea Protocol for Kitten Foster Programs

Download and customize this kitten diarrhea protocol to help your program identify and respond promptly to foster kittens with diarrhea.

Job Aid Downloads

Home-Based Ringworm Treatment Protocol for Kitten Foster Programs

Download and customize this ringworm treatment protocol to help your foster families effectively treat and socialize ringworm-positive kittens in their home.

shelter staff holding kitten over her shoulder looking away from camera

ASPCA Kitten Foster Training Course

This short course will provide you with the necessary information to begin your feline fostering journey. This course can be used by other shelters to train fosters on caring for kittens and preparing them for adoption.

How-Tos

How to Use Online Orientation for More Foster Parents, Less Staff Burden

Read how online orientation can increase your pool of foster families and decrease the burden on your staff and resources.

Webinar

Attract More Fosters Via Online Orientation, On-Deck System

Learn innovative and proven ways to attract and grow fosters through online orientation and an on-deck system.

Watch the Webinar

Tips

5 Ways to Find More Foster Parents

Looking for more foster families? These five areas of focus can help you find people who may not have considered fostering before but welcome the opportunity.

Tips

5 Tips for Effective Foster Communication

Utilize these five tips when communicating with your foster families to help have positive, effective conversations.

little boy holding small white dog outdoors

Tips

10 Ways to Thank Animal Foster Families

Try these free and low-cost tips to show gratitude for your animal shelter or rescue’s foster families.

Tips

6 Tips for Retaining Foster Families

Want to keep your foster families happy and thriving? These six tips can help you meet their needs and ensure your foster program's success.

Download the Kitten Season Survival Guide

Whether you’re riding a kitten season wave or bracing for impact, you’ll find tools & tips to keep you calm and move those kittens along.

Job Aid Downloads

Download the Kitten Bottle Feeding Guide and Kitten Weight & Age Chart

Check out these quick tools to help staff and volunteers with feeding bottle-fed kittens.

Job Aid Downloads

Kitten Care Cheat Sheets for Foster Families and Adopters

These 8 downloads will help foster families and adopters with feeding, housing, and bathing kittens.

Job Aid Downloads

Print and Post: Kitten Sexing Job Aid

This super useful poster allows you to determine kitten gender (a sometimes tricky business) at a glance.

small black and white cat has exam two pairs of hands are petting the animal

How-Tos

How to Determine a Kitten’s Age

This four-step process will help you find a kitten's age. (Plus, print out our poster and keep it handy for accurate aging!)

Job Aid Downloads

Customizable Guides for Cat & Dog Foster Homes

These guides for cat and dog foster homes are in Word, so you can customize them for your specific needs.

Job Aid Downloads

Foster Animal Biography Sheet

Share these handy worksheets with foster families to gather information about your animals in foster care. You can choose between a dog/cat or equine version.

Tips

4 Tips to Raise Confident, Well-Adjusted Kittens

Download tips to help foster and adoptive families with kitten-care advice for trimming nails, riding in carriers, and socialization.

Webinar

Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Socializing Neonate & Singleton Kittens

Join the ASPCA Learning Lab and colleagues from the field as they discuss tips and tricks of the trade on how your team can best support our youngest feline friends.

Watch the Webinar