Are there any men who foster rescue cats?

Desparate for Cat fosterers
I applied but did not receive a response.
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

Are there any men who foster rescue cats? This is a just a straight question and the reason why I ask is because I have made two applications to be a cat fosterer to rescue organisations who say they need fosterers (one of them say they are desperate for fosterers – see the image above) and after waiting several days for a response to my several emails I am still waiting. I left a voicemail as well; no response.

I find this very strange as they advertise for fosterers. I would have at least expected a fairly prompt response saying they no longer require fosterers.

I live in a place recognised as good for cats meaning it is as safe as it can get in Greater London.

I have this dread feeling that there might be a certain amount of sexism in the cat fostering world. I could be badly mistaken and I hope I am wrong but I have drawn a complete blank when I feel I should have at least received a response.

The two places I applied to are: the famous Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Animal Rescue & Care (Richmond – near to where I live). Battersea is not far either.

The question I have is: is there sexism in cat fostering?

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66 thoughts on “Are there any men who foster rescue cats?”

  1. In terms of fosterers I only know women, couples of families who foster. Perhaps even though some men on their own love cats I just think that it isn;t the obvious choice for them to occupy their spare time.

    Reply
  2. Michael I don’t want to be a pushy parent but you would love Mr Jinks he would really bond with you and love you my husband adores him he just lounges around on your lap all day! (Mr Jinks not my husband).

    Mr J is a man’s cat there’s nothing he loves more than hanging around with my hubby. No pressure of course but he said he would love to meet you 🙂 he so desperately needs a forever home

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  3. Howdy, Kylie –

    What!?

    Could have sworn you lived in the Land of the Kiwi!
    The expression referred to a guy’s ‘manly bits’ (as they call them in England). Sidney ‘s intact, and the neutering fee over here, according to Ruthie, is substantially higher than it is in the UK.

    You ask why I want to give him away.

    Have been caring for cats for over three decades, and have ‘shot my bolt,’ as the saying goes. Heresy on a website for cats, but there you have it. Everything’s finite. Everything ends. My cats have always cost a bundle. Sid’s meals run about $70.00 a month — and his flea repellent, ear drops, worming pills, etc. totaled close to $90.00 last month. So the costs add up.

    Moreover, since moving here nine years ago, I’ve lost eleven cats. Eight were starved & neglected strays, some very ill. I took in the worst for only a day or a week, after which I had them put down to end their misery. The others lasted for some years, but I also helped them toward the end (they were euthanized) because, living outdoors, they picked up diseases from other cats in the neighborhood. One of the cats died in a ditch, for all I know. I fed him well for almost eight years, and tried to tame him, but he always tottered back to his ‘home’ down the road. Last spring a day came when he never returned. Another cat I especially loved – also a stray – had tooth decay several years ago. His extractions cost nearly $900.00, and he died of kidney failure two days later. One of my dearest housecats also died of FeLV, and another housecat of cancer. Last spring, my boy died of old age when he was nearly 22. When I say they ‘died,’ I don’t mean that I let these cats stagger around the house and yard until they dropped. I put them all to sleep.

    Don’t know what you think, but I’d never advise someone who lives alone to adopt a cat. My human family is dead and gone, and the people in these frontier towns, as nice as they are, prefer hunting dogs to cats. I.e., they can’t figure out why anyone would mourn a cat. Have mentioned this once before on POC, but when these farmers’ ‘barn cats’ age or sicken, they take them out in the woods and shoot them. Are they monsters? Surprisingly, they’re just hard-working people with limited funds who can’t afford thousands of dollars in vet fees, cremations and urns. They have families to support, which is why they end their cats’ suffering quickly and cost-free. Could you and I do this? Of course not. We’d keel over. But these farmers take what they see as the only way of living on a tight budget. Besides, they’re not really bonded to their cats. They’re used to slaughtering chickens and pigs and other livestock – and cats don’t mean that much more to them.

    But as to living alone, something tells me a cat’s death is harder to take than if you have kids and grandkids galore, hordes of relatives, neighbors, et al., slamming in and out of your house all day long and into the night – cooking, laughing and chatting, watching TV. Because when you live by yourself, you come home at the end of the day, turn the key in the lock, open the door and walk into a house that’s silent as a sepulcher. Friends can come and visit you, and you can visit them. And even when you’re home alone, I’m sure you agree there are so many fun things to do – also things that need doing! – there’s no time to feel bored. Yet emptiness hangs in the air. You see your beloved boy or girl’s scratch-post – dusty and forgotten. And you break down.

    Were they ‘substitute children?’ I never saw my own as ‘substitutes’ for anything. Unless he is heartless, no human parent is going to tell his adopted son or daughter ‘Don’t you forget that you and I aren’t related!’ My cats were my kids. Bet you felt the same about yours. So yes. It’s painful. As if you didn’t’ know that already.

    Is there less anguish if you’re surrounded by family members – human or cat-kin – or if you care for feral colonies? Don’t know. All I know is that I don’t want any more cats. The expense is atrocious. So is the sorrow when they die.

    As a footnote to this, when you have cats it’s next to impossible to go anywhere. You can go away for a few hours, but then you have to come home again. Unless you have someone you trust to care for your cats in your absence, you’re nailed down. I’d like to drive to California (my home state) this spring to smell the acacias in bloom, but won’t get to do this unless I can find Sid a good home. His welfare is important to me, but so far I’ve had no luck in meeting a Grade A adoptive parent. Bottom line: I can’t just leave him with anyone. That’s not going to happen.

    You’re heading into spring, right? Have heard New Zealand is the most beautiful country in the world.
    Stay happy and well, and enjoy your kids! x

    Reply
    • Yes I do live in the Kiwi Land(new Zealand) just never herald that expression before. Yes New Zealand is beautiful I guess. So many people tell me its like amazing which I guess it is. Well I wont mind being alone as I was used to it before I got with my Ex. I’m an Introvert and do love peace and Quiet, but do like a little time with some people. so I can Cope being by myself. As long as I have Cats for Company. I have been re-adjusting to life. I’m just hoping that a good house will come available where I Can take three Cats and live in Harmony. It’s a hard thing for me breaking up the Cat family. I have just herald when I do move that my ex will stay in this house so at least the Cats will be at home here which puts my mind at rest. As I do love the peacefulness here. I understand what you mean as I guess things are getting expensive as your older. I just couldn’t survive if I didn’t have some form of animal in my life. I know my father is 75 and he would be a mess without his wee little dog. Yes its pretty much Spring/summer its trying to make up its mind what it wants to do.

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  4. I’m not sure about fostering really.
    For me, with every cat or kitten that goes to a new home, I lose a piece of my heart. It’s worrisome.
    Your heart was just ripped out, Michael. To have it ripped out again would be more than I could even take.
    When you are ready, you need a cat that is your true companion for life.

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  5. Do these idiots not know who you are? Have you mentioned you’re a walking cat encyclopedia? They should know who they’re passing up! Let me at em!

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