How to Prepare Your Home for a New Foster Pet

Many animals are abandoned and left to die or dropped off at animal shelters when owners can no longer care for them. If you have the space and the means to foster a pet until a permanent home can be found for the animal, you will need to prepare your home for the new foster pet.

Buy Pet Supplies

Do not wait until after kitty comes home before buying a food and water bowl. Stock up on necessary supplies, including pet food, toys, leashes and brushes, in preparation for the foster pet's arrival. That way, when the new pet arrives, everything will be ready for him and he can settle in more quickly. Pets will not settle as easily if they do not have supplies waiting for them. Animals draw much of their security form knowing where their next meal is coming from.

Prepare Your Family

Foster care for pets is a team effort. If you have a family, they will also need to be on board and prepared for what is coming up. Fostering pets will not work out if there are some family members who are not keen on the idea of taking in animals.

Young children need to know exactly what is expected of them. They should be supervised around young puppies and kittens. Instructions should include what they can and cannot do. Older children can be given chores that will help the animals thrive, such as being responsible for feeding the animals or taking them for walks.

Pet-proof Your Home

Pets are a wonderful addition to a home, even when they are only going to be staying temporarily. However, animals can wreak havoc if allowed to have full run of the house. Pet-proof your home so that the new foster dog has a gate that keeps him out of the kitchen while you are gone, or separates his living quarters from the rest of the family's during the night so that you will not need to worry about him roaming around looking for scraps to eat.

Welcoming a new foster pet into your home can help give an animal a second chance at life while waiting for a permanent home. Even though fostering is not the same as adoption and does not involve the same level of commitment, you still have an opportunity to give of yourself to a pet that really needs your help. Prepare for the foster pet's arrival by buying necessary pet supplies, getting your family ready for the changes that will shortly take place and by pet-proofing your home.

More from this contributor:

How to Stay Detached from Foster Cats.

Should You Foster a Friend's Cats?

Should You Pay Friends for Foster Care of Your Pets?