How to Welcome a Foster Pet Into Your Home
Foster parent’s guide
When you are fostering for the first time, it will be helpful to prepare in advance to make your home a safe and comfortable environment for your foster pet.
Prepare your home
Try to see your home from the perspective of your foster dog, cat, guinea pig, rabbit (or other species). There are many hazards in a home that can be a risk for your foster pet, especially if they are not used to living in a home. We've compiled a checklist to help you prepare and remove potential harmful objects from your living space.
home preparation Checklist
Kitchen & Bathroom:
- keep trash cans covered or store them in a cabinet
- keep all food out of reach (boxes, cabinets, on cupboards, in a pantry, etc)
- keep toilet lids closed
- close all spaces in which a small mammal could find a hideout, such as behind furniture or the washer and dryer
- keep all medication, chemicals and cleaning products safely away from your foster pet (it may be best to keep them in a locked cabinet)
Living room:
- place all poisonous plants out of reach of your foster pet
- don't leave items on the floor that you don't want the animal to get a hold of, particularly anything that could be dangerous (such as electrical cables)
- put away everything which is of value to you/your family members but which could get destroyed by your foster pet
Garden/Yard:
- make sure that your foster dog cannot escape from your garden/yard and that the fencing is sufficiently high if they are inclined to jump up.
- be sure to keep your pets away from any poisonous plants you might be growing
Garage/Shed:
- make sure that all dangerous products are kept locked away or at least out of reach ofdogs and cats (such as anti-freeze, insecticides, rat poisons, turpentine, methylated spirit, …)