Our cats and kittens most urgently in need of foster are listed below. Every time an animal leaves into foster care, it opens a space in our shelters to save another in need. You are truly changing lives: not just for these cats, but also for others whose lives depend on a spot at PAWS.

If you are new to fostering with us, please apply here to get started. If you’ve fostered with PAWS before, you can email foster@phillypaw.org for the link to schedule a foster meet & pick-up appointment if you don’t have the link already. When you arrive to meet or pick up potential fosters, please bring a carrier with you (if you do not have a carrier, let us know). We will provide you with a sample of what the cat has been eating here in the shelter, along with the cat’s paperwork and any meds they may be on.

For a refresher on PAWS’s foster policies and procedures, view our online orientation here.

Read on to find your next foster cat!

(updated September 15th, 2025)

 

Urgent Medical & Behavior Cats

These cats need to finish their medical recovery to become healthy enough for adoption. They will heal faster and be much happier in a home than in the shelter. 

	Name: Bingo *URGENT, special placement needed* Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 5/04/2025 Bingo was the name-O! ….of a cat needing foster. This sweet guy is in need of a special foster home! Unfortunately, he has some odd snacking habits- fabric, shoelaces, human food, blankets, rugs, etc.. We suspect he may have Pica, but would love to see how he is doing in a foster home that can house him in a restricted space with limited fabric options for him to chew, with folks who are Type A about tidyness, and who are able to still give Bingo the mental and physical enrichment he needs. (MINIMALISTS! We need you!!) We are hoping by greatly removing his options to chew and instead subbing in playtime, enrichment, and attention, Bingo will feel less inclined to get “creative” about how to keep himself busy. His previous owner also said he is the biggest love bug! Bingo is a little under a year old, already neutered, and while he has previously lived with cats, we think -for now- it may be a better option to have him in a pet-free foster space, to rule out stress from other animals as a contributing factor for his past behavior. We’re trying Bingo on a hypoallergenic diet (no treats, PAWS will provide the diet) to see if potential GI issues could contributing to his suspected Pica issue. The diet will be until further notice, but if it’s not making a difference in his ‘taste testing’ we will try him on anti-anxiety medication, to see what helps!
	Name: Marion Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 9/07/25 Poor Marion has a broken leg! We suspect she was hit by a car, the poor nugget. Thankfully/luckily it’s a very clean break, with the bone ends pretty close together, so we’re hoping we can save her leg via splinting it and changing the bandage at least once weekly. (If there is any noted swelling of the toes sticking out of her cast, though, she’d need to come back in sooner for a bandage change.) Ideally a foster with their transportation and a relatively flexible schedule (or some helper drivers at home!) would be best, so she can come back to our clinic for drop off visits in the morning, with pick ups being around 4-4:30pm in the afternoons. Worst-case scenario if the leg doesn’t heal, Plan B is amputation, though we are very hopeful with strict “bed rest” (via a big dog crate or sturdy playpen, so she can’t run/jump/climb) and time her leg can heal. In the meantime we also have her on some easy pain medication, and since she’s a little ‘backed up’ from her leg ouchies right now, Marion’s also getting some Miralax as needed to help keep her GI gears greased, so to speak. This lovely gal is around 4ish years old and already spayed.

Cats/Kittens in Need of Foster Transfer or Sitter

These kitties are already in foster, but need a new foster home or a foster sitter to avoid having to come back to the shelter!

	Name: Messi, Javi, Bale, Christiano *URGENT, need sitter from 9/21-27, ringworm* Location: foster care – these pets are not at the shelter! Please email foster@phillypaws.org for more info about how to help them! These four kiddos are in urgent need of foster sitter coverage for the week of 9/21-27! They are being treated for ringworm (and making good progress!) and thus will need to stay in one easy to clean space in their sitter’s home. (If you want sheets to put down on your floors and a spray bottle + Rescue disinfectant for cleaning up afterward, just let us know!) The kittens are around 4 months old and all are super super sweet- they just need a space to crash in for a short stint!
	Name: Oscar *SUPER URGENT, Hospice FeLV+ kitty* Location: foster care – this pet is not at the shelter! Please email foster@phillypaws.org for more info about how to help them! Our sweet boy Oscar needs hospice foster care- he is FeLV+ and we suspect he has developed lymphoma. We took xrays recently and see an enlarged heart in addition to swollen lymph nodes, so he likely has a heart condition in addition to his lymphoma. Treatment options are very limited at this stage, since medication we’d typically use to calm the lymphoma symptoms (steroids) could exacerbate his heart condition, so we are going to focus on palliative care for Oscar, and just keep him comfy in foster care until he tells us when he’s ready to move on to his next adventure, so to speak. We are also limited on what diagnostics we can perform, since Oscar gets stressed during vet visits and isn’t a good candidate for things like repeated sedation, so we don’t know exactly what heart condition(s) he has, or what the prognosis/timeline would exactly be. It could be weeks, or maybe a couple months- we don’t know, but we’re determined to make them as comfy and happy for Oscar as possible. Oscar is a big, beautiful boy around 4ish years old, and he’s already neutered. His FeLV is likely compounding what his immune system is experiencing, and since he’s tested positive for Feline Leukemia/FeLV, he should be in a cat-free space at this time. Oscar right now is feeling pretty good, though! He is active, he loves food, he is very playful and affectionate, and while he tends to get a little overstimulated in a new space, once adjusted he is quite polite about making it clear when he doesn’t want to be picked up or petted in a particular spot. He seems to get a little stressed on days when he gets less attention, so if you’ve got multiple folks in the home to love on him, or work from home so he’ll feel less lonely, he would love to have the attention! Oscar loves toy time and he has been known to leap 2 feet straight in the air to go after a wand toy. His quality of life right now is pretty good, and the main symptom we’ve been seeing (thus far) that tipped us off to his diagnosis is occasional coughing. Want some more info? Hit us up via foster@phillypaws.org- we’re happy to chat more!

Kitten Litters (Including Nursing Moms)

These young kittens need a foster home until all are ready for adoption. Some have come in with a nursing momma!  Larger litters can be hard to place, and the most helpful option is to take an entire litter so that we open an entire kennel, only take up one foster home, allowing us to immediately save another litter. For kittens without a mom, we are open to separating litters of 4 or more, but we will not split up litters of 3 or less, and we will not pull out singles to send to foster care.

Please check back later!

Ringworm Cats and Kittens

These cats are recovering from a skin infection that’s easily treatable in an isolated home environment. Caring for these kitties is easy and just takes careful persistence and a separate space in your home. Read out our foster parent guide to ringworm to learn more!

	Name: Rough & Tumble *SUPER Urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 8/07/25 These two nuggets are being treated for suspected ringworm, and they could also really use some help with socialization! They’re around 3-4 months old and could qualify for pre-adoption promo as well. You can learn more about ringworm care here!
	Name: Professor *SUPER urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 8/24/2025 Ever dapper with her fancy tuxedo coat and her fancy professional Professor name, this little lady would greatly benefit from foster care! Professor is around 9ish months old, already spayed, and is being cultured and treated for suspected ringworm. She can still be adopted out normally despite any fungal friends on her fur, and adopters can get free follow up ringworm care through PAWS. You can learn more about ringworm care here!
	Name: Lil Loafer *SUPER Urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 9/03/25 Little lady Loafer just tested positive for ringworm and is one of our newest fungal friends! She’s around 6-8 weeks old and is eligible for pre-adoption promo since aside from her ringworm status, she is in good health- and super cute and curious! She’d love to grow up in foster care, as opposed to at the shelter! You can learn more about ringworm care here!
	Name: Queen Frostine, Mr. Mint, King Candy, Lord Licorice *SUPER Urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 9/09/25 We suspect these kiddos have ringworm, a fungal infection that, while contagious, merely leads to some hair loss and occasional mild itching. They’re around 7-8 weeks old and are eligible for pre-adoption promo since aside from their ringworm status, they appear to be in good health- and are super cute and curious! They’d love to grow up in foster care, as opposed to at the shelter! You can learn more about ringworm care here!
	Name: Silas Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 9/03/25 Silas has a big personality wrapped into a tiny body! He is recovering from a partial tail amputation and gets a little sassy during medication time, so would do best with a foster who is very comfortable giving meds and can give Silas some nice positive reinforcement after his are completed each day! He’s around 3 months old and already neutered, just needs a little more healing time until he’s ready for adoption! update 9/8: Silas’s ringworm PCR tested positive for ringworm. Since his hairloss is resolving we’re running an in-house culture to check if it’s a false positive, but have started ringworm treatment for Silas just in case.

Shy Cats and Safety Net Program Cats

These cats are very sensitive to the stress caused by the loud shelter environment and need a loving home setting to relax and let their personalities emerge. Learn more about our Safety Net Foster Program here.

	Name: Jake & Elwood *Safety Net* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 9/04/25 Safety Net Duo Jake and Elwood are just trying to keep the band together! (Note: Due to the nature of their surrender, and for safety reasons, their real names have been changed and we are avoiding using actual photos of them in our promo.) This duo of young adult brothers are super sweet, already fixed, and looking for foster care for a few months until their owner can reclaim them. The tentative reclaim date for these boys is December 4th, 2025, though ideally a potential foster would be able to hang onto them for a few extra weeks, if needed, since reclaim date extension requests from owners are pretty common in our Safety Net program.

Old City Adoption Center

These cats are waiting for foster care from our Old City location!

	Name: Missee Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 9/08/25 Missee arrived at the city shelter after her primary owner passed away, and their partner needed to move due to loss of housing, but couldn’t take Missee along with. She’d been in the home for 11 years so is understandably pretty confused about now being at our shelter. Missee herself is about 13 years old and already spayed, but she’s really chunky– so chunky, in fact, she can’t really clear her rear that effectively, and would benefit from some help wiping her clean while she goes on her weight loss journey or diet and exercise! Her previous caretaker describes her as a friendly, low-energy couch potato who loves cat nip and a nap on the couch with her people. She’s diligent about using her scratching posts, but may prefer short pets around her face/seems sensitive about having her right ear handled. She’s previously lived with cats before but was bullied in the past, so may prefer a cat-free (or VERY chill cat) space. She also knows her name!
	Name: Bernard Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 9/07/25 This nervous fellow is Bernard! He’s already neutered and we think he’s around 9-12 months old. He was found stray and so far seems a bit shooketh by all the sounds, smells, and sights at the shelter, so he may show better to potential adopters in foster care, as opposed to at the shelter.
	Name: Loretta Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 9/04/25 Loretta is a total mush in the making, but she isn’t gonna show us that while she is here at the center. She was surrendered by her previous owners, so she would prefer that home life over this. We were provided with some good info from her surrender, but would love to get her into a home to manage her stress and see how those details relate to her in that setting. Loretta is around 10 years old and gets a daily antibiotic for her pillowfoot, which she takes like a champ!

Social Cats (including FAST Candidates)

These sociable cats need a foster home! NOTE: If you are taking a foster cat that’s a FAST program candidate, it can be dropped off at our PetSmart or Old City locations for adoption within 2-3 weeks when they’re healthy, since we need to keep those locations filled with adoptable kitties!

Please check back later!