Our cats and kittens most urgently in need of foster are listed below. If you are new to fostering with us, please apply here to get started. If you’ve fostered with us before, you can call each location directly at the phone numbers listed below. 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

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. Read on to find your next foster kitty!

(updated December 5th, 2024)

 

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: Westbrook *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/7/2024 Westbrook is a very very special boy. As a result, he will need a really cat savvy foster who can work with PAWS on his behavior, since his history indicates he may be a complex case, socially. He was adopted very young and spent his entire adult life in a home, but unfortunately he never fully warmed up to human companionship and how to reciprocate it with affection over indifference. He can coexist peacefully in a home; he’s just more of a hands-off guy in terms of interactions. Doesn’t want to be pet or picked up per se. He isn’t needy at all- doesn’t really want to bother you in requesting attention, for example- but loves to lounge in the sun and do his own thing. He also has lived peacefully with another very chill cat before, and could potentially do so again, but may be more of a ‘roomie’ than a ‘bestie’ cat. We do not know how he feels about dogs, though. Westbrook will need a childfree home while we try to get him through some socialization bootcamp, and see what kind of forever home would work best for him! If you’ve got some cat savviness and can give this guy the space to decompress without the pressures of a lot of attention from humans, let us know! We may also explore a potential Working Cat type of adoption for him, depending on how he does.
	Name: Statler & Waldorf *URGENT* (this duo can go home separately) Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/6/2024 Statler and Waldorf have just as many opinions as their senior Muppet counterparts, except they’re much younger (and still have their looks!). They were abandoned outside our clinic and have been understandably confused and stressed at the shelter thus far. That said, they’re secretly sweeties! Waldorf is the chattier of the two- you can hear his stress in his meows, but he’ll also lean in for pets and rub his face everywhere to scent things and accepts pets after he’s had time to warm up. Statler is more reserved but also accepts gentle pets. Both cats are suspected to be around 1-4 years old and are already neutered! They both came in with fleas (which are no longer an issue) and their fur and skin were grubby as a result, but over the past few weeks they’ve had a nice gradual glow up! These poor, lovely souls would love some help from a foster home to give them a fresh start. update 12/1: Statler has been a little sniffly, so we’ve started him on an antiviral medication! If you’ve got a Facebook account, you can see more of their wholesomeness here!
	Name: Baby Boy *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/03/2024 Baby Boy is a sad little bear. Yes, he’s a cat, but also a sad little bear. His owner found him in their driveway 8 years ago and he enjoyed living in a home with them, but they can no longer care for him due to experiencing personal health issues. Baby Boy thus finds himself at our clinic, and he’s been pretty shut down as a result. He also started overgrooming, so we’d like to get him back out into foster care asap!
	Name: Zoe *URGENT, incoming kitty!* Location: pending arrival to our Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: TBD! We are still scheduling with Zoe’s owners but would like to line up foster interest ahead of Zoe’s arrival. Sweet, snuggly Zoe had been living with her adopters since 2022; however, since they had a baby earlier this year, Zoe has not been happy since her owners brought their new baby home. She began spraying throughout the house (this never occurred pre-baby) and keeping to herself, which is not her normal personality. We believe she’d prefer a child-free home to be at her happiest again. Zoe also has allergies that her owners have been trying to manage, so she will likely be on long term allergy medication when she heads into foster care. After trying for several months, her owners have made the difficult decision to return her to PAWS, and we’d like to line up a foster home ahead of Zoe’s arrival, to keep her out of the shelter if at all possible! Zoe is already spayed and a little under 3 years old. Zoe’s owners say she’s generally calm with the occasional spurt of energy; she’s historically been great with her litterbox (was just spraying outside of it in their home); she loves to curl up on laps and ask for pets; and her favorite toys are tiny stuffed animals!
	Name: Pumpkin Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/1/2024 Handsome senior ginger Pumpkin (who knows his name!) is around 12ish years old and is fighting off a kitty cold. He may also need a dental procedure in nearish future, but could also start adoption promo while he waits for it, since he’s already neutered!
	Name: Mina Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/1/2024 Poor Mina was just surrendered to PAWS, and she’s so stressed out she won’t use her litterbox- she’s holding everything in! She’s been too afraid to even leave her hidey hut to go to her bathroom, the poor gal. Mina is around 3ish years old, already spayed, and was adopted out as a kitten several years back. She was returned to us for peeing outside the litterbox, and we’re running a urinalysis to check for possible medical causes. It’s also very possible she may have been stressed by an unknown trigger in her previous home, so we’d like to try her in a blank slate foster home (no kids or pets, calm and quiet) to see if we can “reset” her habits in an entirely new space.
	Name: Meredyth Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/29/2024 Meredyth’s an interesting case! She’s a teen kitten around 7-8 months old, quite petite still, and recently spayed. The only thing troubling her right now is she isn’t feeling so hot- she’s had several sporadic episodes of vomiting +/- loose stool, so we’re troubleshooting her symptoms. It could just be a bout of gastritis that needs to pass, but if the vomiting continues we’ll going to repeat x-rays to make sure nothing else is going on internally.
	Name: Marley Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/30/2024 On paper, Marley looks ready for adoption, but emotionally… he could use a little help. Left at our adoption center just after Thanksgiving, he was sent back to our clinic for vetting but is still pretty stressed. We’d like to give him some time to decompress in a calm, quiet foster home before starting up his adoption promo! Marley is around 6 months old and already neutered.
	Name: Kiki Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/21/2024 Delivery! Kiki is a secretly sweet cat who was surrendered due to issues with motion sickness and her previous owner needing to travel cross country on a regular basis. Kiki is not super jazzed about being at the shelter, as she is not a huge fan of other cats (especially kittens) and tends to hiss at them. Kiki would love to be in a foster home where she can be someone’s one and only, and they can monitor her stress as well as her litterbox habits, since she tends to ‘hold’ her urine and stool for a day or two sometimes.

Cats/Kittens in Need of Foster Transfer or Sitter

These kitties are already in foster but could really use a new foster home, to avoid having to come back to the shelter!

	Name: Cardi *Needs foster sitter from 12/24 – 12/25!* Location: foster care (this pet is not at the shelter) This little lady juuust needs coverage for a couple days while her foster and their roomie are both away for the upcoming holiday! Cardi is a lovely older gal on a special diet which her foster (and/or PAWS, if needed!) can supply while you watch her, and she is also taking a couple easy medication (Gabapentin and Prednisolone) to keep her happy and healthy. She has suspected IBD which is kept in check via her meds and diet, and her foster can provide any needed supplies and instruction for her routine and care! Cardi’s foster is okay with her getting a couple daily check ins, so we can avoid shuffling her around, but if you’d prefer to watch her in your home just let us know! Cardi’s foster home is located near the Temple University area of North Philly!
	Name: Happy *URGENT, FeLV+ Needs foster sitter from 12/17 – 1/11/25!* Location: foster care (this pet is not at the shelter) From Happy’s foster: “Hi all! I will be leaving town to visit family between 12/17 – 1/11/25 and will be in need of a foster sitter for my sweet foster cat Happy. Happy is a super affectionate, independent kitty! She loves to cuddle up with you at night and is the ultimate snuggle buddy. If you’re available to foster her during these days please let me know! Another thing to note is that Happy is FeLV+ so she would have to be a solo kitty but other than that she’s low-maintenance and the best companion.”
	Name: Izzy & Stormy *Safety Net kitties! Need foster sitter from 12/16 – 1/2/25!* Location: foster care (these pets are not at the shelter) These lovely little lads are part of our Safety Net program, and their fosters will be away from 12/16 – 1/2/25. They could really use sitter coverage while they’re away so we can avoid having these two come back to the shelter! Izzy is around 3 years old and Stormy is about 2 years old. They’re already neutered, in good health, two total hams with their levels of goofiness, and would love to hang out with you for a couple weeks if you’re available!
	Name: Tommy Boy *URGENT! Needs foster transfer ASAP!* Location: foster care (this pet is not at the shelter) Meet handsome Tommy Boy! He’s around 4-5 years old, already neutered, and his foster is getting a new roomie that’s allergic to cats soon, so we need to find new long term foster placement for this guy asap! We’re still determining his exact ‘out by’ date, but we’d love to keep Tommy out of the shelter if at all possible, since he historically can get pretty stressed out here. He’s on a special urinary support diet for past cystitis episodes, and eats it well- and PAWS can provide the diet to you until adoption! Tommy can also be sent with some Gabapentin for while he adjusts to your new foster space, and it can go in his food.

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! Kitten Litters (Including Nursing Moms)

	Name: Yolanda + 4 (Yosha, Yoku, Yogita, Yoana) *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/04/2024 Wholesome content alert! Check out these bundles of joy and their momma, Yolanda! Yolanda is around 2ish years old, but her babies are just a couple DAYS old! We’d love to get them out of the shelter asap, since these babies barely have an immune system- they’re so small! Momma has been sneezing, so we’re started Yolanda on a once-daily oral liquid antibiotic before she pops with a fully kitty cold, but the sooner we get the babies out, the better chance they have at staying healthy. Check out Yolanda’s busy little babies!
	Name: Quinoa and Couscous *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/04/2024 These two grubby kids are Quinoa and Couscous (which sounds delicious right about now)! They’re being treated for kitty colds and they could use a little help in gaining some weight- they’re a little skinny! Once they’re feeling better we can get their spay/neuter surgeries scheduled. Quinoa is a little boy and Couscous is a wee lass. They’re around 3-4 months old.
	Name: Oats, Lentil, Farro, Corn, Barley *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/04/2024 Meet the Jackson 5! We kid, we kid. Meet Oats, Lentil, Farro, Corn, and Barley! They are being treated for kitty colds, but could also use a smidge more weight on their bones, and a little bit of a spa day, since they’re looking and feeling kinda scrungly. Once they’re feeling better we can get their spay/neuter surgeries booked, and they can start adoption promo. They’re all around 6-8 weeks old. These five beautiful little ‘hot messes’ can be split into a group of 3 and 2, if that’s easier for ya!
	Name: Cardigan Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/04/2024 Tiny calico queen Cardigan just got spayed, and on surgery day we also noticed a tiny oral ulcer (like a blister on your tongue!). She’ll be getting a week’s worth of eye drops and a once daily oral liquid antibiotic to fight off her viral symptoms- basically like a kitty cold. Once she’s feeling better and has her post-meds recheck, she can start adoption promo, from either a foster home or an adoption center. Cardigan is around 2 months old.

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!

Please check back later!

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: Phoebe & Poppi *Safety Net foster candidates* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 12/04/2024 Cutie patootie little cow cats Phoebe and Poppi are part of our Safety Net program! They have an owner who loves them and wants them to come back home, but who is also experiencing a personal hardship right now. These two have a tentative reclaim date of 2/4/2025, but ideally a potential foster would be able to hang onto them for a few extra weeks beyond that date, if needed, since reclaim extension requests are pretty common in our program. Phoebe is around a year old and already spayed, and Poppi is also 1-2 years old and already neutered. Look at these two goobers!! Seriously, we CANNOT with these two. We have lost the ability to Can.

Old City Adoption Center

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

	Name: Sheia and Cocoa *Bonded Pair*  Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 11/7/2024 Sheia and Cocoa are a bonded pair of youthful old folks who desire cuddles and lots of attention! They were surrendered due to severe allergies in the home, so they are making the best of their situation here. They would want/need to be the only pets in an adult-only home, but grew up around young kids so they could be fine with cat-savvy youngsters on a case by case basis. Sheia (the ginger boy) has a history of urinary issues/blockages, which needs to be monitored. He isn’t on a special diet for that right now, outside of staying on only wet food to promote hydration. His previous owners also noted some issues using the box with appear to be related to him directly; he doesn’t squat and will just stand up and pee out of the box, so they provided him with a top entry box and that seemed to work.
	Name: Lilly *URGENT* Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 11/10/2024 Lilly is a beautiful house panther ready to find a cozy spot to retire! At 15 years old, she knows that she deserves the royal queen treatment and will accept no less. She was transferred to us from the city shelter and was surrendered there because the new baby in the home is allergic to cats. They noted that she is quiet, calm, a lap cat, loves to be pet, can be shy and independent, and doesn’t like a lot of noise. They also noted that she has been fine with little dogs, but we’d recommend slow intros. At the shelter, she’s very gentle and sweet, often purring and enjoying pets. She doesn’t love quick movements or commotion in her kennel which is understandable. Lilly is looking forward to a calm foster household that will give her the time she needs to decompress while awaiting her forever home.

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 will be slated to be dropped off at our PetSmart or Old City locations for adoption within 2-3 weeks, since we need to keep those locations filled with adoptable kitties!

Please check back later!