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 July 10th, 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: Marigold + 3 (Mazie, Marty, Mega) *URGENT, bottle feeding support needed!* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/02/25 Hey folks, we have a nursing(?) mom with three ~1ish-week-olds who had to return to our clinic on 7/10 because mom’s milk production is questionable and the litter is being treated for soft stool- meet Marigold + her 3 kittens! Their previous foster loved them, especially momma with how sweet and gentle and doting she is toward her babies, but their work schedule is not conducive to feeding five babies around the clock. Since we’re not yet sure if mom’s currently-too-low milk levels are due to the timing of their exam today, vs a supply-and-demand issue with the number of babies needing her milk, vs a bigger issue with her not being able to produce enough milk in general, we have a few options for folks who are able to help some, if not all, of this litter out! You can: – take all 3 kittens with mom until her milk production hopefully improves, then you’ll be feeding them less – take all 3 kittens without mom and keep until weaned or adopted Please note these kittens have been getting syringe fed KMR and are in varying stages of getting used to it. They are also being treated with probiotics for diarrhea, so they’ll need to be kept ultra clean while their meds kick in! Their recent fecal checks were negative for parasites, and they tested negative for panleukopenia.
	Name: Tom Cat Jones *URGENT, FeLV+* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 6/29/25 This handsome little ginger is Tom Cat Jones! He’s around 2ish years old, already neutered, and has tested FeLV+. This means he’s effectively immunocompromised, so would do best awaiting his future forever home in foster care, as opposed to at the shelter! He has some gingivitis but still seems to be eating okay, so we’re just keeping an eye on his mouth comfort over time. He is not ill at present but is really very shy, and would love to move into foster care asap. update 7/6: Tom has been having a sensitive stomach and litterbox avoidance the last few days, so we’re going to collect a urine sample to rule out a medical cause (vs being too absolutely terrified to move from his spot to even go use his toilet). For his tummy, we’ve started him on a short course of probiotics!
	Name: Monica*URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/09/25 This dignified older gal is Monica! She’s around 10-12 years old, recently spayed, and also received urgent surgery to remove a pyometra (you can google, but you’ve been warned that it’s not a pretty google) before arriving at PAWS. She’s had some persistent sniffles post-op, though, that we’re working through, and she also has a mild heart murmur that requires no treatment at present- just awareness and good AC/low stress in foster care! For her current sniffles, we’re doing a once-daily oral liquid antibiotic as well as eye ointment twice daily, and we’re keeping a close eye on her appetite as well, since she’s a wee bit petite and we don’t want her to lose weight. She’s also been tested FIV-/FeLV-!
	Name: Liz Lemon Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 6/25/25 Skinny former momma Liz Lemon is around 1.5-2 years old and she’s super nice despite her thin face giving off some light ‘stern governess’ vibes. Her only dealbreaker is she is not a fan of other kitties! She’s being treated for a kitty cold and we’re helping her to pack on a few more ounces of healthy weight so she can get ready for spay and adoption time.
	Name: Brucetta Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/03/25 Brucetta is such a sweetheart! She’s around 4ish years young, still needs to be spayed, and is very much blind. Her eyes do not seem comfortable or stable, so once she’s cleared for surgery we plan to spay her and remove both problem eyes, so she can get some relief. She’s also rather thin and could use some help gaining a few more ounces so she’s be a healthier weight for surgery!
	Name: Kodama *FeLV+* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/03/25 Meet Kodama, she’s great! She’s a flirty little birdy of a tortie around 2ish years old. She’s already spayed, and has a mysterious head tilt – we’re not sure if it’s from past trauma, a bad ear infection, or if she was born that way, etc. We plan to sedate her for a closer look at her ear, since she’s too uncomfortable to give us a good look while awake. Kodama is also FeLV+, so she’s effectively immunocompromised, and would best awaiting her forever home in foster care as a solo kitty.
	Name: Garfield Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/07/25 This handsome little ray of sunshine is Garfield! He’s around 1-2 years old, already neutered, and was found as an injured stray- he has a little injury on his tail that’s recuperating! But since we don’t know what caused the wound, it is considered a Wound of Unknown Origin. Per Health Dept guidelines, this means he should stay away from other animals until 11/7/2025. And if he’s not adopted out by 9/7/2025 we will also combo test him then to check for FIV/FeLV. Garfield also came to us with mild rashy scabbing, so to help jumpstart his recovery he will be on a steroid taper.

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: Snowball*needs transfer/sitter by end of August* Location: foster care- this pet is not at the shelter. Email foster@phillypaws.org to help out! Handsome hunk alert! This here big boy is Snowball, weighing in at a whopping 17lbs! We are working hard at gradually getting his weight down in a healthy way, but his foster will need a transfer for him by end of August (exact date TBD) since they will be moving. If you cannot take Snowball longterm but could foster-sit him from the end of August until mid-September, though, this option could work as well! Snowball tends to get very stressed at our clinic- he’ll hide and hunger strike! Hunger striking is dangerous for a cat this big, so we’re hoping to keep him out of our shelter if he’s not adopted by the time his foster will need him transferred. He’s a lowkey, lovable little (big) guy who has already started adoption promo! His next foster would need to continue being diligent about his diet and exercise (playtime) so he can continue to drop a few more pounds. Here’s more info from his current foster! “Snowball is big sweetheart who loves to talk to you! He always says what’s on his mind and you always know what he’s saying, usually its “love me” or “feed me”. He loves vertical scratchers, secluded areas (closet, underneath a bed, his own little house, under a blanket, etc.), and back scratches/brushes! He loves being around people and will follow you everywhere just to be around you and see what you’re up to. He’s a big guy at 17 lbs but he’s losing weight as everyday we play with him ~15 mins in the day and at least 30 mins at night (via laser pointer or fishing pole toy). His ideal foster space would be a lot of places to safely hide, many blankets, a brush available for him, slow feeder (in case he eats too fast), and a person who’s willing to give a lot of attention to this love bug!”
	Name: Pepper *needs transfer by August 15th* Location: foster care- this pet is not at the shelter. Email foster@phillypaws.org to help out! Pepper is such a sweetie, and while her foster loves having her around, they will be moving away and cannot care for her past August 15th! Here’s more info about her, from her foster mama: “She’s a super silly girl who loves to play and window watch, follow me around, and sit/take naps by me. She loves meeting other people, and while i dont have any kids around i think she’d do well with them. She has a sensitive stomach and is on [PAWS-provided] GI Biome wet and dry food, and I mix miralax into her food daily for a history of chronic constipation that is controlled presently. She also had a poorly healed pelvic fracture that isn’t causing any problems right now. She occasionally goes through periods of low appetite and vomiting, usually triggered by stress but sometimes I can’t explain it. You’d just need to keep a good eye on her food intake. I think it would be best if she was the only pet in the household – my roommate’s cat lived with us for a month, and Pepper once got into that cat’s food and was vomiting for a few days.”

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: Juliet + 4 (Banks, Romeo, Sasha, & Marshmallow) *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/09/2025 Juliet is around 1-2 years old, and her four babies are about 3 weeks old- their eyes and ears should be open, their incisors are just starting to come in. They’re still largely dependent on momma for sustenance and cleaning, so we’d like to get them into foster care asap, where the babies can be checked and weighed regularly to make sure everyone is getting enough time at the milk bar. No one is on medication at present!
	Name: Rebel Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/09/2025 Rebel rebelled a little too hard during her stray days (maybe, we dunno)- she’s here at our clinic fighting off a kitty cold and ocular disease that lead to a possible corneal rupture. Unless her eye significantly stabilizes/improves with ointment and pain medication, she’ll be spayed and have the bad eye removed once she kicks her kitty cold. She’s a little nervous as well, but we see lots of promise in her socially! Rebel is around 3-4 months old.
	Name: Bailey +3 (Puma, Jaguar, Lion) Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/09/2025 Adorable momma Bailey has three little potatoes in tow! She’s around 1-2 years old, and her babies are about 3.5-4 weeks old. They are on no meds at present, and we’d love to keep it that way by getting them all out of the shelter and into foster care asap!
	Name: Porcha Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/06/2025 This chunky little nugget is Porcha! She’s around 2 months old, still needs to be spayed, and has a bad eye- to put it lightly and simply. One of her eyes may have had an infection that went untreated for too long out in the wild Philly streets, so it’s no longer stable and will need removal once Porcha is feeling better from her kitty cold and can come back in for spay + eye removal. In the meantime she’s getting eye ointment and a once-daily oral liquid antibiotic, plus a tiny bit of Gabapentin for pain management until surgery occurs.
	Name: Hot Dog Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/06/2025 Another skinny baby, Hot Dog here is around 2ish months old but slightly underweight- and being treated for a kitty cold! He’ll be getting ear drops and a once-daily oral liquid antibiotic to help him feel better, and once he’s healthy again and at a better weight, he can be neutered asap and then start adoption promo!
	Name: Ember Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/09/2025 Ember is suspected to have been exposed to fire in the past- potentially a house fire? Her whiskers have the classic crimped look from heat exposure, her paw pads have scabs, and we’re monitoring her breathing in case of smoke exposure, but lungs sounded mostly okay during her welcome exam. She’s on pain medication for a few more days, and she needs to gain a little more weight to be at a healthy size for spay.
	Name: Boogie Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 7/09/2025 This bucket o’purrs is Boogie! He’s around 8 weeks old is fighting off your standard-issue kitty cold! He’ll be getting eye drops and a once daily oral liquid antibiotic for a week, then we can recheck his symptoms if they persist post-meds. Otherwise once he’s feeling better he can be neutered and start adoption promo!

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: Roberto Rigatoni *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 6/17/25 Look at this handsome little hunk! Roberto comes from very humble beginnings at PAWS (he was found outside our clinic a small wildlife trap) and truthfully we weren’t sure how friendly he would be at first– but he’s turned out to be SUCH a flirt! He loves attention and pets and would love to roll on out into foster care. We think Roberto’s around 6-8 years old and we are hoping to get him neutered asap. The mean Philly streets were not kind to poor Roberto- after some diagnostics we’ve learned he has an old hip injury and what we suspect might be a BB in one of his legs, though it’s hard to be 100% sure about the BB. The head of his left femur is damaged from said injury and isn’t sitting in his hip socket properly anymore, so we’d like to get him in at a partner vet (Glenolden Animal Hospital, around 20 minutes southwest of our Grays Ferry Clinic!) for a special surgery, called a Femoral Head Ostectomy. Post-op recovery may take ~6 weeks, give or take pending recovery progress. In the meantime Roberto is taking some pain medication to keep him comfy. update 7/7: Roberto recently tested positive for ringworm, so he will need to complete ringworm treatment before he can get his FHO surgery! This poor guy has been through so much and we’d love for him to have a shelter break!
	Name: Salsa, Guac, & Poblano *SUPER urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 6/5/2025 This ~8-week old fungal friends trio is being treated for suspected ringworm! They’re otherwise in pretty good health so could start pre-adoption promo asap, to try and get their faces out there for promo while they roll through treatment. They are pretty skittish but seem curious about toys and playtime, so we’d really like to get them out into foster care asap! You can learn more about how to treat ringworm here! These three may be nervous but they’re curious about toys!
	Name: Scrapple *Urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 6/5/2025 Scrapple was found stray on 6/2. He’s being treated for a suspected case of ringworm since he had some hair loss on his face, toes, and tails. He’s around 2 months old and can start pre-adopt promo while going through ringworm treatment. Scrapple loves playtime and toys and attention- and would love to get more of all of the above in foster care! You can learn more about how to treat ringworm here! Check out Scrapple being a total sweetie!
	Name: Busy & Rowdy *Urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 6/5/2025 Cute kittens being treated for ringworm! This duo is around 3 months old and can start pre-adopt promo while going through treatment. They’re a super bouncy, playful duo who love attention! You can learn more about how to treat ringworm here! Look at these two goobers! They’re really sweet and hilarious~
	Name: Barca *Urgent, ringworm* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 5/18/2025 Lovely lady Barca is a former momma who just got cultured for ringworm on 7/9, and separated from her kittens to minimize the chance of them becoming ‘fungal friends’ as well. Barca is also being treated for an upset stomach, so having her separate from her babies will open up more options for treatment for her! Barca is around a year-ish old, and can be spayed once her ringworm is either confirmed as negative, or she finishes treatment. We are awaiting her diagnostic culture results to confirm whether she truly has the fungal infection or not.

 

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: Baby Girl *Safety Net Foster Candidate* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 5/22/25 We’re all in love! Baby Girl is such a petite cutie around 7 years old, on no meds at present, and who will be spayed asap. She’s a safety net kitty whose tentative reclaim date will be 8/22/25– though ideally a potential foster would be able to hang onto her for a few extra weeks if needed, since reclaim date extension requests are pretty common in our safety net program! Her owner loves her very much, and wants to bring her back home, but they will need some support for a few months since they are experiencing a personal hardship. Baby Girl is described as independent, mellow, and sometimes shy, but she can be super sweet once she’s warmed up to you! Baby Girl also appears to have a more minor case of Cerebellar Hypoplasia, or CH for short. It’s also nicknamed ‘Wobbly Cat Syndrome’ and she was born this way- it will not get worse or better with time. She wobbles when she walks but she can get around pretty well, and uses her litterbox diligently. We’d recommend keeping her away from stairs to be safe, though. Baby Girl is FeLV+, so she’ll need to be the only cat in her foster home, and she has been working through some recent anemia at our clinic. To help the anemia she’s taking a once daily steroid. Her next anemia recheck will be on 7/2, and she may need some weekly or bi-weekly rechecks until her anemia resolves. She also just finished taking some probiotics after a bout of soft stool, so we’re keeping a general eye on her eliminations.

Old City Adoption Center

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

	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. update 5/11: 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: Suki Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 6/10/2025 Suki is a petite and ohhhh so sweet 9 year old lady who would love to lounge around in a home while she waits for her next permanent one. She may have a grumpy looking face, but she is gentle, cuddly and looooves people! She was adopted from PAWS as a teen kitten and was allowed to be freely roam inside/outside before being surrendered when she came home one day with a wound to her neck (she has recovered from that, but would still need to be the only pet in her space for another few months). Suki also needs to be rechecked in a few months for potential hyperthyroidism, so a lower stress home that can monitor her energy and appetite will also help her out!
	Name: Lara Croft Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 6/10/2025 Lara is a super shy young lady that would benefit from a foster home so we can really see her true personality shine! She was found as a stray and has a bb pellet in one of her hind legs, so we aren’t sure what kind of luck she has had so far around people. Lara also has a fractured tooth, so that will need to be fixed in the future and she should be monitored for any signs of pain related to that when she’s eating.
	Name: Heatwave *URGENT, FeLV+* Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 6/24/25 Heatwave is no longer feeling the heat, now that he’s at our adoption center! Heatwave is an already neutered male around 3ish years old, and he’s tested FeLV+/FIV-. This means he’s effectively immunocompromised and should be the only cat in his foster space at this time. If he’s not adopted within a couple months, we plan to rest him for FIV/FeLV, to see if there’s any chance he can ‘flip’ to testing negative. Being immunocompromised means he should leave for foster care asap! It also means his mouth wasn’t in the best shape when he arrived, so he just had a recent dental procedure on 6/30! Heatwave also previously had an eyelid correction surgery for a condition he had called entropion (this causes eyelids to roll inward, not fun!) and is recovering from corrective surgery.

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!