Cats In Need of Foster Care

Thank you so much for fostering and saving a life!

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.

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 March 28th, 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: Jabba the Pizza Hutt *URGENT*
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 2/20/2024

  • This sweet boy has been through the ringer and we are so excited for his glow-up! Jabba has been feeling better, compared to when he first arrived, but he still has a bit farther to go. He’s currently at our clinic, but we’d love to find him a foster home so he can get the TLC and pampering that he so deserves! He’s a very sweet, low key kinda guy with the BEST meow, but he doesn’t love being a small kennel and can get a overstimulated easily when we encroach his space and give him too much attention too quickly. He would love more space to stretch his legs!
  • He has a now-much-smaller, but still healing wound on the right side of his face, and he’s wrapping up a course of steroids for it.  Jabba also has moderate dental disease and possible “pillow foot”- an autoimmune condition that causes swelling of the paw pads in a cat. We plan to re-assess his paws and schedule dental surgery for him once he’s finished his course of steroids. He’s is around 7 years old and is already neutered.
  • While we don’t know how long Jabba has been living is such rough shape, we’re very happy to be helping him to heal up and find a family to spoil him. Can you help him too?
  • Check him out here!
Name: Gary *VERY URGENT*
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/10/24

  • Gary’s a lovely older guy around 9-10 years old. He was exposed to FeLV in his previous home, but thus far has tested negative at PAWS. We plan to retest him in early May to confirm he’s still FeLV-, if he’s not adopted before then! Gary just recently had a dental procedure, but he’ll need a second one (he had some gnarly chompers!) and would love to recover post-op in foster care, rather than at the shelter! Gary is a super friendly little fellow, but he’s kind of on the demure side here at our clinic. He’s also a little thin! We think he’d shine best in a foster home. Until his dental procedure can happen, Gary is getting a couple easy pain meds.
Name: Eris *URGENT*
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/17/24

  • Poor Eris! She’s been through so much, and really deserves a nice upgrade in her living situation by moving into foster care! She came to us with severe dental disease that was negatively impacting her quality of life, and she also had a secondary kitty cold she just finished treatment for. Thankfully we were able to squeeze her in for a dental procedure on 3/22- she has no teefs left!- and she’s on some very nice post-op pain meds to keep her comfortable while her mouth heals. Eris also has some small lingering (but recovering!) ulcers around her lips that are gradually closing back up. Her appetite is still recovering from all the mouth pain, but we have high hopes that once she’s feeling better she will get back into a routine of normal eating patterns.
  • On top of her medical situation, Eris is also terrified at our shelter! She’s a little flighty and hidey (so her world should 100% be small to start, when she moves into foster care), but to be fair she’s been poked and prodded a lot since arrival, and the shelter is pretty scary for a tiny cat like her!
Name: Señor *URGENT*
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/7/24

  • Poor sweetie Señor could really use foster care to help him feel better! He’s around 4ish years old, still needs to be neutered, and just wrapped up medication for a kitty cold. He also has an eye condition called entropion, which (as you can see from his photo) urgently needs correction! He’d love to recover post-surgery in foster care, and get out of the shelter asap to avoid catching another cold.
  • update 3/24: Señor received his entropion repair surgery this past weekend! He is ready to rock and roll into foster care! He’ll be getting a couple pain meds and eye ointment to help his recovery go smoothly, and he’ll be wearing a stylish e-collar for a couple weeks post-op.
Name: Garfield
Date of Arrival: pending- we need to line up a foster first!

  • Garfield’s family brought him in from the mean streets before last winter, since they felt bad leaving him out in the cold. He’s been their resident kitty since then, but unfortunately a recent episode of bad health for one of his owners now has his family leaving for their home country very soon, so they’ve reached out to us at PAWS for help with finding Garfield a new home. He’s definitely a “been around the block” kind of guy- independent but loves playtime, when he’s not being a total couch potato. And he likes sunning himself. And eating. But no shenanigans- we’re not here for super-cuddles, buddy. He’s more of a ‘roommate’ cat that will come say hello when he feels so inclined, so he’d be great for a foster who wants to avoid a super needy young’in! Garfield would prefer a home without tiny kids, and we’re not sure how he feels about dogs or cats! If you’ve got a calm, quiet space, let us know if you can take Garfield! We need to  line up a foster home for him before his arrival at PAWS, so his intake has not yet been scheduled.
  • Check out Garfield in action- he loves wand toys!
Name: Ida  
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 2/28/24

  • Poor Ida can’t catch a break! Thursday (3/28) will mark her 1-month PAWSiversary and she’s already had her fair share of tummy trubbies and a case of aspiration pneumonia. She’s taking a couple of dietary supplements to keep her GI system happy and healthy. She’s also got a persistent cough and recently started a new medication to hopefully kick this coughing to the curb; she’s not suspected to be contagious at this time. We’ll need to repeat her chest rads once her meds are finished next week (~4/2)!
Name: Tiger Heart  
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/19/24

  • Poor Tiger Heart was surrendered after living with his owners for 10 years because he’d started urinating on their items. He is already neutered but also was found to declawed on all four paws. Bloodwork and a urinalysis reveal possible cystitis! We’ve started him on Gabapentin in case of pain from his declawed toes. Another factor to consider, aside from medical causes, that could explain Tiger’s rogue-peeing is that he’d previously lived with a small dog in the home, and we’re not sure if the dog’s presence caused Tiger stress that might’ve compounded his medical condition. Tiger was also started on a urinary support diet to prevent future cystitis flare-ups, but we’d really love is to get him into a calm, quiet foster home to see if a low-stress ‘blank slate’ environment combined with the Gabapentin can help minimize, if not completely stop the rogue peeing incidents altogether.
  • Update 3/27: We are planning to get xrays done of Tiger Heart’s declawed feet. We also received lab results for a tiny mass on his chin, and per the lab, it’s a mast cell tumor that needs removal asap. We will likely plan to remove the tumor and xray his feet during the same visit.
 Name: Jack  *FeLV+* *URGENT*
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/13/24

  • Jack’s a handsome guy around 9ish months old! He’s very energetic and playful and would love someone to play with him, teaching him that toys (not hands) are the appropriate place for his energy. He’s already neutered, tested FeLV+, and is being treated for a lingering kitty cold! His FeLV makes him more susceptible to staying sick longer, hence why he’d make for a great foster candidate! Keeping him out of the noisy, stressful shelter will help him feel better faster! Stress plays a big part in the healing process and Jack has A LOT of energy for a tiny kennel. He’d love more space to relax, stretch his legs, and explore! If Jack isn’t adopted by late May, we’d also like to retest him for FIV/FeLV and see if he can flip to FeLV-. Once he’s healthy, Jack can go to our adoption center, but we’d love for a foster to help him get over his cold and learn more about his personality and needs!
Name: Dudley
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/24/24

  • Dudley’s a handsome tuxie guy (always dressed to impress!) around 8ish years old, and is in need of a dental procedure in the nearish future! He’s in our ‘to-do queue’ for dental procedures, but he’d really appreciate having a foster home to recover in post-op.
Name: Milo
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/19/24

  • Fluffy boy Milo was returned to PAWS because his owner was traveling (to where, we don’t know) but upon arrival we noticed his mouth is really rough! He has stomatitis, a painful autoimmune condition that causes lots of inflammation in the mouth, and often warrants full-mouth extracting of the teeth. Milo is ‘in the queue’ for a dental procedure as soon as we can get him scheduled, and he’d love to recover in foster care! He’s around 8 years old and already neutered.
Name: Mickey
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/19/24

  • Looks at those gorgeous green eyes!! Mickey is around 11 years young, already neutered, and in need of a dental procedure in the nearish future! He’ll be taking some nice Gabapentin in the meantime, to try and keep his mouth comfy. We are running senior diagnostics to make sure he’s okay for anesthesia, and we’re also monitoring his ‘output’ in the litterbox, since the poor guy seems a wee bit constipated.
Name: Ozzie
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/24/24

  • Pretty lady Ozzie is around 4ish years old and being treated for a kitty cold and eye drops for a week! Afterward she can be spayed and start adoption promo from foster care, or move along to an adoption center if you’d like a short term foster commitment!

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: Tangy *Needs a foster transfer for the month of April, starting 4/1!*

  • Tangy is currently in foster care, living it up and awaiting his forever home (he’s good with kids, cats, and dogs!), but needs foster transfer for the month of April, starting 4/1/24. Due to some medical conditions (more below), we’d prefer to get Tangy placed into a foster home so he can be more carefully monitored.
  • Tangy was surrendered due to a move, but also has quick, mild seizures that the surrendering owner noted occurring every few weeks. He has only had a couple seizures since arriving at PAWS in late January, and they occur about once every 2-3 weeks. This is not frequent enough to warrant medication, so he is continuing to be monitored. While the seizures are short, after one episode Tangy recovered quickly, and another time he took the better part of a day to feel fully back to normal again, so we need an experienced and medically savvy foster that can keep a close eye on him and possibly administer medications if we ever need to start them. Aside from that, his current foster also noted some neurologic deficits which, while mild, mirror those of a cat with CH. We don’t believe he has CH, but he does exhibit problems navigating stairs and getting on/off surfaces, so his living space should be “baby-proofed” to avoid any risks of accidents from falling.

Name: Shae *Needs a sitter from 4/19 – 4/29, would prefer Shae be in your home for this period*

  • Shea is the sweetest love. She loves cuddles and human attention. Her foster has been fostering shea for about a month and although there were some promising leads for an adopter, sadly no one followed through. Shae’s will be going away for 10 days in April, and they need someone to take in Shea from April 19th-29th. She needs to be placed in the sitter’s home as she experiences some bladder leakage (though she’s proven her condition to be far more manageable than originally expected!), so it would be better to have her with someone who can keep a closer eye on her condition. Please reach out if you are able to do so, or want more info!!

Name: Tom *DIABETIC! Needs a sitter from 5/17-25*

  • Our sweetheart senior foster cat Tom needs a temp foster/sitter from May 17-25th!! Want to help a diabetic kitty in need, but don’t have the capacity to help longer term? Then how about cat-sitting Tom for 9 days?!
  • Tom is around 11 years young, already neutered and posted for adoption. In case he’s not adopted by March, his foster will need coverage for the dates they are away, since none of our PAWS locations is open long enough to give Tom his twice-daily insulin pokes! They are given 12 hours apart, with some wiggle room (+/- about 2 hours) if there’s a day you’re running home late from work, for example!

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! 

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!

 

Please check back later!

Cats Needing Socialization (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. 

Name: Jagger & Mickey 
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/27/24

  • Meet our sad boys, Mickey and Jagger! They’re two hunka-hunks of burning love- except they’re terrified, so they don’t feel very lovey dovey right now. They just want to hide their faces wherever they can.
  • If you think Jagger looks a little overweight, you are very correct: he clocked in at a whopping 30lbs!!! He needs to urgently lose weight! Once he’s looking (and *feeling*) a little more svelte, we would like to give him a dental cleaning. In case of mouth pain, and also to help his shelter stress levels, we have started Jagger on gabapentin.
  • Mickey has lucked out a little more with his weight. He is also chunky but weighs 15 pounds. He needs to also get a-movin’, though, because his lack of exercise means his motility isn’t fantastic. We have him on Miralax so he doesn’t keep getting constipated like he was in his previous home. More movement= better poops, and better weight loss = even better ability to move!
Name: Dexter & Jozi *Safety Net foster candidates!*
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/11/24

  • These two shy kiddos are part of our Safety Net program- they have an owner who loves them and wants them to come home asap, but they are experiencing a personal housing crisis and need a foster’s help to house these two until they are ready to reclaim. Their tentative reclaim date is approximately May 12th, 2024, but ideally a foster would be able to hang onto them a few extra weeks if needed, since extension requests for reclaim dates are pretty common.
  • Both cats are around 7 years old and already neutered! Due to limited space at our clinic, they’re presently being housed separately, but we’d like to reunite them in foster care once they’ve had time to decompress outside of the shelter! Both cats are described as friendly, affectionate, playful, and easy to pick up. Jozi is more laid back and aloof, but will come say hi and ask for pets when he wants them. Dexter is more outgoing and will paw at you to get your attention for pets- so you’d get a nice mix of affectionate and chill with these boys!
Name: Pretty Boy *Safety Net foster candidate!*
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/21/24

  • Pretty Boy certainly is a pretty boy, and he’s a total ham! He’s around 4ish years old and he is in need of Safety Net foster care because his owner is away taking care of their health. His tentative reclaim date is slated for May 18th, 2024, but ideally a foster parent would be able to hang onto him a few extra weeks *if* his owner requests a reclaim date extension. This helps us avoid having to bounce PB around even more! PB is already neutered and presently on no medication- he just needs a place to crash for a couple months while his owner works toward feeling better!
Name: Kitty
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/21/24

  • Kitty is around 13 years old and needs a spay! Then she’s ready for adoption on paper…but emotionally, she could still use the help of a foster to come back out of her shell! Kitty was left behind after her family moved away, and her finder wasn’t able to keep her due to having their own cats whom kitty wasn’t a fan of. She’s described as friendly, independent, and affectionate in the home, and her favorite things are catnip, treats, stuffed toys and string toys, and the laser pointer.
Name: Sunshine
Location: Grays Ferry Clinic
Date of Arrival: 3/24/24

  • Poor Sunshine is so shut down since arriving at our clinic! We’ve started her on Gabapentin to try and take some of the edge of her nerves, but she could really use some help from a patient foster in a quiet, low-stimuli home to help her come out of her shell. We have pending senior diagnostics running for her as well, to confirm she’s okay for a future dental procedure. Sunshine is already spayed and around 8-9 years old.

Old City Adoption Center

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

Name: Baja Blast *Long Term Resident*
Location: Old City Adoption Center
Date of Arrival: 1/21/2024

  • Baja certainly is handsome! He came to PAWS with a foot wound (resolved!) and some sass- he tends to get overstimulated easily at our shelter from all the love and attention everyone wants to shower on him! He has given correction chomps in the past, so could really use a savvy foster who can easily read cat body language. That said, Baja has many fans among our staff, and has been doing well at our adoption center.
  • Because we’re not sure how Baja received the wound on his foot, it is considered a wound of unknown origin. He should stay away from other animals until 5/20/2024, per Health Dept guidelines. This timeline would not need to hold up a potential future adoption, though. Baja will also be combo-tested for FIV/FeLV around 3/21.
Name: Mimi 
Location: Old City Adoption Center
Date of Arrival: 3/24/24

  • Poor Mimi is so stressed here! She spends her days hiding (with some light growling if you lift her privacy curtain) but thus far she just seems very unsure of herself and what’s doing here. We’ve started her on Gabapentin to hopefully take some of that stress off her shoulders, though she could also really use some decompression time in foster care! She’s around 5ish months old and still needs to be spayed, then can start adoption promo when she’s had some time to adjust!
Name: Orsetto *FeLV+, Longterm Resident!*
Location: Old City Adoption Center
Date of Arrival: 2/18/24

  • Handsome floof, a most modest little hunk, Orsetto (which means ‘baby bear’ in Italian) is such a softie- in appearance and spirit! He’s tested FeLV+ so he’s effectively immunocompromised, and we’d love to get him out of the shelter asap before he has a chance to catch ill! He also recently had dental surgery on 3/1. On the lighter side of things, Orsetto could use some regular brushing to keep his poofy coat in better condition, and he came to us with previously-healed mystery wound.
  • Because we’re not sure how Orsetto received the mystery wound on his neck, it is considered a wound of unknown origin. He should stay away from other animals until 6/2/2024, per Health Dept guidelines. This timeline would not need to hold up a potential future adoption, though. Orsetto will also be combo tested again for FIV/FeLV around 4/18/24.
Name: FeLVis Presley *URGENT, FeLV+*
Location: Old City Adoption Center
Date of Arrival: 2/29/24

  • Hunka hunka FeLVis Presley is looking to be someone’s teddy bear! He’s around 10ish years old, give or take, already neutered, and has the Old Man Mouth to prove it! He was someone’s porch cat since last summer, and they’d been feeding him for around a year before bringing him in as a sick stray. Turns out, FeLVis is FeLV+, and he also had a stomatitis inflammation. He had full-mouth extractions on 3/15 and has been healing well, albeit gradually. It would be great to monitor this handsome guy in foster care and to get to know him a little better!
Name: Badger
Location: Old City Adoption Center
Date of Arrival: 3/12/24

  • Meet Badger- he’s adorable! He’s around 2ish years old, already neutered, and is at least partially blind. He’s got some opacity (scarring, perhaps?) on his cornea, but his other eye can see fairly well. He’s still getting used to living indoors- prior to coming to the city shelter, he was someone’s porch cat who fed him every day and noticed he suddenly seemed uncomfortable/nonvisual in his right eye. He’s shy here at the shelter but we think he’d adjust fine to indoor life via foster care with someone who can help him come out of his shell. He’s secretly a sweetie!
Name: Ryan O’Ray
Location: Old City Adoption Center
Date of Arrival: 3/7/24

  • Ryan is a nice guy who spent the last 7ish years in an adoptive home, and was just surrendered back to PAWS because his owners didn’t have the ability to care for him anymore. He has a history of a sensitive stomach.  He’s on a special tummy support diet, which PAWS can provide until he’s adopted. Ryan is around 8ish years old and already neutered. Ryan also recently had dental surgery so he should be feeling better already! We’d love to get him into foster care to de-stress before he has a chance to get sick.
Name: Schwarbie
Location: Old City Adoption Center
Date of Arrival:
3/17/24

  • Secretly handsome despite arriving looking pretty grimy, Schwarbie is around 4 years old, was found stray, and just finished being treated for a kitty cold. Now that he’s feeling better, he is just waiting for his neuter to start adoption promo. He’d love a chance to decompress in foster care with folks who are good at reading cat body language.

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!