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 November 29th 2023)

 

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: Fiona *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/21/2023 If you’re looking for a couch potato to hang out with on a cozy night in, Fiona is your girl! She was unfortunately surrendered due to her previous owner passing away, so she’s definitely a bit scared and confused here at the shelter and would love to head into foster care for some normalcy! She’s about 7 years old and 22 pounds, so we’re really trying to focus on her weight loss journey to get her back to feeling healthy. She’s unable to groom herself since she can’t reach some areas, so any potential foster might have to help her clean herself with some medicated wipes. She can’t get spayed until she loses at least 5 more lbs, so we’re seeing a lot of playtime and diet food in her future! Fun fact: Fiona’s also a polydactyl! Check out this sweet chunky monkey!
	Name: Hoggle *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/14/2023 Sweet 4-year-old Hoggle is urgently looking for foster! He’s a little shy at first, but once you win him over with some pets, he’s your new best friend! He’s currently dealing with a kitty cold and not feeling his best, so he’s on Doxycycline and some nasal drops until those symptoms subside. When we took him in, we noticed that he wasn’t eating, so we put him on an appetite stimulant and now he’s seeming to have a much better appetite! We’d ask any potential foster to monitor to ensure he stays eating. He’s already neutered and would looove to stay with you!
	Name: Heidi *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/16/2023 Friendliest feline in the shelter goes to Heidi! Even with a painful wonky foot, she BEGS for attention! This sweetie is having some trouble with one front foot…it’s stuck in a bent position and she can’t un-bend it! While the leg does seem painful, she is still such a sweetheart and rolls over for pets and attention. Our vet staff are planning on amputating her bad leg to help improve her overall quality of life, and the surgery will be done during her spay. In the meantime she’s taking a couple nice pain meds to keep her comfortable until surgery.
	Name: Rosemary *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/19/2023 Love grows where our Rosemary goes! This gray tabby is super sweet, and is currently in our sick cat room dealing with a nasty kitty cold. She’s also got some pretty bad teeth, so she’ll be undergoing dental surgery rather soon and would love to recover while in foster care! She’s on pain meds until her dental surgery along with an antibiotic for her kitty cold. Rosemary is estimated to be about 6 years old, already spayed, and is FIV/FeLV negative. She’s dying for attention, pawing at the front of her kennel when we visit. She’d just love a warm, cozy foster home to recover from her cold and then from dental surgery. Rosemary is the sweetest lady!
	Name: Brinkley *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/27/2023 Brinkley’s a great little guy, and a total ham once he warms up to you! He’s around 4ish years old, already neutered, and arrived at PAWS with an abnormal gait in his hind legs. He had some xrays done at the city shelter, and we’re waiting for them to arrive so we can weigh in with a fresh opinion for his next steps. We’re considering a trial with a supportive boot and splint to correct the orientation of his foot, so he can walk more normally and to minimize further damage and pain later down the line, but his plan is still a work in progress!
	Name: Velvet *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/27/2023 Senior lady Velvet knows the shelter is no place for her! She’s around 12 years young, already spayed, and is in need of a dental procedure in the nearish future! Her mouth is pretty bad, and she has pending bloodwork to confirm she’s okay for anesthesia. She’d love to await her dental and recover post-op in foster care, rather than here at our clinic!
	Name: Zelda Fitzgerald Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/27/2023 Zelda is such a cute little gal- with how petite she is, you’d think she’s a kitten, but she’s estimated to be around 2 years old! She still needs to be spayed, but her left eye is healing from some trauma, so we’re hoping to get that resolved first before surgery and adoption promo starts. Zelda is starting her treatment regimen with a week of eye drops and an easy-to-give pain med that goes in her food, and then pending her recheck visit a week later, we’ll see how her eye looks and if it’s resolved enough for spay to occur.
	Name: June Bug Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/27/2023 June Bug’s a cutie around 1-2 years old, and while she’s still waiting for a formal check up with our vet team, our guess thus far is she’ll be placed on routine kitty cold meds. She’s already spayed and microchipped, so once June Bug is feeling better, she can go right up for adoption!
	Name: Harvey Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/9/2023 Harvey was unceremoniously kicked out of his old house, but thankfully a kind neighbor took care of him for a few months before getting him into PAWS. Unfortunately he has had a hard time kicking his current cold, so we’d love to let him stretch his legs in a home where he can get more attention and affectionate on a regular basis to see if that can help. He did come in with a wound on his chest, so he needs to either be the only pet in your home or needs to be kept 100% isolated from all other animals for a few more months. Your rewards? Oh, that would be the constant cuddles, of course! After a few rounds of meds for a URI, Harvey was pulled from our adoption center back to the clinic for observations due to a persistent cough. He already has an adoption promo, but that could be updated in a foster home once he settles in!

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: Moo Moo Baby & Precious *Need foster transfer for a month by 12/11!* Location: Foster Care Moo Moo Baby & Precious sure could use some extra time and love! MooMoo is around 8ish years old and on no meds at present. Precious is around 13 years old and receiving treatment for chronic kidney disease (CKD)- she gets subcutaneous fluids every other day for hydration support- ask us for a demo if you haven’t done this before, it’s actually fairly easy!- and is eating a kidney support diet provided by PAWS. Their current fosters will be traveling for a month starting 12/11, but afterward can take the two of them back longterm! This adorable pair were surrendered to the city shelter after their owner lost their home and could no longer care for their medical needs. They’re both spayed per their owner, and per their previous owner they’re both very nice cats, litter trained, and they’re good with kids, strangers, and other cats! They love food, too. Their owner is just hoping they can find a good home. If you’re able to foster both of these pals for a month while their current foster is away, or even longer term as we work to get them adopted, please let us know! Check out the day they arrived!
	Name: Flapjack *URGENT, HOSPICE- Needs foster transfer by 12/14* Location: Foster Care Flapjack’s a great little guy, around 5ish years old (give or take) and already neutered. He came to us with what sounded like ordinary persistent congestion, and we even remove a small mass from his nostrils. His main issue, and why he’s been dubbed a hospice case, is that he has an even bigger mass that continues to grow in his nasal cavity. This cannot be removed and it is pressing outward toward the right side of his face. His current foster is requesting a transfer for him asap, since they’ll be traveling starting 12/14. We’re not sure what Flapjack’s prognosis or expected timeline for potential decline might be just yet, but it could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, so we’re hoping to find longterm placement for him asap, to avoid having him come back to the shelter.
	Name: Callie *Needs foster sitter from 12/16-12/31* Location: Foster Care Callie’s an older pirate gal around 7ish years old (potentially older) and already spayed. She had one eye removed prior to arrival at PAWS, and in order to save her second eye, she’s been taking some twice-daily eye drops to combat Glaucoma! She also takes a little Gabapentin in her food to combat any eye discomfort and/or anxiety, since she was pretty shy at our shelter. She’s been much happier in foster care, though, so we’d love to keep her out of the shelter while her foster’s away later this month! We’re trying to get Callie in asap for a dental procedure, but the date isn’t yet finalized as of my posting this. If we can get Callie in for her dental before she’d need a sitter, she may be on the tail end of recovery by the time you have her (soft food, maybe an extra pain med in addition to her Gaba). If you can help out Callie email foster@phillypaws.org asap!
	Name: Macaroon *Safety Net cat! Needs transfer by 12/18* Location: Foster Care This scruffy looking Nerfherder is Macaroon! He’s around 4 years old and is part of our Safety Net program, meaning he has a family that loves him and wants to take him back home asap, but they’re experiencing a personal hardship. Macaroon’s been in foster for a couple months and has been thriving! He had a dental procedure recently and recovered beautifully, he came in skinny and scraggly and has already put on good weight and his fur looks much better. His tentative reclaim date has been pushed back to 1/2/2024, but his current foster can no longer house him past 12/18. We’d love to avoid having him come back to the shelter when he’s SO CLOSE to being reclaimed, so if you’re able to take Macaroon until his reclaim date (and potentially up to a few additional weeks afterward, if another reclaim extension is requested by the owner), email foster@phillypaws.org!
	Name: Shenzi *Needs foster sitter from ~12/20 – ~1/1* Location: Foster Care Shenzi’s our favorite hunk! A longtime staff favorite, Shenzi’s what we call an “allergy boi”- he takes an easy daily med and is on a PAWS-provided special diet to keep his itchiness in check, but if he deviates from his med plan he quickly gets the itches around his face. He’s otherwise a fairly low-key guy who gets spurts of the zoomies occasionally, and is overall a fairly low maintenance guy when he’s got his food and med routine squared away! Shenzi’s around 5ish years old, already neutered, and posted for adoption.
	Name: Winston *Needs foster sitter from 12/23 – 1/2* Location: Foster Care Winston is SUCH a good boy! He’s definitely high up there on our list of favorites. Winston is already neutered and posted for adoption, and he’s around 5ish years young. His foster will be away from 12/23/23 – 1/2/24 and he urgently needs sitter coverage while they’re away! Because he has a history of seizures, he cannot stay at the shelter. He takes a couple easy meds daily to keep symptoms in check and greatly minimize his potential for seizure episodes, and aside from that he’s a pretty easygoing guy, having lived with kids and cats before in the past.
	Name: Roo *Needs foster sitter from 12/26-1/11* Location: Foster Care Roo’s foster will be out of town later this month, and a sitter is urgently needed! Roo is around 3 years old, already spayed, and will be starting adoption promo very soon! From Roo’s foster parent: “I will be out of the country from 12/26-01/11 and would love if someone could be a temporary foster for Roo during those dates! She would not do well in the shelter due to her previous anxiety and would need a single pet home. Although shy at first, she warms up pretty quickly if you couldn’t tell! This is the perfect opportunity to get a short term foster experience.”

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! 

	Name: Sandy + 3 (Twisty, Smoky, Lunch) – better photos pending! URGENT! Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/27/2023 Lovely lady Sandy and her three adorable fuzzball babies are being treated for kitty colds! They’d love to recover in foster care. Sandy’s babies are getting a once-daily oral liquid antibiotic, as well as twice-daily eyeointment for their URIs. Sandy herself is faring better and just getting a once-daily antibiotic– all for a week to start! Once everyone is feeling better and the babies are a little bigger (and a smidge more weaned), they can all come back in for their spay/neuter appointments before starting adoption promo! Sandy is around 4ish years old, and her babies are approx. 6 weeks old.
	Name: Pia + 4 (Lia, Mia, Zia, Chia) *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/27/2023 Another gorgeous litter! Calico momma Pia is around 4ish years old (give or take) and her cute li’l quartet is around 2ish weeks old- their eyes are opening, their ears are unfolding, and they’re gradually becoming more mobile! We’d love for them all to grow up in foster care, instead of at our clinic, and the babies’ young age makes them more susceptible to catching ill at our shelter, the longer they stay here!
	Name: Napa + 3 (Valley, Bok Choy, Cabbage) – better photos pending!  Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/27/2023 Napa and her babies are new faces on the block! Momma Napa is between 2-4 years old and her babies are around 4-5 weeks old. They’re just starting to explore the idea of eating solids, and could use a little light encouragement in foster care. This family unit isn’t on any meds at present, and we’d like to keep it that way by getting them out of the shelter asap!
	Name: Rory & Roper – better photos pending! Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 11/28/2023 The two little void babies are Roper and Rory! They’re around 2.5 months old and have begun treatment for basic kitty colds! Once they’re feeling better they can come back for their respective spay surgeries, and then 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: Maple  *URGENT* Location: Grays Ferry Clinic Date of Arrival: 9/22/2023 Sweet former momma Maple is here in our ringworm trailer after shining up like a new penny under our Wood’s Lamp light. She is otherwise healthy, but we’d love to get her out of here soshe can have more space to roam while undergoing treatment! She super friendly and qualify for pre-adopt! Maple is about 4 years old and loves loves loves attention and is an expert biscuit maker.

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. 

Please check back later!

Old City Adoption Center

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

	Name: Basil & Parsley Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 11/14/2023 Mother and Son duo Basil and Parsley were adopted out together a few years ago (when Basil was a spry young mother of 4, including Parsley), and were recently returned due to a change in the home. Basil (black cat) is super social and engaging, but Parsley (tabby boy) takes a little longer to warm up, but is a total mush once he does. Since they were adopted out as a pair, with Parsley still a baby kitten, we’d love to see what they are like together in a home and not dealing with the stresses of the shelter! Parsley just started some easy oral meds for a kitty cold, so he’d need to continue that for the next week. Basil should also be monitored for any symptoms of her own.
	Name: Regina George & Hank Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 11/22/23 Regina and Hank are the cutest duo around! Just look at those adorable face markings. Their sweet nature will surely win you over. These boys are ready to be promoted for adoption and will likely head over to our Old City Adoption Center once a room opens up, but if you’re up for having them as guests in your home while promoting them for adoption, just let us know! Sadly, their owner was evicted and they were abandoned. The neighbor took them in and said that they’re ” Friendly, confident, independent, affectionate, playful, and calm.” Regina and Hank likely aren’t bonded, and currently they are occupying separate rooms at our adoption center due to Regina redirecting her stress onto him after they were reunited here. We’d love to find a foster that could take them both and slowly reintroduce them in a calmer space, but if you only have room for one Hank has been the more stressed and picky critter and would benefit from his own space!
	Name: Alfred  Location: Old City Adoption Center Date of Arrival: 11/19/2023 Alfred loves rubbing and head-bonking any human that’s standing. nearby! He’s got such a sweet personality and would be a perfect addition to any home. He recently had his eye removed after battling a pretty bad eye infection. He’s on pain meds for just a few more days and could use some easy monitoring to make sure there’s no swelling or discharge at his surgery site while he heals. He’d love to recover in foster care before heading off to the adoption center! He’s about 6 years old and already neutered.

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!