How foster families are giving SPCA animals a second chance

Foster families are giving SPCA animals a second chance until they find their forever homes.

The SPCA shelters animals who are between homes — but some need a little extra care. That’s where foster families come in, taking those pets into their homes and caring for them as if they were their own.

Gabrielle Plowens and Eric Byram have been fostering SPCA cats for years. Most recently, Bagel, a fluffy black cat, moved in with them.

“We fostered a few times, which was great because it was relatively short term. It’s not a 15-year commitment to an animal,” said Byram.

Bagel has already played the role of big brother to weeks-old kittens who also stayed with the couple for a time. Plowens admits caring for the babies was a challenge.

“We had to bottle feed them every two hours and we woke up in the middle of the night and we tried to trade off, you know, do one night each. But it got so difficult that we both had to get up every time.”

Foster families are matched with pets in need — mostly cats and bunnies — said Clarence Favreault, manager of clinical programs and foster families at the Montreal SPCA.

“[They are] in a foster care for a few months sometimes. So it depends really on what people are ready to welcome. And we can almost always find an animal for them,” said Favreau.

Fosters are assigned a counsellor for guidance, given access to veterinary care as needed, and receive a care kit with food and supplies. Animals that require extra medical attention or socialization tend to do better in a home environment than in a shelter, Favreault said.

“We do in between 80 to 120 animals that we place in foster care each month,” he said.

That adds up to about 1,000 animals receiving help in foster homes each year.

Claire Vessot has previously cared for a diabetic cat and recently took in Khepri, who is 15 years old and requires insulin injections twice a day to manage his diabetes.

This is her first time fostering, and it appears to be going well. It also appears that Khepri will live out the rest of his nine lives with her.

“He opened my heart and me up to having him in my life. So I never would have gone out and adopted the cat. I just that’s the perfect way for some people.” said Vessot.

While the commitment can be relatively short, it can also be deeply meaningful.

“In our palliative care program, we sometimes have hamsters, rats. We even have bearded dragons. We have some snakes and lizards in foster. Ferrets as well,” added Favreault.

The SPCA is always looking for more foster families.

As for Bagel, Byram admits he’s a “foster fail” — already settled into his forever home.

“We fell in love with him early on because he so friendly and curious and playful,” he said.

It may feel like a small gesture, said Vessot -- but it matters.

“You could really be making a big difference for an animal,” she said.