Most people who foster animals know that the relationship you garner between the animal is mutually beneficial. Right now seems like a better time than ever to bring a new pet into your home, what with all the free time, even if it is just temporary. Shelters are overrun and could use the extra help of foster parents. Celebrity radio host Howard Stern and his wife Beth run a successful foster program from their home, and she is passionate about educating people on how to properly foster and why you absolutely should.
“During this difficult time, cats and dogs give people something positive to focus on,” says Stern, who has been in the fostering business for the last seven years. “I’ve always been an animal lover and have no human children, so my heart has been with helping animals. If you’ve been thinking about adopting or fostering, now is the time to do it!” She gets immense satisfaction from saving these animals and knowing that she helped them find a loving forever home if they had never experienced one before.
“The easiest, in my opinion, are older cats,” she says. “Kittens are so messy and sometimes require several feedings a day.” Kittens are still kittens until about two years old, so they will have a pretty rambunctious personality. "Pregnant mothers are easy, too. Once they deliver, they take care of the needs of their kittens until the little ones are about four weeks old. That’s when the kittens are ready to be introduced to solid food and litter boxes. Then the mess and work begin for a foster parent!” Stern says.