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Frequently asked questions
I just signed up to be a foster, now what?
Congrats! Things are probably overwhelming now. First thing is to make sure you are part of the facebook groups. Celestial Zoo Cat Fosters for cats and Celestial Zoo Dog Fosters for dogs. Celeste Park-Estes is the director of the rescue and heads the cats, Heather Rose is the dog lead, and Abigail Brinda approves the applications. These three are all people you should know and expect messages from.
How do I get a foster?
Ready to jump in? Most of the time, we post on the facebook pages with urgent needs or animals we are asked to take. Then you can claim them! Sometimes if you let us know you are open and we know what you can take, we will ask you directly. Don't be shy!
What am I responsible for?
You are responsible for love, shelter, and care. We cover all medical expenses, including vaccines, spay/neuter, and any vet visits. But we do rely on you to tell us when a foster needs those things. We have a schedule for routine things, but it is up to you to let us know if your fosters are not feeling up to par.
We can also cover food and other expenses. Anything that you buy for your fosters is a tax donation, but you are not required to buy those things and if you cannot, don't let it deter you from fostering! Keep in mind that the more the rescue has to buy, though, the fewer animals we can help with.
You are also required to get your fosters to their various appointments and events. This does not mean you have to drive them YOURSELF, but it does mean you have to help coordinate things. You are welcome to post on the facebook page for transport help or ask one of the leaders.
And of course, you are responsible for letting us know about your fosters and their personalities. We have an intake form found here: https://forms.gle/FMqYNsw9QacXYoYY7
This form is important and should be filled out everytime you get a new foster, everytime a foster is ready to be adopted, or everytime a foster is transferred to you. That way things are always up to date.
When do my animals need vaccines?
Adult cats: on intake, and again 3 weeks later (a series of two) for FVRCP, rabies when fixed or asap
Where do I go for vaccines?
Chelsea Palmer does vaccines in the main Utah county. Celeste Park-Estes does them in west Utah County. Christine Everill does them in Salt Lake County, and Ginny Naylor does them north of Salt Lake County.
Rabies must be done by a vet. If they are not done when they are fixed, please contact Celeste to find out where they can be done.
Please try to keep on top of your fosters vaccine schedule. We do try to keep on top of it as well but with both of us doing it, it really helps.
When are my animals ready to be adopted and attend events?
Animals need to have two vaccines on board before they can be adopted and attend events, and they have to be fixed. They should also be dewormed twice. Adults with only one vaccine can be adopted with special permission from Celeste.
PLEASE NOTE: Events can really stress animals out. If they have recently been fixed, they will also be stressed out. As much as you want your animals to be adopted, they need a weeks recovery time after being fixed before being adopted or attending events. Recovery at their foster home is always best.
When can my animal be fixed?
Animals should have two vaccines for babies and one for adults before they are fixed.
All animals need to be at least 8 weeks old. Puppies will be 6 months. Male kittens have to be 2 pounds and females have to be 2.5 pounds.
We have several places you can choose to have your cats fixed:
Orchard Animal Clinic: They will take up to 10 of our cats a day, or we can schedule a day for 20-25 cats. Ris Ratliff coordinates the run for this as Orchard is first come first serve so we cannot schedule our slots. Our cost is $30 for males and $40 for females. Please see FAQ lower down for their particulars (they are particular).
My kittens/cats are going to Orchard to be fixed. What are their requirements?
Orchard is very particular and they will leave notes on the carriers about the state of things if they don't meet the requirements. Don't be offended, it is a staff of two and they do a lot of work for two people. Just cheer when you don't get a pointed note.
No breakfast day of surgery. (unless under 3 months old, than no food 4 hours prior to surgery.) Water must be available to animal at all times.(PLEASE DO NOT TRANSPORT CATS WITH WATER IN THEIR CARRIERS.)
All (tame house)cats must be brought in their own clean, hard plastic carrier sufficient for the size of the cat to stand without crouching, turn freely and lie flat in (1 1/2 times the length of the cat),
with a clean blanket or towel inside for comfort.
CARDBOARD, FABRIC, WIRE, TOP LOAD ONLY , BROKEN, & DIRTY CARRIERS ARE NOT ACCEPTED OR SAFE.
Cats are in these carriers up to 13 hours the day of surgery. This is why we are adamant about the size of the carrier.
All cats/carriers must be labeled with cats name ,sex, caregivers name and phone number. Rescues please also add what procedures they are having done that day.
Feral cats/Community Cats must each be in their own properly newspaper lined, covered, adequately sized humane cat trap. Carriers, handlers, transfer cages or broken unsafe traps will not be accepted. Feral/Community cats will not be accepted if not in a trap. Trap covers need to cover traps totally--top to bottom and side to side with no gaps. Covers should be of lightweight breathable material darker in color. See our Community Cat/Feral Page for more information.
My animal is sick. What do I do?
All medical goes through Celeste. If she is not available, Tier is a vet tech and can answer a lot of questions.
Please keep in mind that we do practice shelter medicine, not traditional medicine. We don't always do things the way your own vet might do things. We also see things on a regular basis your own vet might only see a few times a year and we can treat those things without a vet visit, so don't be alarmed if you get medicine and not a vet visit.
We also firmly believe in educated fosters. We love to teach. Want to learn to give shots? Fluids? Meds? We're happy to show. Hey, maybe you can be a tech, too!
I would like my cat to go to the PetSmart cages. How do I do that?
First, your cat needs to be fixed and completely vaccinated. If they are over 4 months old, they have to have their rabies. They also need to be healthy. If they meet all of those requirements, please fill out our PetSmart form here:
What should I feed my foster?
We do not have a list of approved foods. However, we do have some that we have noticed are not good. For example, Special Kitty for kittens tends to have issues. If you need to be cheap, please use Fancy Feast for kittens as the wet food.
If you have seriously sick kittens, we highly recommend Royal Canin Babycat wet food as it can be syringe fed and is high calorie.
For dogs, please see the dog foster group page as we have a recommended food post.
My cat is ready to be fixed! Can I sign up?
Here is the signup sheet for cats!
Someone wants to adopt my foster. Now what?
Have someone interested in your foster animal? Great! Let’s walk you through the adoption process.
Feel free to call or meet potential adopters to get to know them and make sure everything is a great fit. You know your animals best! As a general rule, you’ll also know what your kitty needs to be comfortable in its forever home, like if it’s part of a bonded pair, needs a home with no dogs or young children, etc. But before anyone can take your animals home, they’ll need to complete our adoption application at celestialzoo.org and be approved.
Cats
We recommend completing the adoption process at one of our weekend adoption events--especially if this is your first adoption. Then we can help you through the process, and we’ll already have microchips there. We also receive financial benefits for each adoption finalized at PetSmart. Make sure to contact Stephanie about your foster’s paperwork. If you have any of it, she needs to know what you have and verify their record is complete.
If you would like to do the adoption from home, and Celeste says you can, you’ll need to print the Adoption Agreement under Files. The adopter will keep the first page. You’ll need to get the second page to Celeste or Stephanie as soon as possible so they can update our files and mail any remaining paperwork (spay/neuter certificates, rabies tags, etc.) to the adopter’s home.
Kitty will also need to be chipped before going home. Reach out to the person who normally does your vaccines to get this done. A microchip sticker will need to be placed on the vaccine form as well as BOTH pages of the contract. This enables us to link the adopter’s address to the microchip ID in our system.
The final step before kitty can go home is payment. The adoption fees are $100 for kittens, $85 for adults, and $50 for seniors. Two kittens are $150 upon approval from Celeste. Payment can be made in cash, with a Square invoice from Celeste (preferred for a card payment), or via Venmo (@Celeste-Bailey-5).
All kitties are required to go home in a carrier so no one gets loose to and from the car, so please make sure your adopters bring one with them.
Dogs
If you feel comfortable with the adopter, and the adopter is approved, your foster dog can start its two week trial period in the adopter’s home. This gives the adopter a chance to make sure the dog is a great fit for them. If all goes well, then after these two weeks they can complete the adoption process. Please note that your dog must be fully vaccinated and spayed/neutered before it can begin its two-week trial.
Interested in adopting your own foster animal? The process, fees, etc. are the same. We can arrange payment plans as a perk for being a foster!
Have someone interested in fostering to adopt? As a foster, they can finish the vaccinations and other care required before adopting. They will need to fill out both the foster app and the adoption app. This requires approval from Celeste and is not often done with cats as it requires quite a bit more coordination.