Over the past eight years, Tina Moore, has cared for one of the highest number of cats ever fostered by a Battersea volunteer and since 2015 the feline-loving foster carer has helped all shapes and sizes of our rescue cats - from senior strays to tiny kittens.
As a dedicated volunteer, Tina has provided invaluable support for cats who need a temporary place to rest their paws, where they can be in a home environment before finding a permanent place to call their own.
Speaking about the joys of fostering, Tina said: “The best thing about caring for a Battersea foster cat is watching them grow into happy and confident felines and helping them get used to life in a home environment so they can thrive in a forever home. Sometimes cats and young kittens can feel a little overwhelmed inside catteries, so providing them with a foster home where they can slowly come out of their shells and show off their true brand of ‘cattitude’, helps make sure they are matched with the right owner for them”.
Tina began her Battersea fostering journey after her own cat sadly passed away. Wanting to give something back to rescue cats in need, she quickly proved herself to be a dab hand fostering mums and their kittens with the pitter and patter of tiny paws being a constant sound in Tina’s home.
Recently Tina cared for young stray mum Ariel, a one-year-old Domestic Short-hair who was found wandering the streets heavily pregnant before being taken to our Old Windsor centre. After bravely giving birth to her young kittens, Ariel was finding life in the cattery a little stressful and needed some space where she could peacefully hone her mothering skills and give some attention to her young kittens.
Luckily for Ariel, Tina was on hand to help her look after her loveable litter and be the best mum she could be. Under Tina’s care, the kittens started showing off their quirky personalities with cute kitten Dave proving to be the most energetic of his sibling's, enjoying lots of fun games with his toy mice. After receiving plenty of ‘TLC’, the kittens were soon off to their new homes, including Dave, who is now loving life with new owners. It wasn’t long before Ariel also found a forever family of her own.
Tina added: “Being there for cats like Ariel is really what it’s all about, especially helping young kittens like Dave get used to new people so they can explore the world around them. You do end up having your favourites such as a recent litter of kittens I looked after called Rock, Paper and Scissors whose playful antics made me fall in love with the three little bundles of fur!”.
“I’ve fostered so many cats over these past eight years, and it’s so special knowing I’ve played an important part in helping them find the love that they deserve, especially as Battersea is now celebrating its 140th anniversary of being there for cats”.
Rosy Price, Interim Head of Volunteering Fostering and Communities, said: “For many rescue animals, finding themselves in a cattery or a kennel can be quite a stressful experience, so the work that our dedicated foster carers do, like Tina, means they can be looked after in a more familiar setting and have round-the-clock care where needed.
We’re always on the lookout for caring animal lovers who may not be able to commit to permanently rehoming one of our rescue animals, but can provide a temporary home for one of our cats or dogs so we can help identify the quirky personality traits that help match them with a forever family. If you think you could help by fostering your first rescue animal with us, we’d love to hear from you”.
Battersea foster carers will need to live near one of our three centres in London, Windsor or Brands Hatch. All foster carers should be compassionate, empathetic and adaptable to the needs of individual animals, and willing to provide the basics of care and ideally have no other pets at home. Foster carers would also need access to a car in case the animal they are looking after needs veterinary attention. All Foster Carers will receive ongoing support and animal behaviour training from Battersea, as well as everything needed to look after one of the charity’s animals including food and equipment.
