The foster care sheet: medications, meals and emergency numbers
Updated · 6 min read · By the Second Tail team
Before an animal goes to a foster home, write down four things on one page: what and when it eats, every medication with dose and time, who to call (coordinator, backup, regular vet, approved 24 hour emergency vet), and what counts as an emergency. Most late-night panics and missed doses come from one of those four living only in someone's memory.
Why one page beats a foster manual
Many rescues hand new fosters a long manual, and it is worth having. But at 11pm, with a kitten that will not eat, nobody is searching page 23. Fosters need the details for this animal, on one page, on the fridge and on their phone. The manual explains how fostering works. The care sheet says what to do tonight.
What goes on a foster care sheet
1. Feeding
The exact food (brand and formula, not just "kibble"), how much, how often, and what to do if the animal skips a meal. Write down after how long a skipped meal is worth a message. For very young animals, that window is short, so say it plainly.
2. Medications
One line per medication: name, dose, time of day, with or without food, and the last day to give it. Add what to do if a dose is missed. This is the section fosters most often get wrong, usually because the instructions were spoken at pickup and never written down.
3. Vaccines, preventives and vet visits
When the next vaccine, flea and tick treatment, heartworm preventive or dewormer is due, and any scheduled vet visits. Fosters cannot remind you about a booster they do not know about.
4. Behavior and routine
Crate or room setup, walks or litter box, how the animal does with other pets and kids, and anything that scares it. This is also the start of the adoption profile, so ask fosters to add to it as they learn more.
5. Contacts and the emergency plan
The part that matters most when something goes wrong:
- The foster coordinator's phone number, and a backup for when they do not answer
- The rescue's regular vet
- The approved 24 hour emergency vet, with its address
- Who can approve emergency costs, so the foster is never stuck at the front desk
- Your rescue's own list of "call right away" signs
Free foster care sheet template
Copy this, fill it in for each animal, and send it with the animal and as a message the foster can find on their phone.
FOSTER CARE SHEET Animal: ______________ Species/breed: ______________ Age: ______ Microchip #: ______________ Weight on arrival: ______ In this home since: ______________ FEEDING Food (brand and formula): ______________ Amount and times: ______________ Treats allowed? ______ Foods to avoid: ______________ Who to tell if they skip a meal, and after how long: ______________ MEDICATIONS Name | Dose | When | With food? | Last dose date ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ If a dose is missed: ______________ VACCINES AND PREVENTIVES Next due (vaccine, flea/tick, heartworm, dewormer): ______________ BEHAVIOR AND ROUTINE Crate/confinement: ______ Walks/litter box: ______ Other pets/kids: ______ Known triggers: ______________ CONTACTS Foster coordinator: ______________ Phone: ______________ Backup contact: ______________ Phone: ______________ Rescue's regular vet: ______________ Phone: ______________ Approved emergency vet (24h): ______________ Phone: ______________ Address: ______________ Who can approve emergency costs: ______________ CALL RIGHT AWAY IF: ______________ (your rescue's own list)
How to stop missed medications and meals
- Write it, do not say it. Instructions given out loud at pickup are the ones that get forgotten.
- One log, next to the medication. A dose is ticked off where it is given. Everyone in the home uses the same log.
- Anchor doses to routine. With breakfast, with dinner, at bedtime. Set an alarm named after the medication.
- Confirm the first few days. Ask the foster to confirm doses for the first two or three days, then switch to weekly check-ins once the routine holds.
- Plan the handoff. When the animal moves homes or gets adopted, the care sheet and the medication log go with it.
What counts as an emergency
Every rescue should agree its own list with its vet, and this is not veterinary advice. Most rescues tell fosters to call right away for trouble breathing, collapse or unresponsiveness, seizures, suspected poisoning or something swallowed that should not have been, bleeding that will not stop, repeated vomiting or unproductive retching, straining without producing urine, and very young animals that stop eating or feel cold. When in doubt, call. A foster should never feel they are bothering the rescue by asking.
For everything that is not an emergency, a clear place to ask questions saves the coordinator's phone. Our guide on how to coordinate foster homes covers how to split urgent calls from everyday updates.
Keeping the care sheet current
A care sheet is only useful if it changes when the plan changes. When the vet adds a medication, update the sheet the same day and tell the foster what changed. Keep the newest version in one place both the rescue and the foster can see, so nobody is working from last week's dose.
Common questions
What information should a rescue give a foster before the animal goes home?
At minimum: what and how much to feed, every medication with dose and time, upcoming vaccines and vet visits, known behavior notes, the coordinator's number, a backup contact, the rescue's regular vet, the approved 24 hour emergency vet with address, and who can approve emergency costs.
How do fosters avoid missing a medication dose?
Tie each dose to something that already happens every day, like the animal's meal or your own morning coffee, set a phone alarm with the medication name in it, and tick off each dose on one log kept next to the medication. If two people in the home give doses, use the same log so a dose is never doubled or skipped.
What should a foster do if they miss a medication dose?
Do not double up on the next dose unless the rescue's vet says to. Contact the foster coordinator, say which medication and how late it is, and follow the instructions on the care sheet. Ask the rescue to write a missed dose rule for each medication before the animal goes home.
When should a foster go to the emergency vet?
Your rescue's vet decides the list, but most rescues treat trouble breathing, collapse, seizures, suspected poisoning, bleeding that will not stop, repeated vomiting or retching, straining without producing urine, and very young animals that stop eating as call right away situations. Call the rescue's emergency contact first if you can, and go if you cannot reach anyone.
Who pays for a foster animal's emergency vet visit?
In most rescues the rescue pays for approved vet care, which is why the care sheet needs the name of the approved emergency vet and the person who can authorize costs. Policies differ, so fosters should ask before the animal comes home, not during an emergency.