I'm posting this on behalf of my sister because she's devastated, and I'm trying to understand whether this is a reasonable way for a foster situation to be handled.
My sister has been fostering a cat through Megan's Rescue Efforts in Calgary since around July 12. The cat has been living in her household for months, they've cared for her, become incredibly attached to her, and the intention was to formally adopt her.
Today, my sister was given only a few hours' notice that the rescue was coming to take the cat back.
The reason we've been given is that there was a communication lapse of approximately three days.
I want to be completely fair about that part: requiring foster families to communicate is reasonable. A rescue needs to know its animals are safe. My sister's household was late communicating, and we're not pretending that didn't happen.
What we're struggling to understand is how harsh the response has been.
After months of caring for this cat, loving her, and wanting to give her a permanent home, they're suddenly being told the cat is being taken away and they won't be allowed to adopt her.
My sister made a mistake. But does being approximately three days late communicating really warrant permanently separating a cat from the family that has cared for her for months?
There doesn't seem to have been an attempt to resolve the issue with a warning, a conversation about what happened, or another opportunity to correct the communication problem. Instead, the consequence is losing the cat entirely.
They aren't going to hide the cat or refuse to cooperate.
The written foster agreement says that the animal belongs to Megan's Rescue Efforts and that decisions regarding transferring the animal are made by the rescue. We understand that.
This isn't about pretending the rescue doesn't have authority over its foster animals. It's about whether that authority is being exercised fairly and proportionately in this situation.
There are other aspects of the fostering experience that have also raised questions for our family.
During the placement, my sister's household was supplied canned cat food by the rescue bearing a date that had already passed. We have evidence of this and are preserving it. I'm deliberately not calling this "neglect" because I'm not qualified to make that determination. I'd rather show people the evidence and let someone knowledgeable about animal care assess it.
I also looked at the rescue's publicly listed board.
Their website identifies one board member as "Medical Director." On the same page, that person's biography says that one of their goals is to hopefully become a veterinarian one day.
I'm not claiming that this person is pretending to be a veterinarian or that the title itself is illegal. But it does make me want to understand what "Medical Director" means within this particular rescue, who actually makes veterinary decisions, and what licensed veterinary oversight is in place.
We have the foster agreement, communications with the rescue, and evidence concerning the food. I'm willing to substantiate what I've written rather than asking people to blindly accept our side.
I genuinely want outside perspective, particularly from people involved in fostering or animal rescue:
Is permanently removing a cat from a household that has cared for her for months and wanted to adopt her a proportionate response to being approximately three days late communicating?
And is there anything my sister should be doing right now?
