Foster-based ringworm treatment programmes have transformed outcomes for shelter cats by moving treatment into homes, reducing shelter stress, and dramatically increasing survival rates.
Foster-based ringworm treatment addresses multiple welfare concerns simultaneously. Removing cats from shelter environments reduces the background stress that impairs immune response to treatment. Individual foster attention enables the twice-weekly treatment protocols that achieve cure. The relationship between foster and cat provides positive social experience during what is otherwise a medically intensive period. Foster programmes also prevent the welfare harm of automatic ringworm euthanasia by providing the community capacity that makes treatment viable for resource-limited shelters. The welfare and lives-saved impact of community ringworm foster networks has been dramatic in shelters that have implemented them.