Some people start with No:1, I'm starting with No:29....

This is Tandy. She's the 29th cat that we've fostered in the last two and a half years and she's just been adopted by her permanent family. She was with us for nearly seven months, an incredibly long period of time for a foster cat. Perhaps that's because money is a bit tight right now, or perhaps it's simply down to the fact that she's a black cat. Black cats never get rehomed quickly. People are more superstitious than you'd think.

Anyway, seven months is a long time, and Tandy was a lovely cat, described by several cat-lovers as perfect, and with a hierarchy of needs that went:

1. Love me.

2. Love me.

3. Love me.

4. Give me about half a handful of cat-biscuits a month.

That's about it really. She was an extremely easy cat to be smitten with, and she'll no doubt be doing wonderfully at her new home with two grown-ups and three sensible kids to lavish affection upon her. We, on the other hand, are missing her a great deal. (I say a great deal, but the arrival of cat number 30 is doing a great deal to distract us. More about her later.)

You couldn't foster cats if you didn't love them, but at the same time you have to be practical about it as well. Every cat you foster will eventually go to live with a permanent family. If you're not the sort of person who can console yourself with the thought of a job well done then cat fostering would have you in bits on a wearyingly regular basis. But it is a job well done. Not only do you give cat charities some much-needed extra capacity, but you're also responsible for an amazing improvement in the life of the cat. We've had some horribly mistreated cats in our house, cats with heartbreaking stories and who are obviously unhappy, but by the time they move on they're snuggly, affectionate and happy. That helps soften the blow when they leave.

And of course, our cats are hugely entertaining. That's another reason to foster.

Over the course of our 30 fosterees (19 cats, 11 kittens) we've gathered lots of tips and tricks, bought a variety of useful and useless toys and gadgets, and seen our cats do everything from singing to a pile of sock 'kittens' to attacking a giant skinhead. All the lessons and laughs we've accumulated will find their way into this blog, cat by cat.