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There has been much chatter online about how the NYS Companion Animal Care Act affects foster homes, as opposed to shelter buildings. Some shelters have volunteers who foster cats in their own homes. Some rescue groups are 100% foster-home based, and do not have a central building with cats in it. The law became effective in December 2025, and contains many requirements concerning buildings and sanitation. 

The language of the law already has interpretations. Even though the law specifically says that no one can provide foster care without first having signed a written agreement with a NYS-licensed animal shelter, the law has been said to include foster-based rescues. So, a foster-based rescue can apply for a license from the NYS Agriculture and Markets department, to be a “shelter.” The rescue group can then sign foster-agreements with individuals the group has accepted as foster volunteers.

Part of the new law includes unannounced inspections of physical plant and animal records, after the first year the law is in effect (Dec. 15 2025 - Dec. 15 2026). Needless to say, people who foster cats for adoption or medical needs, in their private homes, have a lot of questions. Some people are worried that their homes need to meet the strict shelter requirements and that they will have inspections from Ag & Markets. 

I really had to look into these issues, since I do foster cats at my home, and I definitely felt ambivalent about the possibility of the state inspecting my home to make sure it met the requirements of the new law. 

Fortunately, I was directed to a recording of a webinar with 2 veterinarians from Ag and Markets and the executive director of NYS Animal Protection Federation (NYSAPF). There is a link to a pdf of the presentation “slides,” but the discussion is really where you get the meat of the current interpretation of things.

Here is what I gleaned from the conversation:

Individual foster homes will NOT be inspected, unless there is a VALID complaint.

I have been reading information posted online that any complaint will trigger an inspection of a private foster home. In the webinar, speakers said that this it not true. They said that valid complaints are not things like a person saying that they saw a cat that didn’t look happy, or if your neighbor, who just doesn’t like you, “reports” you. A valid complaint is something like a report of a true hoarding situation.

There will be a “paperwork,” inspection AT the address listed on the rescue’s license. (Required records can be paper or digital.) Yes, that address could be a private residence, if that is the address the organization obtained a “shelter” license with. Now, maybe the coordinator is at work when Ag & Markets comes knocking, for their unannounced visits during working hours. In the webinar discussion, Ag & Markets said they will make 3 attempts to do the unannounced records inspection. If no one is at the address, someone will contact the organizer to see what days and times that person is available. In the discussion, Ag & Markets said they won’t make an appointment, they will just try to come over during the time slots given by the rescue organizer.

Questions submitted to the webinar included asking if Ag & Markets could receive the required records by email, for inspection, or if a log-in could be given to Ag & Markets to look at records online. In both cases, the answer was a resounding, “No.” So, for whatever reason, a foster-based rescue group must allow an inspection of its records in person, even if that means an Ag & Markets inspector is coming to the address of the rescue’s license to look at the records on a computer on-site. Sorry, I do not know the logic of that, and it was not explained in the webinar.

In theory, a foster home is supposed to also have copies of veterinary and other records for the foster animals living there. Of course, if foster homes are not being inspected. … I mean, it’s a good idea to have all the records and the group I foster with requires me to enter all of the information into a database that foster volunteers can log into. I do keep print outs and file them away, just for my own knowledge of which cats fostered with us, over time. (Believe it or not, it does get hard to remember all the cats over the years!)  It’s not like it’s a big deal, but I can understand how some people don’t do that.

Also, foster homes are supposed to use equipment that can be cleaned and sanitized, and they are supposed to have the supplies and sanitizer on hand, for the inspections that won’t happen. Again, let’s hope people are doing that anyway, between foster animal stays in their homes.

One of the vets in the webinar said that it is acceptable to use a plastic shoe tray to place food and water bowls on. You can easily remove the tray and clean and sanitize it. You can place a non-porous surface under a litter box. You can then later remove the surface (I would think a large piece of vinyl floor would work, that’s what we do at home) and clean and sanitize it. Obviously, you also want to clean and sanitize food and water bowls and litter boxes.

In the webinar, NYSAPF and Ag & Markets representatives said they understand that foster animals might live mingled with the people and other pets in your home, maybe even sleep in bed with people. The speakers all voiced that that was fine and good for the animals. You can have enclosures or separate rooms, but they do need to meet space requirements in the law. One speaker pointed out that the state laws on how many animals you can have in a certain space do not override any municpal laws where you live. So, if your town says you can only have 6 cats, but you have a mansion and you could fit a lot more cats, going by the state’s space requirements, the 6 cat rule supercedes. (Just an example.)

In the case of needing to isolate an animal that is sick or needs medical care, it is perfectly acceptable to use a bathroom, a spare bedroom, or other space in the house, as long as the animal is completely separated from the others.

So, if you do read the law, I don’t think you will find any of this spelled out. The section (432) of the law that covers foster care provider requirements is pretty short and general. I found the webinar interesting, and I hope that the answers given to questions that were submitted to the representatives stay consistent.

For foster volunteers, you might need to get more organized on record-keeping, which probably most fosters already have in order, since we need to keep track of veterinary treatments, vaccinations, flea treatments, and deworming, and most of us use weights to estimate kitten ages.

You might need to decide on a sanitizer to use; there are many! It is a good idea for us to sanitize litter boxes and so on, once a foster leaves, and before a new one comes in. It is beneficial to your own cats as well!

The only new thing, really, is signing a foster agreement with the organization you are fostering with. And assuming you are currently a foster volunteer, your group should have already guided you to training, such as the free ASPCA Learns courses discussed in a past issue of Capital Purrspective.

My advice? Keep on fostering! If you haven’t fostered yet, don’t let the new law keep you from it!

But not all cat owners have enough income to cover the costs. If you work with any low-income or even homeless people with cats, please let them know that this is a rare opportunity for them to get their cat important vaccinations, flea treatment, and a microchip, and be seen by a veterinarian at Animal Protective Foundation in Glenville. If you are able to help someone get a ride to the clinic, even better!

Cats must be in carriers. If you can loan someone a carrier for the day, if they need it, please help out.