When the Animal Care Centers of NYC put a call out for applications to its fostering program, it was looking to fill 200 available slots, a spokeswoman for the shelter said. Two thousand people applied.

“One of the reasons we found that people are unable to adopt pets in New York City is because they are never home,” the spokeswoman, Katy Hansen, said. “They say it is not fair to the animal, or they are not able to spend enough time with them.”

But as the global coronavirus outbreak has people preparing to spend more time at home over the coming weeks, some who have decided that they don’t want to quarantine alone are choosing to foster a pet for companionship.

Most Americans are being told to stay out of bars and restaurants, to steer clear of social gatherings, to work from home and to socially distance themselves from one another to avoid the spread of the highly contagious new coronavirus, which has killed more than 9,000 people worldwide.