Cat Regression After Foster Dog

[hellothere1234]

Hello. I have a shy female cat named Ivy (3 years old) & a friendly outgoing male cat name Professor (10+ years old).

It took a while for Ivy to come out of her hiding spot when we first got her, probably around a month. We've had her for about a year, she always hangs out with us now, and loves to be pet and get attention. She is still skittish at times but she trusts us to an extent. She also loves my other cat, even though sometimes he doesn't love her lol.

Anyways, I always see on FB how many animals are being put to sleep at shelters and I feel guilty, (my bf does not want me to foster cats as we have "too many" but a dogs ok) I have fostered a dog before and it went great but we didn't have Ivy. Professor is very friendly and doesn't mind dogs after a couple days. So I fostered a small 5 pound chi/pom mix, he doesn't chase the cats at all or anything. 

I feel like I have lost her trust, and I feel absolutely horrible. Prof doesn't mind the dog but the cats' whole schedule changed now... They eat at night instead of in the morning, Ivy doesn't really come out of the room, and she's been acting like she's scared of me or doesn't remember who I am, she also started playing in the litter box for some reason.

Any tips on how to get Ivy back to normal after foster dog leaves? I feel awful, I didn't know this would effect her so much, and I probably won't be able to foster again since it causes her too much stress. Has anyone else had this problem and have any suggestions? Should I just give it time?

Thank you.

 

[sprin]

It's sweet you wanted to foster a dog, I'm sorry things aren't working out! I'm sure Ivy recognizes you, but has just turned to a sort of panicked survival mode. She's probably just so scared that she doesn't feel comfortable being vulnerable enough to spend time with you. She's probably playing in her litter box because it smells like her and she feels ownership over it, that's something some cats do when they feel really insecure. I think getting back into her routine will probably help a lot, so after the dog leaves and she's back to eating at a predictable time she'll probably get better.

Do you have her separated from the dog? If she's staying in your room most of the time anyway, it might make her feel more comfortable if you shut the door so the dog can't get in there. Then you can just set her up with her food/water/litter box accessible. guides about introducing cats to new pets usually say to keep them in separate areas of the house and introduce them slowly anyway. It sounds like you aren't going to foster again probably, but if you do another thing to consider is if she has places up high that she can get away from the dog with (like a cat tree or shelves that she climbs). Cats who stay low to the ground or on furniture can easily be cornered by a dog and feel like they don't have anywhere to go.

https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/introducing-dogs-to-cats/