- Joined
- May 6, 2021
- Messages
- 17
- Purraise
- 10
Hi everyone,
So to begin we have a 5 year old cat, Miso who we adopted out as an adult. We are unsure of her previous situation, but know that she can at least tolerate other cats as we adopted her from a cat cafe where other cats seldom bothered her. An important detail, we have also recently realized that she is seizure-prone. Vets are unsure of the cause, but it is (as far as we are aware) well controlled with medication.
Within the last month we have decided to open up our home to our first foster cat. She is 10 months old and very playful and affectionate. Thinking that she was so friendly with humans, we decided to try a supervised introduction of the two kitties to see if Miso would be okay with having a friend to "observe". Unfortunately this introduction began and ended very poorly with the foster trying to attack miso and her cowering in fear of the foster. It broke my heart to make my cat feel this way and I'm now reconsidering fostering. I'm not only concerned for my cat possibly being bullied, but also that the stress put on her might cause her to have more seizures.
The whole situation has made me feel a bit jaded about fostering in general. I'm looking for advice on what i might be able to do. We live in a relatively small house so not allowing the foster to enter rooms other than the one we set her up in causes her a lot of anxiety (excessive meowing, clawing at beneath the door). And conversely I would prefer not to lock my cat up in a room as it's pretty much her house and I want her to go where she pleases. Does it sound possible that I could strictly request more "submissive", friendly, or laid back cats and kittens or does it sound more like Miso should remain an only cat? thank you for reading!
So to begin we have a 5 year old cat, Miso who we adopted out as an adult. We are unsure of her previous situation, but know that she can at least tolerate other cats as we adopted her from a cat cafe where other cats seldom bothered her. An important detail, we have also recently realized that she is seizure-prone. Vets are unsure of the cause, but it is (as far as we are aware) well controlled with medication.
Within the last month we have decided to open up our home to our first foster cat. She is 10 months old and very playful and affectionate. Thinking that she was so friendly with humans, we decided to try a supervised introduction of the two kitties to see if Miso would be okay with having a friend to "observe". Unfortunately this introduction began and ended very poorly with the foster trying to attack miso and her cowering in fear of the foster. It broke my heart to make my cat feel this way and I'm now reconsidering fostering. I'm not only concerned for my cat possibly being bullied, but also that the stress put on her might cause her to have more seizures.
The whole situation has made me feel a bit jaded about fostering in general. I'm looking for advice on what i might be able to do. We live in a relatively small house so not allowing the foster to enter rooms other than the one we set her up in causes her a lot of anxiety (excessive meowing, clawing at beneath the door). And conversely I would prefer not to lock my cat up in a room as it's pretty much her house and I want her to go where she pleases. Does it sound possible that I could strictly request more "submissive", friendly, or laid back cats and kittens or does it sound more like Miso should remain an only cat? thank you for reading!