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Nervous about first foster.

post #1 of 9
10/14/09 at 1:33pm
Thread Starter 
I have made the decision to foster a sick cat from the shelter. What she has is not communicable, it is Hepatic Lipidosis. I am getting advice from others with experience in this disease as well as getting an appointment with the shelter vet to make sure I am doing everything correct. She will be living in my bathroom, separated from the rest of my cats. This is for a couple of reasons, one is that she is very weak and she is also front paw declawed. My babies have all of thier claws & 2 of my boys can be dominant. I am afraid that in her weakened condition she could be a target for them. I am going to go home tonight & prepare the bathroom for her. I am sure she will be fine in the bathroom, but my question is how to I make this transition as easy as possible for my cats? I will be bringing her home tomorrow night so my plan at this time is to close off the bathroom tonight so that they have a day to get used to the door being closed. Of coarse if it is too much for them I will have to take her back, but I am hoping for at least a good 2 -3 months to get her healthy enough for adoption, or in worst case scenerio to make her last days as comfortable as possible. Any advice for a first time foster home would be great.
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post #2 of 9
10/14/09 at 2:57pm
If you are worried they may get unsecure of all this...

You can try with a Feliway diffuser for them. If you think the guest is easy to stress, perhaps also one for her...

It shouldnt be necessary, fosterers do manage without them. But it is a nice extra security you can give your cats, especielly being a newbie at this.


A Feliway diffuser are usually sold by the vet. Big pet shops can have them, In other countries they can be bought at the apothece. Otherwise there are always pet shops on Internet...


Good luck!
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post #3 of 9
10/14/09 at 4:41pm
I think your plan to close the bathroom door so yours get used to is definitely a good one. That's what I do with the spare bedroom when I'm preparing to foster. I've found the most important thing I can do for the sake of my own crew when I foster is keep things as routine and normal as possible for them, along with giving them plenty of extra attention. I've been fostering off and on for three years now and they've adjusted well.

Good luck with your little foster.
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post #4 of 9
10/15/09 at 4:54am
Mine have been fairly good about fosters and I introduced them to some of them also.

I also agree with getting the room ready beforehand and letting them get used to the idea it is blocked off to them before the new guest arrives.

Mine always get a new toy or some treats as soon as the new guest arrives, I leave the foster to explore the isolation room while giving mine lots of attention.

With mine, they usually try and play pawsies under the door - Bumper once got a nasty shock when I had a feral in there and she slapped his paw so hard I heard it from the living room he came out holding his paw in the air looking at it like he wasnt sure it was still there so now I also put a towel in front of the door
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post #5 of 9
10/15/09 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not past the nervous point, getting excited. I bought the cats 2 new litter boxes last night. Threw out one of their old nasty ones & scrubbed the one that the new cat will be using. I hope that making sure they still have 3 boxes available will make up for them loosing the one in the bathroom. One is the Clever cat & it seems that Maggie & Jordan both really like that one. Levi seems to like the other new box, probably because it has a door so Isaac leaves him alone, but the door is clear so he can see if Isaac is coming.
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post #6 of 9
10/19/09 at 7:58am
Thread Starter 
I have to say my cats have been preety darn tolerant of her presence. Frankly, the boys are more concerned about the fact that she has "good food" in her room with her. They don't understand why they can't go in there & eat her food? My sweet Maggie, well I'm afriad this is yet another example of how not bright she is. I am preety sure she has no clue there is another cat in the house. I always tell her it's a good thing she is cute, because she is not very bright. I am begining to wonder if her dad was also her uncle?
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post #7 of 9
10/19/09 at 3:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rang_27 View Post
I have to say my cats have been preety darn tolerant of her presence. Frankly, the boys are more concerned about the fact that she has "good food" in her room with her. They don't understand why they can't go in there & eat her food? My sweet Maggie, well I'm afriad this is yet another example of how not bright she is. I am preety sure she has no clue there is another cat in the house. I always tell her it's a good thing she is cute, because she is not very bright. I am begining to wonder if her dad was also her uncle?
I'm glad to hear it's going so well. Your boys sound like my Pete regarding the food. He's always trying to bust into the spare/foster room to get the food. Unless I'm fostering a kitten, it's usually the same food mine get. Poor Maggie. My older girls are all too well aware of the presence of a foster kitty, although it sometimes seems like Katie is in denial and pretending like there's not another cat here.

Continued vibes for everybody.
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post #8 of 9
10/20/09 at 4:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rang_27 View Post
My sweet Maggie, well I'm afriad this is yet another example of how not bright she is. I am preety sure she has no clue there is another cat in the house. I always tell her it's a good thing she is cute, because she is not very bright. I am begining to wonder if her dad was also her uncle?
Thanks for a much needed laugh

Glad they are doing well too
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post #9 of 9
10/21/09 at 11:01am
Thread Starter 
I think Maggie has figured out there is another cat in the house, but I think she is trying to decide if this is someone she can talk to. You see she has a couple toys that meow & when they meow she meow's back. So I think she is trying to decide if she should talk to Tiger or not.

Jordan, well last night he went over the top of the baby gate. He was in her face, but that was just because she was between him & the food. He just kept trying to dodge her as she was growling & smacking him. For a dominant cat he sure could care less that she was standing up to him.
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