i'm fostering a momma cat and her babies for a few weeks. they are absolutely delightful. i have been keeping them cordoned off (in a separate bathroom) from my two resident cats, and things were going great -- for about 24 hours. early the second morning with our new foster family, momma cat staged a breakout from the bathroom. this was immediately after nursing the kittens and the first thing in her line of sight was my 2-year-old male resident cat. she launched herself at him.
i managed to separate them after the fight went from the dining room to the kitchen and momma cat resumed life as if nothing had happened - so did my resident female. poor resident male spent several hours hiding under the bed. he eventually came out, and, with the help of some feliway and extra cuddles, and a day mostly keeping to the safe space of my bedroom, his spirits were mostly back to normal, with a peculiar exception.
my two cats have never been besties but they get along pretty well, i think. they groom each other, very occasionally will snuggle together, and share tight quarters on a regular basis. in fact, both of them slept with me the night of the fight and since then (their normal behavior, although my male cat snuggled much closer than he usually does). but my female cat, who will share the bed with him, share the food with him, and sit right next to him when they follow me around, lays her ears flat back and gives a hiss whenever he looks like he might touch her. it seems to be having an effect on the morale of my poor buddy. again, with the feliway, this has gradually been improving in the 3.5 days since The Incident. how long do i let this continue before i should be worried?
i am doing my best to boost his morale with lots of cuddles and affection - which i would do anyway. #catladydontcare
is there anything else i could be doing?
i should add that my female cat has had no response at all to the foster babies except to claim sole ownership over my lap - which she has never had before. if they were little human children i would say that she is gloating because he's been so nervous that she has me almost all to herself, a very rare scenario in our household since my male cat is needy and gets anxious when he can't be near me.
also, given The Incident, can i (or should i) attempt a formal introduction between the two broods? since they are fosters, it is obviously not necessary, but i thought it would be helpful to judge how momma does around other cats and be able to report that to future families, to say nothing on how much easier it would be for me if i don't have to keep up formal separation for the full month i anticipate hosting them before adoption.
i managed to separate them after the fight went from the dining room to the kitchen and momma cat resumed life as if nothing had happened - so did my resident female. poor resident male spent several hours hiding under the bed. he eventually came out, and, with the help of some feliway and extra cuddles, and a day mostly keeping to the safe space of my bedroom, his spirits were mostly back to normal, with a peculiar exception.
my two cats have never been besties but they get along pretty well, i think. they groom each other, very occasionally will snuggle together, and share tight quarters on a regular basis. in fact, both of them slept with me the night of the fight and since then (their normal behavior, although my male cat snuggled much closer than he usually does). but my female cat, who will share the bed with him, share the food with him, and sit right next to him when they follow me around, lays her ears flat back and gives a hiss whenever he looks like he might touch her. it seems to be having an effect on the morale of my poor buddy. again, with the feliway, this has gradually been improving in the 3.5 days since The Incident. how long do i let this continue before i should be worried?
i am doing my best to boost his morale with lots of cuddles and affection - which i would do anyway. #catladydontcare
is there anything else i could be doing?
i should add that my female cat has had no response at all to the foster babies except to claim sole ownership over my lap - which she has never had before. if they were little human children i would say that she is gloating because he's been so nervous that she has me almost all to herself, a very rare scenario in our household since my male cat is needy and gets anxious when he can't be near me.
also, given The Incident, can i (or should i) attempt a formal introduction between the two broods? since they are fosters, it is obviously not necessary, but i thought it would be helpful to judge how momma does around other cats and be able to report that to future families, to say nothing on how much easier it would be for me if i don't have to keep up formal separation for the full month i anticipate hosting them before adoption.
