Veruca, my "foster" cat, has 3 kittens left. They are 9 weeks old. The other kittens were placed last week and they doing fantastic in their forever homes. (I'm so proud - all the new owners say that these kittens are perfectly cuddly, playful, and sociable - "the best kittens they ever had").
Anyway, my concerns are that the three kittens are still nursing a lot and Veruca seems to be uninterested in anything except her kittens. Before the other kittens left Veruca seemed to want to get away from them and was really weaning them. But now, all Veruca wants to do is stay in the bedroom with her kittens.
One day I let the kittens come out to socialize them a little more, and Veruca went in to protective mode and was chasing away all of my resident cats. Since that day she chases my cats even if the kittens are safe in their room. If I let her out, she just sits by the door and guards it. She has been here two over two months and it's like she is regressing when it comes to getting along with my 4 cats.
We planned on keeping her and 1 kitten but I fear that she will never even let her kitten get to know our cats. Elvis the kitty is 9 weeks now and he hasn't been able to bond with us and our cats because she won't let us. I don't know what to do. SHould I work on acclaimating Veruca to the family first, or just separate Elvis from his littermates and leave him out of the room to start his life as part of our family? Or should I just go for the gusto and let Veruca and the kittens out and let all the cats work it out? Please note that Veruca is NOT aggressive with humans. She doesn't mind if we handle the kittens. She just chases that cats away if they even come near the room, the kittens, or her food (we tried feeding her down here but she even chases them away from their own food bowls and eats their food)
I am also wondering if Veruca might stop being so protective and aggressive with my cats when she is spayed. The vet wanted to wait until the kittens are weaned and gone, but Elvis is staying for sure and I have no idea when the other two will get rehomed. SHould I just have her done and keep her separated until she heals?
Sorry this is such a long post with so many questions. I am just feeling sad about the fact that Veruca is upsetting my resident babies. And I want to enjoy little Elvis while he's still a kitten! I hope you can help.
Anyway, my concerns are that the three kittens are still nursing a lot and Veruca seems to be uninterested in anything except her kittens. Before the other kittens left Veruca seemed to want to get away from them and was really weaning them. But now, all Veruca wants to do is stay in the bedroom with her kittens.
One day I let the kittens come out to socialize them a little more, and Veruca went in to protective mode and was chasing away all of my resident cats. Since that day she chases my cats even if the kittens are safe in their room. If I let her out, she just sits by the door and guards it. She has been here two over two months and it's like she is regressing when it comes to getting along with my 4 cats.
We planned on keeping her and 1 kitten but I fear that she will never even let her kitten get to know our cats. Elvis the kitty is 9 weeks now and he hasn't been able to bond with us and our cats because she won't let us. I don't know what to do. SHould I work on acclaimating Veruca to the family first, or just separate Elvis from his littermates and leave him out of the room to start his life as part of our family? Or should I just go for the gusto and let Veruca and the kittens out and let all the cats work it out? Please note that Veruca is NOT aggressive with humans. She doesn't mind if we handle the kittens. She just chases that cats away if they even come near the room, the kittens, or her food (we tried feeding her down here but she even chases them away from their own food bowls and eats their food)
I am also wondering if Veruca might stop being so protective and aggressive with my cats when she is spayed. The vet wanted to wait until the kittens are weaned and gone, but Elvis is staying for sure and I have no idea when the other two will get rehomed. SHould I just have her done and keep her separated until she heals?
Sorry this is such a long post with so many questions. I am just feeling sad about the fact that Veruca is upsetting my resident babies. And I want to enjoy little Elvis while he's still a kitten! I hope you can help.
