I'm a new foster mom. My first foster went splendidly. I've had cats all my life and never had a behavior problem with them.
I have a Miniature Dachshund (Peewee), a Standard Dachshund (Sweetpea), an 11 month old kitten (Ted). None of my pets show any interest in my new foster. Her name is Trebble and she is a 6 year old Calico that was surrendered by her dad because he lost his home.
Trebble is a very confident cat that adjusted quickly to her new environment when I brought her home from the pound 3 days ago. I had my back bedroom set up with her food and litter box and she had a bed to hide under at her choosing. She is a very loving cat to humans. She cuddles with me and gives me kisses. She responds exceptionally well to my husbands voice, but he won't have anything to do with her.
The only problem I have with her is that she stalks and attacks my other animals. She was displeased with Sweetpea sitting at the door of her room. She hissed and growled at Sweetpea and then retreated to the front corner of the bed where she could still see Sweetpea. When I slowly reached for her and began stroking her, she batted my arm violently, but she kept her claws retracted.
Same day when she had been playing with some catnip. I began petting her and she bit me because she was over stimulated. She did not puncture my skin though.
At night my Peewee makes her rounds around the entire house. We didn't hear any commotion, but the next day I woke up to a significant amount of blood spattered all over my kitchen floor and master bedroom carpet. Trebble had attacked Peewee scratching her side and biting her ear.
I have to supervise Trebble closely when she comes out of her bedroom because when she comes in contact with my pets she lays her ears back growling and tries to attack them, especially Ted. She does this even though my pets keep their distance from her and do not approach her in any way. Just the site of them puts her in attack mode.
I want to be able to continue fostering Trebble until we can find a suitable home for her, but I also have to think about the safety of my pets.
Is there anything I can do to make Trebble more comfortable in these situations?
I have a Miniature Dachshund (Peewee), a Standard Dachshund (Sweetpea), an 11 month old kitten (Ted). None of my pets show any interest in my new foster. Her name is Trebble and she is a 6 year old Calico that was surrendered by her dad because he lost his home.
Trebble is a very confident cat that adjusted quickly to her new environment when I brought her home from the pound 3 days ago. I had my back bedroom set up with her food and litter box and she had a bed to hide under at her choosing. She is a very loving cat to humans. She cuddles with me and gives me kisses. She responds exceptionally well to my husbands voice, but he won't have anything to do with her.
The only problem I have with her is that she stalks and attacks my other animals. She was displeased with Sweetpea sitting at the door of her room. She hissed and growled at Sweetpea and then retreated to the front corner of the bed where she could still see Sweetpea. When I slowly reached for her and began stroking her, she batted my arm violently, but she kept her claws retracted.
Same day when she had been playing with some catnip. I began petting her and she bit me because she was over stimulated. She did not puncture my skin though.
At night my Peewee makes her rounds around the entire house. We didn't hear any commotion, but the next day I woke up to a significant amount of blood spattered all over my kitchen floor and master bedroom carpet. Trebble had attacked Peewee scratching her side and biting her ear.
I have to supervise Trebble closely when she comes out of her bedroom because when she comes in contact with my pets she lays her ears back growling and tries to attack them, especially Ted. She does this even though my pets keep their distance from her and do not approach her in any way. Just the site of them puts her in attack mode.
I want to be able to continue fostering Trebble until we can find a suitable home for her, but I also have to think about the safety of my pets.
Is there anything I can do to make Trebble more comfortable in these situations?
