Foster Cat Introductions

[abbessheloise]

I’m a new foster parent, and I’m just looking for advice on introducing my foster girl to my resident cats.

She’s very shy, so spent the first week on her own in her room, but has since come out of her shell and has started trying to come out and explore after two weeks. The only issue is when she sees the resident cats, she hisses and growls. My two cats are pretty chilled out (you can see my previous thread that they happily co-existed pretty early) so I’m not worried about them. I’m just wondering, am I rushing Sammy, or is the hissing normal? I’ve managed to get them on either side of an open door, lying down and being read to for an hour each day.

 

[susanm9006]

I always expect at least a few hisses as part of the introduction. But on the other hand a week isn’t a long time for intros between three cats. I would keep doing what you have been doing and make sure she has a way to retreat back to her safe place if she gets overwhelmed.

 

[abbessheloise]

We’re about three weeks in and the hissing and growling continues, although she doesn’t hide anymore. Should I go back to the previous stage of introductions, or let them co-exist for half hour periods with me present?