Hi,
This is my first post on this forum. I hope you can help!
We have 10 rescue cats and 2 dogs at home. We've taken a lot on, I know, but we've never had any problems until now. The latest addition to the family isn't settling in at all. She's a young female (8 months), found abandoned in a nearby village. She was nervous at first and we expected this, but nothing's changed. She's been with us for three months now. The vet says it's early days, but the others settled much earlier than this. We had her sterilised and vaccinated recently, but are too afraid to let her out unless she doesn't come back. The other cats are not agressive at all. They're a real bunch of softies. There's plenty of room in the house. We have three levels and the cats tend to group up in pairs or find their own spots. She seems to get on fine with us and the dogs, but can't handle the sight of the other cats. She hisses at them and chases them away. Her tail goes all bushy. She jumps high up on the furniture to avoid them. There are brawls between them, but she's the one who starts it. One of them might just be walking past her, and she loses it. We can hear her tearing around the house, hell bent of savaging the others. She stays in my boyfriend's office with him all day, but it's no real life for her. She ventures down at night for food. I decided not to feed her in the office as it would mean she'd just stay there all day. With us, she's a very sweet and loving cat. She's never scratched us. She sits on our laps and purrs. There's hoep for her, I just don't know whether it's with us. Do you think there are things we can do to help her continue to live with us, or do you think we should try to find her another home? It breaks my heart to think of the second option, but I want this cat to be happy. I also don't want her to terrorise the others. All the cats go out and about in the garden and further afielde. I want them to have a place they want to come home to. If she continues like this, I'm scared the others will run away. Maybe I've been naive in taking on so many animals...
Alexandra
This is my first post on this forum. I hope you can help!
We have 10 rescue cats and 2 dogs at home. We've taken a lot on, I know, but we've never had any problems until now. The latest addition to the family isn't settling in at all. She's a young female (8 months), found abandoned in a nearby village. She was nervous at first and we expected this, but nothing's changed. She's been with us for three months now. The vet says it's early days, but the others settled much earlier than this. We had her sterilised and vaccinated recently, but are too afraid to let her out unless she doesn't come back. The other cats are not agressive at all. They're a real bunch of softies. There's plenty of room in the house. We have three levels and the cats tend to group up in pairs or find their own spots. She seems to get on fine with us and the dogs, but can't handle the sight of the other cats. She hisses at them and chases them away. Her tail goes all bushy. She jumps high up on the furniture to avoid them. There are brawls between them, but she's the one who starts it. One of them might just be walking past her, and she loses it. We can hear her tearing around the house, hell bent of savaging the others. She stays in my boyfriend's office with him all day, but it's no real life for her. She ventures down at night for food. I decided not to feed her in the office as it would mean she'd just stay there all day. With us, she's a very sweet and loving cat. She's never scratched us. She sits on our laps and purrs. There's hoep for her, I just don't know whether it's with us. Do you think there are things we can do to help her continue to live with us, or do you think we should try to find her another home? It breaks my heart to think of the second option, but I want this cat to be happy. I also don't want her to terrorise the others. All the cats go out and about in the garden and further afielde. I want them to have a place they want to come home to. If she continues like this, I'm scared the others will run away. Maybe I've been naive in taking on so many animals...
Alexandra
