Resident cats' reactions to foster kittens

[archerbaby]

We've been fostering kittens for a few months now.  We actually adopted Hugo out of the foster program because he told us that he'd found his home with us and that Archer was just about the best thing he'd ever seen & Archer, and we, felt the same way about him

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• archerbaby
• Jul 11, 2013

 

[callista]

Hiss and spit for a week, cautious stares for another week, then resigned tolerance. My two aren't particularly friendly, unfortunately; both are somewhat anxious and both came to me because they couldn't have made it at a shelter.

I don't foster a lot, but sometimes, if a cat really needs a place to stay, I just can't say no, and my resident kitties will just have to deal with it. Besides, they get extra treats out of the whole affair whenever I try to associate "new cat" with nice things. Not that they buy it, but they do eat the treats.

Usually it's situations like finding an abandoned cat half-starved somewhere, or a kitten dumped on the street, or a newly spayed cat needing some time to recover. Christy used to be a foster because she was freaking out at the shelter, but she stayed so long I adopted her. For that matter Tiny was supposed to be a foster, too, but he was nearly feral and it took him so long to trust me that I couldn't displace him again. Sooner or later I'm going to foster another cat that I can't find a home for and that can't stay at a no-kill shelter, and then I'll have a third cat. Just a matter of time.

 

[archerbaby]

Hugo was one of those that once I gained his trust it would've been cruel to try to move him elsewhere.  But the fact that he & Archer loved each other so much was what really sealed the deal for us.  We can't keep anymore of them now since we'll have to be able to leave Hawaii with them, so 2 is our max...one for each of us

Archer is one of those cats who really isn't afraid of much.  He greets anyone at the door and is immediately sniffing and them and demanding attention.  Hugo is scared of a lot and he only tolerates my husband petting him, but that's a vast improvement on when he used to run away from him.  He's definitely a mama's boy and he lets me do just about anything, except for picking him up. 

Both Hugo and Archer are so friendly and accepting of the kittens, so I know that we're very fortunate with that.  I thought Hugo might be afraid of the kittens since he's afraid of so much else, but nope, he takes to them right away.  Even quicker than Archer, actually.  It might be because he was trapped out of a feral colony whereas Archer couldn't have been on the street for long when he was caught.  Plus Archer was an only cat for nearly a year before we started fostering, so it's actually pretty amazing that he's so tolerant and then protective of these kittens coming into his home 

We'll continue fostering as long as we're here in Hawaii, but once we move back East I probably won't be able to continue since then I'll have a full time job, so I just won't have time for it.  In the meantime I'll enjoy it while I can