So I picked up a 5-year-old cat to foster a week ago. I've grown up around lots of cats and dogs, and this is actually the second cat my partner and I have fostered. She is very vocal, not exactly loud, but makes a lot of sounds.
She will meow for everything and I have a hard time always understanding what she wants and avoiding getting her overstimulated. She seems to want to spend a lot of time cuddled up and will come up to me, meowing and rubbing against me or trying to settle in my lap. I've noticed her getting perhaps a little overstimulated and start nibbling at me at times and tried to back off then as appropriate or redirect to toys.
She had a period of time in the first few days when we were letting her come into our bedroom. This became an issue quickly because she would wake up around 3-4am and walk all over us. She would settle down, usually crammed right between us, and then became upset with me (hissing and swatting) when I moved in my sleep. We have since made our bedroom a no-go zone for her. She's also VERY interested in human food but is a poor eater otherwise (whether wet or dry). She can be motivated by treats, though.
Today was even more confusing. After a typical day of some cuddling, some napping in her box, some play, she came up next to me on the arm of the couch, basically face to face, meowing quite a bit. I rubbed her head once or twice for a few turns. She has a tendency to flex her claws, which I've taken to be her way of kneading in the air. I wanted to avoid getting her overly excited, so I ignored her meowing for a bit and she suddenly let out a long, agitated meow and hit me with an open paw in the face.
Am I missing cues when she's getting overstimulated? Should I be cutting back on letting her nap on my lap or indulging long petting sessions? Is she really just THAT bossy about getting attention? Or perhaps I'm just getting ahead of myself since she's still fairly new to our apartment, despite having done a good job investigating most corners by now. I'd love any additional advice here, especially from other foster parents!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/n82ook/reading_a_chatty_ambivalent_cat/
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