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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Please help! My 7 year old is terrified of foster cat.

6 replies

KatiMaus · 25/01/2026 21:31

Hi guys,

We started fostering a 3 year old cat this weekend. He's lovely. Incredibly tame, loves a cuddle and only took about half an hour to totally make himself at home.

We decided to foster initially, just to see how things worked out. The cat has a flea allergy which wasn't treated by previous owners, but is on a course of treatment and is recovering well.

When we were sitting together on the sofa yesterday, the cat stretched out and accidentally caught my 7 year old with his claws. This happened on a couple of occasions and now my son is terrified of the cat. Think crying, shaking and avoiding having anything to do with it.

I'm gutted. I've tried getting him to play with the cat with one of those feathers on a stick things, tried to get him to feed the cat and give it treats, but he's just not having it.

On the one hand, I can't bear the thought of returning the cat to the shelter, but I also can't have my son terrified in his own home.

Just wondered if anyone else had any experience of this? Did it get better? Thanks for reading. x

OP posts:
KatiMaus · 25/01/2026 21:32

. . . I should caveat this post by saying that it was my son who was desperate to get a cat in the first place! 😥

OP posts:
Newone123456 · 25/01/2026 21:39

This might be a silly suggestion, but could you get a sorry gift “from the cat” and write a little letter from the cat saying he is so sorry, it was an accident and needs his help settling into his home?

KatiMaus · 25/01/2026 21:48

Newone123456 · 25/01/2026 21:39

This might be a silly suggestion, but could you get a sorry gift “from the cat” and write a little letter from the cat saying he is so sorry, it was an accident and needs his help settling into his home?

Ahh that's a lovely idea, thank you. I'll give it a try. x

OP posts:
Newone123456 · 25/01/2026 21:52

Maybe ChatGPT the letter from the cat, I bet it would come with something really good if you type the details of the situation! Good luck 🤞

Thelnebriati · 25/01/2026 22:04

Did you know you can get silicon claw covers for cats? I wonder if they'd help your DS feel a bit more confident while he gets used to the cat.

FcukBreastCancer · 25/01/2026 22:08

My daughter had two incidents with the feral we looked after when she was 5. One similar to yours, but I suspect my dd stroked cats paw pads when she was snoozing. Another time they both tried to open the door at the same time. I'm glad to say she got over it.
I like the letter idea, but would try not to make too big a deal of it.

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