Sweet Potato – My First Foster
The SPCA estimated that Sweet P was just under a year old. She had been rescued from a bad situation along with several other cats. Sweet Potato got me hooked on fostering the scared, shy, under-socialized cats, and to this day she holds an incredibly special place in my heart.
First Meeting
After filling out a foster application, I found myself driving down to the SPCA less than two days later to pick up my first foster kitty. I had no idea what I was about to get into.
We had only recently started the Great Pandemic Lockdown, and my instructions were as follows: “Appointment location: SPCA of Dallas, Meet n Greet for Sweet Potato”. So, to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I’d be taking her home that day.
Well, I showed up and introduced myself and they brought out a nice big sheaf of paperwork to sign, instructions on care, tips for scared cats, and all the other logistics. Then they loaded me up with a massive bag of food, toys, food dishes, and an extra litter box and scooper.
Finally, they brought out a cardboard box cat-carrier with Sweet Potato inside. In hindsight, I wish I’d asked how they got her into the dang carrier because that would have been useful knowledge a few months later, but I digress.
Once home, I took her to the bedroom, closed the door, and opened the carrier. Almost immediately, she darted out of the box and under the bed. She ended up staying there for almost two full weeks, only emerging to eat and use the litter box, and only when nobody else was in the room.
I cleared out an area in my closet to give her other hiding options, but I wasn’t really sure what else to do other than give her time to get used to me.
For the next few weeks, I started spending more and more time in the bedroom with her, hoping to get her accustomed to my presence but trying not to force her into any interactions. This was about the time I learned the first lesson in helping scared cats get more comfortable: toys can be extremely helpful!
Once I learned that Sweet Potato liked, no…LOVED playing with toys, I made a point of playing with her as much as possible. When she was playing, she relaxed. And little by little we got closer.
Week 1 – Hid under the bed constantly, would only come out to eat or to play with wand toys.
Week 2 – Slowly started exploring the apartment, met my resident cat (sort of). Still mostly hid under the bed.
Week 3 – Would come out and watch me from a distance while I worked, but didn’t come too close unless we were playing. Would still dart under the bed if I moved too close or too quickly. My resident cat was still not happy with her, and I kept them separated 75% of time time, but we were making slow progress.
Week 4 – Resident cat and Sweet Potato can be together in the same room without resident cat getting aggressive, and they started eating together.
1 Month – Sweet Potato’s goofy, playful personality has really started to emerge. She loves playing with toys, and this also marked the first time she allowed me to pet her (while she was distracted by eating). She has also started getting vocal when she’s hungry.
1 Month, 2 Weeks – Sweet Potato let’s me pet her occasionally before and after mealtimes. She’s never far away when I’m working, and she never hides under the bed anymore. She’s always out and about. She’s even more vocal and chatty.
2 Months – Sweet Potato lets me pet her almost any time. She loves scritches, and she still loves to play with all of her toys. She has figured out that meowing is the best way to get something from me — whether it is food, pets, or play.
Finally, after two months of learning from each other, growing more comfortable, and finding the goofy personality hidden beneath the shy little face, an adoption application came through.
Sweet Potato had spent the last 2 months trying desperately to make friends with my frosty resident cat, but to no avail. So, I knew that it would be imperative for her to go to a home with a cat who WOULD welcome her. Fortunately, the family had a perfect match.
I may have cried a little bit in the car ride on the way to deliver Sweet Potato to her new home. Luckily, she made good friends with her new brother very quickly, and they were kind enough to send me a few pictures to show her settling in. I love a happy ending!
Sweet Potato and her new brother! 
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