Cosmo is a handsome 3 year old male cat who has had a troubled past and was taken into our care after he scratched his owner.
He was living as an indoor only cat in a flat but had been neutered late so it is possible that frustration was partly the reason.
Whilst in our care he could be a little swipey but it appeared to be because he did not want to go back in his pen in the evening. In due course we homed him to a lovely lady with another cat as he appeared to like them. All was well for a time but a heavy object fell onto the floor, Cosmo became spooked, panicked and lashed out at his owner.
Cosmo is highly intelligent so it was felt that if he picked up that the his owner now felt nervous that he would play up so sadly it was felt he should come back but be placed with an experienced fosterer who could assess him & work out what his triggers might be.
The fosterer contacted the original owner to get as much information as possible about him. We ascertained that he was living in a flat with 3 loving but boisterous children who loved to cuddle him - a lot. This would have meant that Cosmo would have had limited places that he could go & tuck himself away. He did start jumping out of a window & clearly enjoyed being outsideon a walk way, however it was 3 floors up so there was no access to trees & other cats. At some point one of the children brought a kitten home, Cosmo reacted very badly to the kitten & it appeared to be shortly after that the incident with the original owner occurred. Up to that point Cosmo would have had no contact with other cats since leaving his mum. He would have been extremely spooked. We suspect that Cosmo was inadvertently over stimulated with too much ‘play time’ he then couldn'’t ‘switch off’ & aggressive behaviour followed . This is one of the reasons we always home kittens in pairs so that they develop normal cat behaviour through play with each other - rather like taking puppies to puppy groups and human babies and toddles to play groups.
The fosterer has had no problems with Cosmo once she realised that he simply needs to be ignored! He has gone to swipe her legs a few times but she simply stands still & he stops. We find if there is nil reaction things tend to pass. He goes to her for a fuss & he has a couple of strokes & is then left alone so he is under no pressure. He sleeps a great deal, he prefers to get up high, that may be a coping mechanism to get out of the way of people. He does respond well to other adult cats but his social skills with cats are poor & he doesn’t understand when to back off.
He can become afraid of loud bangs, initially he appeared afraid of the rustle of plastic bags but that has lessened. When he is afraid or anxious he is more likely to swipe. If he is ignored it passes quickly. If he is stroked or fussed when in an anxious state it could push him to swipe out.
We are hoping to find Cosmo the perfect home where he can put the past behind him & begin to thrive.
He will need an adult home with no children or other animals. He needs an experienced confident person who is able to ‘let him be’ even when the temptation is to make a fuss of him. Someone who can give him two strokes & walk away. This will reassure him that nothing bad or worrying is going to happen.
He will need access to a garden in a safe location. He is a lovely friendly boy who given time will be a super pet.
To enquire about Cosmo please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Our Rescue Centre reception is also open every Saturday and Sunday afternoon between 1p.m and 5p.m for potential adopters to drop in to meet us for an initial chat about adopting one or more of our cats. Our address is 233-235, Lewisham Way SE4 1UY
ADOPTION PROCESS:
Because our cats are rescued we do like to meet potential adopters this can either be at your home (home visit) or via a video call e.g WhatsApp this is an informal visit to provide advice about caring for cats or kittens e.g health care, feeding, settling in and also an opportunity for us to feel reassured that you could provide a good home.
Following a successful home assessment we can make an appointment for you to come and meet our cats.
We are prioritising homes that are local to our centres. Lewisham Branch Homing catchment area: All SE London and BR (Bromley) postcodes. Also N.Kent (Welling, Bexley, Sidcup, Swanley, Dartford), Croydon and SW London (SW8, SW9, SW2, SW11, SW4, SW12, SW16) If you can offer a home to a 'harder to rehome' cat we will consider homes outside our usual rehoming areas.
