tl;dr: need unbiased help deciding whether to adopt a foster cat.

my partner fosters kittens occasionally, and this latest batch came to us with their feral mama cat. she was skeptical of us at first and would hiss every time we came near. we brought her kittens back to the rescue for adoption, & mama cat is staying behind for another couple weeks waiting for spay surgery.

y’all, for whatever reason, i am super attached to this cat. normally the fosters are my partner’s thing, but i took this cat on as my own little pal. i got her to slowly warm up to me, and now she comes straight to me for cuddles and pets when i enter the room.

i really want to keep her, but the problem is that i have a dog already, and my dog is super high energy and has a bit of a prey drive. they’ve been separated so far, and were adjusting to each other’s presence pretty well through doors etc., so yesterday i let them meet face to face. the cat was actually very chill and unbothered… i had a baby gate separating them, and she waltzed right through it after like 30 minutes. but then my dog startled her, she bolted and the dog chased her into a corner. and now she hides every time she hears the dog.

we have to make a decision on whether to keep the cat ASAP and i’m so torn. all my friends and family are telling me to keep her because i’m so connected with her and she’s come so far. but i can’t guarantee that she and my dog will ever be able to coexist peacefully. my dog has only ever lived alone with me, and is also a rescue/former stray. she has only had minimal interactions with cats previously, and she’s always a mix of hyper, playful and scared, which the cats obviously don’t like.

anyway. please, somebody talk some logic into me. is adopting a terrible idea? am i way overthinking it?