Kitten needs new home

crazyforinfo

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Do you have any suggestions on where/ what I can do about my kitten? His behavior is out of control with my Lucky. He already scratched Lucky's eye(another issue today). Should we bring him to the woman's humane society? I feel so bad. I never gave up on a cat before but he hurt my Lucky.
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by crazyforinfo

Do you have any suggestions on where/ what I can do about my kitten? His behavior is out of control with my Lucky. He already scratched Lucky's eye(another issue today). Should we bring him to the woman's humane society? I feel so bad. I never gave up on a cat before but he hurt my Lucky.
I would start the introductions again....introductions take time and should be done SLOWLY.

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catintroductions.htm

Katie
 

ldg

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Katie's right. Before you give up, give it another try. We know nothing about how you introduced them to begin with - but cat introductions have to be done on their schedule, not on our schedule.


Your newly adopted kitty should be kept in a separate room - a guest room, someone's bedroom - a room that isn't so important to your Lucky. Put a litterbox on one side of the room - put food and water on the other. Make sure kitty has places to hide (boxes are great for this), and toys to play with.


Cats are very territorial, and "making introductions" is about getting them comfortable enough with each other so that they can either share the territory without fighting, or so they they both agree on which one of them is the boss without too much fighting for the position.

It is natural for cats to hiss, bat at, and swat at each other - especially when they're first meeting.

The idea of separating them for as long as they need (can be several months!) is so they can get used to each other's smell and each other's presence. If you can temporarily replace the door to the room with a screen door, that is ideal - then the kitties can see each other and easily smell each other, but they can't swipe at each other.


If you can't put a screen door on the room, they'll just have to smell each other under the door. After a week or two, when Lucky is curious and near the door, open it just a crack so they can see (and smell) each other but can't get in or out of the room. Watch the interaction. If there's an immediate hiss or growling with ears back - close the door and give it some more time.

While kitty is separated, there are some things you can do to help the reintroductions go more smoothly:

Take several clean rags or wash cloths, and wipe "kitty" all over with one of them. Put the cloth with kitty's smell all over it underneath the food dish of Lucky. Do the same with Lucky - rub her all over with a cloth, and put that under kitty's food dish. Take another cloth, and rub it all over kitty. Put treats out for Lucky on that cloth. Again - do the same thing with Lucky. Take another cloth and rub it all over Lucky. Put treats out for kitty on the cloth that smells like Lucky. Do this every day, and remember to "freshen up" the smell of each cloth by rubbing it on the proper kitty each day. This helps the cats come to associate good things with the smell of the other cat.


When they're comfortable enough to just smell or look at each other (through the screen or through the very slightly opened door), you can begin to have supervised interactions. Bring Lucky into the room (don't let kitty out). Maybe try playing with a wand toy, or give each of them a catnip toy.

If there's growling or hissing, this is OK. But if the ears go back, or the hairs on their back stand up or their tails bush out - take Lucky out of the room. If you miss the signs and they actually start to fight, do NOT physically separate them - you could get hurt. Make a LOUD noise - shake a can with coins in it, or clap very loudly - this will startle them. Then take Lucky out of the room.

But with slow, gradual introductions, supervised, for short periods of time - you should be able to lengthen the amount of time they spend together without hissing, growling or swatting. They may need to do some of this to establish which cat is alpha cat - this is normal. We have six cats, and at any given time one of them usually has a scratch somewhere. :; But out and out fighting is not OK.

Just remember - the most important ingredient to successful introduction is time. And remember to spend lots of time with Lucky, reassuring her that she's still your special girl. But as long as kitty is separated, you'll have to spend lots of time with him too so he isn't lonely, and also becomes comfortable with you (or other family members)!

Good luck - and if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.


Laurie
 

trouts mom

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Oh please don't take the kitty back...He is just acting like any cat would in a strange place. The others are right are correct introduction.

Good luck
 

prettyboy

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how long have you had this new cat ?

and without knowing that answer i have to say that i tend to agree
with what the others are saying to you.

i have 3 cats. all 3 were born and lived outside for different amounts
of time.

my first cat was outside for 7 months.

my second cat was the birthmother of my frist cat and i understand
that she lived outside for 6 years.

well even though my second cat gave birth to my first cat when i brought
her inside there were major fights.

it sounded like he was killing her. i about wanted to jump off the roof.

finally i decided during some of these hair raising fights that i would
CALMLY pick up my first cat who was the trouble maker in this case
and put him in the bathroom for 15 minute time outs.

and that actually worked. he would come out of the bathroom totally
calm and okay.

today they play with each other !! it took a few months but he is happy
to have her company.

now they have both bonded together to make sure I don't keep my
third cat. they both hate him. he has been here 5 months and although
i definately see progress its been very slow.

but thats the way it is with cats sometime....very very slow progress.
sometimes its so slow i would swear there is no progress but alas then
something happens and i see aaaahhhhh there is a little bit of progress.

my third cat so desperately wants to be part of the group and my other
two are determined not to let that happen.

actually, my female is coming along faster than my male cat.

I still have to keep him separated from the other two.

Its a royal pain but I know that if I succeed they will all be happier for it.

So my vote is that you try those suggestions that the others have made.
I send you lots and lots of good vibes for success !!
 
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crazyforinfo

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I feel like a horrible person! Please don't yell for what I am about to say.
Last night Benson was attacking Lucky. I never heard Lucky yell so much. We only have the bedroom to put him in. My husband goes to bed at 9pm. I was up till 1am with him yelling and biting. I took him outside and left him there. I can't stop crying. I know I found him as an outdoor cat but he is young. I tried so hard to keep him until tonight when we could drop him at a shelter. Before I let him out I was afraid that others would abuse him. I tried time outs and keeping him in the bedroom for hours with food with little breaks out. He was nice in the morning but the nights were horrible.
 
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crazyforinfo

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I don't know. I searched for an hour. It's best for my cats but not him. I hate myself!
 

jen

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maybe the scratched eye was an accident? You could put soft paws on him and then when he and Lucky go at it it won't be that bad. But I mean, my cats get into mini fights all the time. Just like kids. I never heard a cat yell so much when my Willoughby pounces on them. The other cats tell him very vocally that they don't like that. They also hiss and growl and yell when they hvae had enough.

For your cats, other then that one time with the scratched eyes, I don't consider fighting to really be fighting unless there is blood drawn.

Are both your cats neutered? If not then that should be your first thing to do before throwing the cat outside, ESPECIALLY if the cat is just going to be dumped outside. Unneutered males JUST DON'T ALWAYS GET ALONG unless they are both neutered. So I HOPE at least that is done.
 

valanhb

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Did you even try to separate them and do slow introductions, as was suggested here? I don't mean for time outs, I mean completely and totally separate them and do slow introductions?

People tried to help you out here, but it's difficult if you won't take the advice to heart. Throwing the cat outside isn't a good solution, and you seem to know that already. If you can't separate him from your other resident cats, then I would try to find a no-kill rescue in your area to take him in. Please be honest with them, though, and let them know that he has issues with other cats and needs to be placed in a single cat home. If you can't find a no-kill, then the Humane Society would also be a good option. They may very well deem him unadoptable, though, given his aggression toward other cats, but at least he wouldn't be left to die cold, hungry and alone.
 

pami

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When I read that you just put the cat outside, I really had to step away from the PC before I responded. The most important thing you HAVE to do is find the cat. You MUST find this cat. You need to find a humane trap and do whatever you can to find him. Please dont just leave him out there to fend for himeself.
 
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crazyforinfo

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I know I know I know!
I have been out looking all day. I feel horrible! We tried separating and all that. It worked for 3 days and that was all.
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by crazyforinfo

I feel like a horrible person! Please don't yell for what I am about to say.
Last night Benson was attacking Lucky. I never heard Lucky yell so much. We only have the bedroom to put him in. My husband goes to bed at 9pm. I was up till 1am with him yelling and biting. I took him outside and left him there. I can't stop crying. I know I found him as an outdoor cat but he is young. I tried so hard to keep him until tonight when we could drop him at a shelter. Before I let him out I was afraid that others would abuse him. I tried time outs and keeping him in the bedroom for hours with food with little breaks out. He was nice in the morning but the nights were horrible.
Was he neutered??? If not...you absolutely need to find him before he father's any homeless kittens. You can borrow a humane trap from the humane society. I can appreciate that you did not want your other cat attacked...but couldn't you have secured him in a bathroom until the morning?

BTW....looking typically doesn't work....treating a cat like a feral and setting up traps works better:

Most people don’t differentiate between searching for a dog and searching for a cat, which is a huge mistake, because they are like apples and oranges. Cats are territorial, so when an indoor cat escapes outside, they feel displaced into unfamiliar territory. A displaced cat (and also an injured or sick cat) will hide and they will be silent. So walking around and calling the cat’s name doesn’t work.

What that cat does is to look for the first place where she can hide, and she will stay there. We’ve had people who have recovered their cats six weeks later, and the cat was two houses down, living under the neighbor’s house or under their deck.

We’ve actually recovered lots of cats by treating them like ferals and setting a humane trap. These cats will sit there and watch and even listen to their person calling, but they will usually not respond.

Eventually, some of them will reach a threshold point between the seventh and tenth day where they finally do meow or they go into the humane trap, but many of them, especially the ones with skittish temperaments, just continue to hide.

As for a cat who is used to going outside, we really do advocate making your cats indoor-only. However, if an indoor/outdoor cat does go missing, it may be that they’ve been chased by a dog or beat up by another cat. They may run into an unfamiliar area, and they may hide in fear as well, or than can be transported out of the area by crawling into a car or the back of a truck.

Outdoor cats are still territorial. They don’t generally travel great distances by themselves, so they’re going to be found within their territory or just beyond it. You’ll want to get into your neighbor’s yard to search under their porch, under their house, and in potential areas where the cat is trapped, because, again, the behavior of an injured or sick cat is that they will crawl in or under something that’s familiar to them and they will hide. And again, they won’t answer your call.

Katie
 

ldg

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Originally Posted by crazyforinfo

I know I know I know!
I have been out looking all day. I feel horrible! We tried separating and all that. It worked for 3 days and that was all.
Apart from the advice of the others to trap this kitty and at the very least get him neutered, I'm not clear on what this post means. If he was separated from your other cats, he wouldn't have been able to attack Lucky. I don't really understand what "it worked for 3 days and that was all" means. Do you mean you only kept him separate for 3 days? Did he start howling or something? This is very normal - but it is just like with 2 or 3 year old children. Sometimes you have to let them throw the tantrum - if you give in to their tantrums, you will always have problems with the child's behavior. This poor boy needed to be separated and kept separated. Of course you can spend time in the room with him to play with him or whatever.

If you didn't have the ability to keep him separate from the other cats, then he should have gone to a shelter. I know you know this and regret your decision.

What's done is done - but I do think you should put out a trap for this cat. Put food out at a regular time and leave it out for 2 hours or so. If it is being eaten, after a few nights put out a humane trap with the food in it at the time you would put out the food. Cover the floor of the trap with newspaper or poor litter over it - many cats do not like the feel of the wire on their feet. Use stinky food like tuna or herring (not smoked - no sauce!) or something. Some use a bit of hot dog.

You can use this site to help you find shelters in your area:

http://www.pets911.com There's a "button" on the left to "Find a Local Shelter or Rescue."

Laurie
 
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crazyforinfo

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I wasn't calling his name, just walking quietly and checking all the bushes and trees. The last time I put a can out but that didn't get his attention. For some reason he decided to cry & I followed the sound.

Yes he was separated but he kept getting out of the room. He is very fast. Thanks for responding. I do deserve what I got but he didn't.
 

pami

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I am so glad you found him. Thanks for looking..... What are your plans now?
 

ldg

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If you want to try again, it's easy to set up a door block to prevent kitty from bolting out of the room. At Toys R Us, something like this: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...entPage=search

can be placed on the inside of the room in front of the door. This way you can open the door, slip inside and shut the door - but there's no way for kitty to be right at the door to get out.
 
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crazyforinfo

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WE are too upset to send him away tonight. Our biggest issue has been when hubby goes to bed at 9pm. Benson is locked in there with him but runs like crazy. What do I do if I am separating them using the bedroom as Bens room when hubby sleeps?
 
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