Hi everyone,
I've been reading the forums here for about a week now since we've had our new Cat, a black/white domestic short hair that my wife named Poe and I have some questions/concerns.
Until recently my wife and I have both been primarily dog people, but we've been living in apartments for the last 5 years or so and felt that having a dog just would not be practical. My wife has wanted a pet for a long while and this Christmas I caved after being tested for allergies and coming up negative (I used to be allergic to cats when I was a kid but apparently I outgrew it).
Anyway, we got Poe from a Petsmart that was housing him (he was a shelter kitty), he's about 2 years old and was picked up as a stray, though I believe he was housed at one time because he already knew how to use a litter box and was pretty friendly when I came to visit him, wanting to be petted and loved.
I ended up picking Poe (My wife made me pick, she said if she had to pick we'd be taking them all home, and we can't house 11 cats. lol.) because he had been in a very small cage for a little over a month, is a bit overweight and just looked really sad to me.
Basically he was the most pathetic cat there and I felt that because he was overweight and an Adult the chances were slim that anyone would want him, and like I said he came to me when I walked up to the cages.
Anyhoo. There's a lot of stuff here so please bear with me. hehe.
Poe is not Declawed, he got his shots when he was picked up and tested negative for all the usual things (doesn't even have worms, which I hear is relatively common for strays). He had a case of Diarrhea when we brought him home, but we have since found out that they were feeding him Nutro, and while he likes it, it gives him the runs and causes him to burp a lot. (I found out because we had originally bought Purina and then I read that wasn't so great, so we bought Nutro and when I started integrating it into his diet the Diarhea came back so we had to lay off the Nutro for now).
Anyway, my list of concerns are as follows.
He doesn't like to be picked up.
The only time I can touch his paws is when he is sleeping, and He wakes too easily so I haven't been able to clip his toenails. (Though I would like to).
He's not fond of his Kennel Carrier that we got him.
He squeaks/grunts a little meow sometimes when we pet him and he's not expecting it.
Last night he had a bad dream (I think?). He was twitching and doing the normal -i'm chasing something in my sleep- thing when he started crying softly. (it was like a low moan. it freaked me out a little. hehe.)
He spends several hours a day either under the couch where I spend a lot of my time (I have spinal arthritis so I'm not working outside of the home right now), or under the bed (though he does prefer to sleep in the bed with us, we've had some issues).
He nips, sometimes hard. Luckily he hasn't gotten my wife too hard yet, but he's gotten me a few times when he's tired of being stroked. He's also not a fan of being combed (he got my wife while she was brushing him).
He also doesn't like being disturbed when on the bed. We can pet him when he is asleep and he seems to enjoy it (he'll start purring and relax) but if he wakes up he'll move away. He's also hissed at me when I get in and out of bed or jostle the bed too much and tried to nip me, and he's tried to attack my wife's hair in bed as well. hehe. -- This I firmly believe is not because I frightened him but rather because he was cranky/angry at being disturbed. I know I've read that Cats are incapable of anger/spite, and quite frankly, I've been around animals long enough to know that this is mostly B.S. I have found that most animals, regardless of their species, have the full range of emotions just like people do. Anyway, I digress.
He seems to generally be afraid of just about everything. Including the dark, any kind of loud noise at all or even if we look at him funny. The only exception to this is during play time. He loves to play with the interactive toys. (though he won't touch his Panic Mouse, he just sniffs it and walks away).
On top of the crying last night, he exhibited another new behavior today, after my wife and I played with him, while she was getting ready for work, I walked by Poe as I was heading to the kitchen to get stuff ready for my wife when Poe launched himself through this little crackly-tunnel toy we got him and head-butted my ankle. At first I thought he was launching himself at this cheapo-toy mouse that we got him which he seems to enjoy (he won't touch the motorized ones, they hold no interest for him), but it was nowhere to be seen. He continued running away from me like it was an accident, but then turned around suddenly and came right back, looked up, and meowed at me. I reached down to pet him and he head-butted my my hand and then ran off and came back again. Any clue as to what was going on here?
Also, about the biting. Is this just something we'll have to get used to or will it lessen over time? Honestly he doesn't show a lot of remorse over it unless I yell NO or OUCH, then he'll run off and occasionally he'll come back all sulky. But If I ignore him he just ignores me back. hehe.
Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm beginning to wonder if he wasn't abused at some point by a previous owner. I've never known an animal to be afraid of being petted before (evidenced by the squeak/grunt that he'll voice if you touch him when he is unaware)?
I've read a lot of info about kittens who bite. etc. But not so much on Adults. It seems mostly people go for kittens because they are easier to teach and more cuddly. So any help here would be greatly appreciated as I have no clue what to expect with how long it might take, if ever, to get our new cat calmed down and biting/scratching less (oh yes, he also likes to pounce on my feet in bed, and his claws are razor sharp. Yeouch).
Thanks,
Doug.
P.S. Sorry for the rambling, We've just had a lot to take in recently and I feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I would like Poe to feel comfortable enough in his own home so that he doesn't feel the need to hide under the couch/bed so much, and maybe not bite so much either. hehe.
I've been reading the forums here for about a week now since we've had our new Cat, a black/white domestic short hair that my wife named Poe and I have some questions/concerns.
Until recently my wife and I have both been primarily dog people, but we've been living in apartments for the last 5 years or so and felt that having a dog just would not be practical. My wife has wanted a pet for a long while and this Christmas I caved after being tested for allergies and coming up negative (I used to be allergic to cats when I was a kid but apparently I outgrew it).
Anyway, we got Poe from a Petsmart that was housing him (he was a shelter kitty), he's about 2 years old and was picked up as a stray, though I believe he was housed at one time because he already knew how to use a litter box and was pretty friendly when I came to visit him, wanting to be petted and loved.
I ended up picking Poe (My wife made me pick, she said if she had to pick we'd be taking them all home, and we can't house 11 cats. lol.) because he had been in a very small cage for a little over a month, is a bit overweight and just looked really sad to me.
Anyhoo. There's a lot of stuff here so please bear with me. hehe.
Poe is not Declawed, he got his shots when he was picked up and tested negative for all the usual things (doesn't even have worms, which I hear is relatively common for strays). He had a case of Diarrhea when we brought him home, but we have since found out that they were feeding him Nutro, and while he likes it, it gives him the runs and causes him to burp a lot. (I found out because we had originally bought Purina and then I read that wasn't so great, so we bought Nutro and when I started integrating it into his diet the Diarhea came back so we had to lay off the Nutro for now).
Anyway, my list of concerns are as follows.
He doesn't like to be picked up.
The only time I can touch his paws is when he is sleeping, and He wakes too easily so I haven't been able to clip his toenails. (Though I would like to).
He's not fond of his Kennel Carrier that we got him.
He squeaks/grunts a little meow sometimes when we pet him and he's not expecting it.
Last night he had a bad dream (I think?). He was twitching and doing the normal -i'm chasing something in my sleep- thing when he started crying softly. (it was like a low moan. it freaked me out a little. hehe.)
He spends several hours a day either under the couch where I spend a lot of my time (I have spinal arthritis so I'm not working outside of the home right now), or under the bed (though he does prefer to sleep in the bed with us, we've had some issues).
He nips, sometimes hard. Luckily he hasn't gotten my wife too hard yet, but he's gotten me a few times when he's tired of being stroked. He's also not a fan of being combed (he got my wife while she was brushing him).
He also doesn't like being disturbed when on the bed. We can pet him when he is asleep and he seems to enjoy it (he'll start purring and relax) but if he wakes up he'll move away. He's also hissed at me when I get in and out of bed or jostle the bed too much and tried to nip me, and he's tried to attack my wife's hair in bed as well. hehe. -- This I firmly believe is not because I frightened him but rather because he was cranky/angry at being disturbed. I know I've read that Cats are incapable of anger/spite, and quite frankly, I've been around animals long enough to know that this is mostly B.S. I have found that most animals, regardless of their species, have the full range of emotions just like people do. Anyway, I digress.
He seems to generally be afraid of just about everything. Including the dark, any kind of loud noise at all or even if we look at him funny. The only exception to this is during play time. He loves to play with the interactive toys. (though he won't touch his Panic Mouse, he just sniffs it and walks away).
On top of the crying last night, he exhibited another new behavior today, after my wife and I played with him, while she was getting ready for work, I walked by Poe as I was heading to the kitchen to get stuff ready for my wife when Poe launched himself through this little crackly-tunnel toy we got him and head-butted my ankle. At first I thought he was launching himself at this cheapo-toy mouse that we got him which he seems to enjoy (he won't touch the motorized ones, they hold no interest for him), but it was nowhere to be seen. He continued running away from me like it was an accident, but then turned around suddenly and came right back, looked up, and meowed at me. I reached down to pet him and he head-butted my my hand and then ran off and came back again. Any clue as to what was going on here?
Also, about the biting. Is this just something we'll have to get used to or will it lessen over time? Honestly he doesn't show a lot of remorse over it unless I yell NO or OUCH, then he'll run off and occasionally he'll come back all sulky. But If I ignore him he just ignores me back. hehe.
Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm beginning to wonder if he wasn't abused at some point by a previous owner. I've never known an animal to be afraid of being petted before (evidenced by the squeak/grunt that he'll voice if you touch him when he is unaware)?
I've read a lot of info about kittens who bite. etc. But not so much on Adults. It seems mostly people go for kittens because they are easier to teach and more cuddly. So any help here would be greatly appreciated as I have no clue what to expect with how long it might take, if ever, to get our new cat calmed down and biting/scratching less (oh yes, he also likes to pounce on my feet in bed, and his claws are razor sharp. Yeouch).
Thanks,
Doug.
P.S. Sorry for the rambling, We've just had a lot to take in recently and I feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I would like Poe to feel comfortable enough in his own home so that he doesn't feel the need to hide under the couch/bed so much, and maybe not bite so much either. hehe.
