Rescued Cat - Very Abused - need some advice

Hi all-

I am new here to this site. I rescued a cat that someone put onto Craig's List as "Beautiful White Cat" and she is gorgeous. However, I have had her for two weeks and she is still in the one room of my home (my study). I visit her every day and she si getting companionship and loving verbalization from me, but she won't let anyone touch her.

She refuses to let any one get close to her and scratches and hisses are forthcoming any time my husband or I get close. Yet she yearns to be petted and tries to let us pet her, but can't seem to rid herself of the fear she has from her previous situation and rubs us and then hisses and scratches out at us.

I haven't even been able to take her to the vet yet because her scratching is viscious & I can't imagine what it would take to get her in a pet carrier...aside from drugging her.

Any ideas much appreciated.

Thanks,
Karen

Karen if you will PM me, I will do all I can to help you.

You are going through what I went through with Cuddles. She is 12 years old though. She really wants to be pet and paid attention to, but she just cant handle a hand anywhere near her. I had her at my apartment with my millions of cats and finally took her to my moms. It was HELL trying to get her into a carrier. I through a thick blanket over her and scooped her up, while she screamed bloody murder. Once she was in the cage though she was perfectly fine. She LOVES it at my moms. She will stay there for now.

Anyways, sorry to go on about my cat. But just give her time. Buy some Feliway and play soft music for her and be in the room as much as possible. Read in there outloud to her, watch tv in there, do everything you can in there. She will get to know you eventually. It took 4 months with Cuddles before anyone could touch her. Luckily my mom is patient and understanding. I am glad you are too!

Hi! What is PM?

Originally Posted by kbowser105

Hi! What is PM?

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Hi Karen all you have to do to send Hissy a PM is click on her name and a "menu" will pop up, choose send a private message to Hissy

Thanks Katiemae!

PM is a private message. So if you are sending one to hissy, you should click on her name in the thread and it will give you the option to send her a private message and ask her your specific questions about your situation.

As for helping this shy kitty, I am not sure what your history with cats is (have you had them before, for how long, how many, do you have any now, etc.), but I am guessing hissy will want to know so she can help you.

If you have been around cats a lot and know how to play with them and get them sort of distracted from their fears, it will help them build up courage. That is one possible thing you may be able to do.

You could start with pulling a string under a piece of newspaper or something like that, where they can study it and direct their anxiety into healthy aggression. It depends on the kitty, but I have found this to be a good therapy for a new anxious kitty.

Also giving them little (fake fur or cloth) toys that you can throw and encourage them to chase, may help. I'm sure you already have toys for your kitty and I bet he/she uses them when alone.

As for the carrier, I have had this situation myself with more than one cat. In the case of one of my own cats, the only thing my husband and I can do is to cover her with a huge thick blanket and bundle the whole thing into a very large dog carrier.

In the case of my feral cats I use a trap. That is a last resort but actually it can be a lot easier and less stressful than hours of chasing or coaxing the cat to the carrier.

A few things to be aware of: Some cats are easily excitable, especially in a new situation where they do not feel at home yet and everything is foreign. And so warming up has to be extremely gradual which it sounds like you are doing already. So even if petting feels good to them at first, they will become very anxious after a very short while. So you have to stop petting while they are still relaxed and before they start to show signs of freaking out (i.e. thumping their tail, ears back, pupils large).

Another thing to be aware of is that cats actually do not see very well really close. They see movement but not definition. So if you are moving your hand very close to your kitty's face in front of it, and you are new to them or they are skittish, they can panic because they cannot actually see what it is- and your smell is new to them.

Also you said your cat is white. You probably already know that white cats can sometimes be deaf. If you have not already checked for this, it may be something to be aware of and make sure your kitty is able to hear.

Assuming your cat is in the best physical health all around and this is an emotional and adjustment issue: In the case of some cats, it can take a very long time for them to finally accept you and bond to you, but the reward over a long time is like nothing else, so wonderful. Your patience and effort is very commendable .

I wish you and your kitty good luck. It is so wonderful that you rescued her from a previous bad situation.

Karen,
If anyone can help you, it will be Hissy. I just wanted to wish you all the best, and say that my one experience with a rescued cat who we could tell had been abused, is that it took love and time.

Frankie, whose photo is in my signature, was an estimated 1-2 y.o. skin and bones kitty we took in...we quickly learned she was petrified of other cats (not that surprising as she was attacked by a tom cat just before I took her in), of loud voices, feet, being touched about her head, and of men.

1 1/2 years later, she is best buds with my Alix, sometimes gives Ophelia a bath (and other times swats at her), adores my husband, and is no longer head shy. She's still easily upset if she hears a raised voice, and extra cautious around feet.

Karen, you have received excellent advice and it sounds like another poster, Hissy, will have spot on help for you as well.

I won't be redundant with a reply but I do want to applaud you and your husband for your patience, love, and understanding for your cat. No doubt there is an amazing ball of love and personality waiting to come out but it will take the right person to do so

Thanks to everyone for being so motivational and upbeat! We bought Snowy a bunch of toys today and she really hasn't played yet, but we brought one of the pet brushes in and since she was rubbing so much we thought maybe she would let us use this instead of our heands and voila! it worked...a little

Thanks again all!
Karen

You probably already know that white cats can sometimes be deaf.

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Could very well be the root of the problem. As everyone else has said, give her time and be with her as much as you can. Are you keeping her in one room because you have other cats?

Hi Libby-

Yes, I have another cat and also three small dogs. She has been very scared, but also has lashed out strongly even with us so it is to protect both her and the other animals. I am slowly opening the door to my study and letting the other animals in one at a time as they care to and monitoring the progress.

Today, Snowy let me pet her for a good 5 minutes. She is really starting to come around - after 2 weeks...I am amazed it took this long, but she was very good today. This was the most interaction without incident I have seen.

Thanks!
Karen

Introductions into a new place, new animals are very scary and the fact that she has had a tough time in the past only magnifies it for her. The signs that you are seeing are very encouraging! Keep up the good work!

Originally Posted by kbowser105

Today, Snowy let me pet her for a good 5 minutes. She is really starting to come around - after 2 weeks...I am amazed it took this long, but she was very good today. This was the most interaction without incident I have seen.

Thanks!
Karen

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She is being so very brave!! Two weeks is actually not very long for an abused cat. They are often very skittish for the rest of their lives... You must be doing something right.

Don't push too far when you see positive signs; if you do, she might be frightened because she doesn't know what you're going to do. The first time she reaches a new stage is often a very touchy time for her, so just stay reassuringly the same until she knows nothing is going to happen to her.

Did you find out if she can hear all right?

Karen,
it sounds as if Snowy is making amazing progress! Just keep it simple and don't rush her. Hopefully, she'll be a lap-cat before too long.

Hi all-

Well, I don't think Snowy is deaf. She can hear and react so that is good. However, the reason she was nice there for a bit was because she went into heat.

Now that she is not in heat any longer, she still will not allow a hand close to her for petting without clawing and biting.

She will allow me to put down the pet brush and she will rib her face on that and allow me to lightly groom her with that. However, no hands are acceptable.

Overall, she is not able to integrate with my other animals because she is still acting quite scared and my youngest dog is too rambunctious and my other cat who is about 14 (could be a little older-got her from the humane society many years ago so age is not known, but estimated) is not happy with another cat in the house.

I am beginning to despair that she will be able to be socialized either for us or another family. She is so beautiful and can be so sweet, she is just so unpredictable. That scares me a little.

I still need advice, if anyone can help me.

Thanks again,
Karen

Fortunately, I've never had this problem with socializing a new kitty. I wish I had some good advice for you, but all I can say is be patient. Be calm around her, speak quietly to her, and don't make sudden moves. I hope someone can give you a better idea on how to handle Snowy.

I don't have any other advise to give to you, but just wanted to give you a big for helping this poor kitty. I am in hopes that with time she will trust you and begin recieving the love you have to give..

isn't is a shame that the poster who put the cat on craigslist in the first place didn't mention that the cat had this personality?

but then, maybe the cat wasn't that way in the original home, I just don't trust people, I have found they lie about animals just to re-home them. and that's not fair to the animal or the adoptive families.

Maybe she's kinda freaked out because your old resident cat is putting off the "get out of my space" vibe? just a guess.

I sure hope you get it all sorted out.

I just wanted to wish you luck with your cat!! I, too, adopted a very abused cat. He was so skiddish at first, but after a few years in a safe and happy environment, he has really chilled out. A LOT. So there's hope for you