Traumatized kitty

cat friend

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Our car was missing for almost 3 months. We recovered her and she is very thin and traumatized. She is 14 years old, a great hunter, as that is how she survived, and was very sweet. We can only guess what she has been through for the last 90 days. At any rate, she is very aggressive with me, but my husband is a different matter. Before she became lost, she slept with me and never was aggressive. She now hisses and growls when I come around or try to touch her. She walks the house at night howling. She never made a sound prior to being lost.

I have rescued dogs, but I don't know how to cope with this. I do not want her to think she is in charge and I am frightened of her behavior, or on the other hand I do not want to administer discipline if it is not the right thing to do. She has only been home 2 days, so perhaps this will end on it's own after a period of time.

Any suggestions/ help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 

jenny82

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Originally Posted by Cat friend

Our car was missing for almost 3 months. We recovered her and she is very thin and traumatized. She is 14 years old, a great hunter, as that is how she survived, and was very sweet. We can only guess what she has been through for the last 90 days. At any rate, she is very aggressive with me, but my husband is a different matter. Before she became lost, she slept with me and never was aggressive. She now hisses and growls when I come around or try to touch her. She walks the house at night howling. She never made a sound prior to being lost.

I have rescued dogs, but I don't know how to cope with this. I do not want her to think she is in charge and I am frightened of her behavior, or on the other hand I do not want to administer discipline if it is not the right thing to do. She has only been home 2 days, so perhaps this will end on it's own after a period of time.

Any suggestions/ help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I'm sorry that your cat was lost, but I'm very glad that she is home again.
I would not discipline her at all because that will only make her more stressed out. I would give her some more time to adjust since she has only been back for 2 days and is probably scared of the change. Be very patient and let her come to you instead of forcing attention on her. I'm not sure what to say about the howling at night. Hopefully others will have more suggestions. Welcome to TCS!
 

callista

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I wouldn't do any discipline, either. She's scared, and sad, not being bad.

I think the best to do is to keep her routine and surroundings utterly predictable. That way, she will feel more secure because she knows what's coming. Don't force her to snuggle with you or even be near you; just ignore her at first. When she's settled down a little, you can put down kitty treats for her to get--eventually, after a few kitty treats and a few days, she may be willing to take them from your hand.

She may have been mistreated by someone who reminds her of you.
 

white cat lover

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I would get her vet checked ASAP if you haven't already. Like you said, who knows what happened. I'd run a senior blood panel, do a physical, test for FIV & FeLV. It could be an injury that is causing pain therefore behavioral changes.
 

johntkucz

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Originally Posted by Cat friend

Our car was missing for almost 3 months. We recovered her and she is very thin and traumatized. She is 14 years old, a great hunter, as that is how she survived, and was very sweet. We can only guess what she has been through for the last 90 days. At any rate, she is very aggressive with me, but my husband is a different matter. Before she became lost, she slept with me and never was aggressive. She now hisses and growls when I come around or try to touch her. She walks the house at night howling. She never made a sound prior to being lost.

I have rescued dogs, but I don't know how to cope with this. I do not want her to think she is in charge and I am frightened of her behavior, or on the other hand I do not want to administer discipline if it is not the right thing to do. She has only been home 2 days, so perhaps this will end on it's own after a period of time.

Any suggestions/ help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Ummm....Your CAR was missing for three months? lol!
what the hell does that mean?! How did you LOSE your car and then REFIND it? haha. wow..people these days...
 

adering

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I'm very glad your cat made it home. We all know how unlikely that is to recover a cat.

I suggest bribery. Pure and simple. Get out the treat can, sit down on the sofa, watch Jeopardy!, and shake the can. Kitty shows up. You make a great amount of fuss "Oh, who's a good widdle boo-boo stupid head? Yes, my little kitty is such a good girl." The complete act like an idiot routine.

Try it for a few days. Then taper off.

My cat loves me. That I happen to have a jar of cat treats everytime she wants to be friendly to me is purely coincidence. How dare you suggest somthing different!
 

stephanietx

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So glad you found your kitty again! What a relief for you! She's scared and probably confused. Her world has changed and she just needs time.

I would do many of the things you'd do for a new cat in the house. Limit her access to just one room with all the ammenities, esp. at night. Use one or more Comfort Zone w/ feliway diffusers. Leave soft music playing for her. Go into the room for periods of time and talk to her or read to her, but don't force her to sit near you, don't pick her up, and don't try to pet her. Let her come to you. Get a toy on a string and use it to play with her, if she likes those kinds of toys. Patience, gentleness, and love will win her back over to you.

As others have suggested, have her thoroughly checked out by your vet. Be sure to have a senior blood panel done on her, too.

Stephanie
 
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cat friend

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My cat has now stopped howling - this is quite an accomplishment. We have decided not to bother her for a day or so and see what happens. She is on free feed with dry and wet food and has extra water. We have placed her food and litter box in the guest room where she normally slept and stayed during the day. It is quite and upstairs, so she has lot of privacy. She is hiding from us and I am a little concerned that she is not eating or drinking enough, but she knows where the food it and gets very upset if I try to direct her to it. I'm just going to leave her alone and see what happens.

Thanks to everyone for their concern and help. I especially appreciated the comment that I said "car" instead of "cat".
 

stephanietx

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Have you taken her to the vet since she came back? If not, she needs to go to make sure there's nothing wrong with her physically or medically, esp. since she's hiding from you and her appetite is off.

Stephanie
 
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