I have included the link to my first post about these 2 kitties for those who don't remember the state they were in when they came to me:http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=203397
Missy is doing great, using the litter box all the time now and not chewing things anymore. But this post is really more about Callie.
Soon after I posted that first one, I realized that Callie's worst issue, even worse than the litter box training, was her aggression. This was a MEAN cat. I have seen ferals that were less violent. I knew she was aggressive from the moment she was brought into the house but it was somewhat understandable given her situation and lack of socialization. However, I found that the more comfortable she became in her new home the more violent she became (a territory thing, perhaps?). There were times when she would stand in the hallway or a doorway and attack the feet and legs of anyone that tried to pass for seemingly no reason. I had to have stitches twice after middle-of-the-night runs to the bathroom. Not to mention what she did to the other cats. I became terrified of her. One night I even slept on the bathroom floor rather than pass her to go back to my bed. I had never seen a cat so outwardly violent without being provoked in any way. After my second emergency room visit, my fiance begged me to get rid of her. I refused, and he told me that he would kill her if she attacked me again. It was only a matter of time before that happened so I did try to rehome her again for fear that he would keep his word. I had no luck. Nobody wanted a cat like that. I considered giving her to a shelter but knew she would be euthanized because of her attitude, which completely defeated the purpose of giving her up in the first place.
But then something amazing happened: I began shutting her in the bedroom when I left the house, orignally to protect the other cats. After about a week, like magic she started using the litter box consistently. There was no gradual change, literally overnight she went from never using the litter box to using it 100% of the time. I have not found one accident yet, and it has been about 3 months. The attacks suddenly stopped around that time, and since then she has come to be rather friendly. Before even when she was in a good mood I could only pet her head. Trying to touch her back or sides or tail would get my hand clawed or bitten. Today I can run my hand down the entire length of her, head to tail, and not only does she not attack me but she actually enjoys it. For some time now I have been able to leave the bedroom door open; she comes out and the other cats go in and no one fights. She sleeps on my pillow at night. And right now while I am typing on the computer she has come out and gotten on my lap purring and butting my face with her head.
She has taken an extreme liking to the kittens. She dotes on them constantly, bathing them, playing with them, and protecting them from the other cats, the dog, and sometimes even fiance and I. If she hears a kitten cry anywhere in the house she is at their side in a heartbeat and more often than not she chases away whoever was hurting them, even if they were just playing rough. If I am trying to give them medicine, brush them, etc. and they cry she will meow at me endlessly and if I don't let them go in a timely manner she will ever so gently touch her claws to my skin threateningly until I do. But that is the closest she has come to any form of violence in months.
The biggest test was the other day when my fiance's 3 year old niece came to stay with us. She doesn't have pets at home so of course she is fascinated with ours, dragging them around by their tails and such like pretty much any toddler would do. I planned to let her nowhere near Callie because even with the improvement I was sure it would turn out badly. But I turned my back for just a second and when I turned back around she had Callie around the stomach trying to pick her up. Callie didn't react at all. The little girl finally got her off the ground (in a position that had to be rather uncomfortable for poor Callie, by the way) and carried her around for nearly an hour. She wound up without one scratch on her, not even by accident. And this was a cat that a few months ago I don't doubt would have seriously maimed a small child for less.
I don't know what changed but Callie has done a total 180. I am so incredibly proud of her.
Missy is doing great, using the litter box all the time now and not chewing things anymore. But this post is really more about Callie.
Soon after I posted that first one, I realized that Callie's worst issue, even worse than the litter box training, was her aggression. This was a MEAN cat. I have seen ferals that were less violent. I knew she was aggressive from the moment she was brought into the house but it was somewhat understandable given her situation and lack of socialization. However, I found that the more comfortable she became in her new home the more violent she became (a territory thing, perhaps?). There were times when she would stand in the hallway or a doorway and attack the feet and legs of anyone that tried to pass for seemingly no reason. I had to have stitches twice after middle-of-the-night runs to the bathroom. Not to mention what she did to the other cats. I became terrified of her. One night I even slept on the bathroom floor rather than pass her to go back to my bed. I had never seen a cat so outwardly violent without being provoked in any way. After my second emergency room visit, my fiance begged me to get rid of her. I refused, and he told me that he would kill her if she attacked me again. It was only a matter of time before that happened so I did try to rehome her again for fear that he would keep his word. I had no luck. Nobody wanted a cat like that. I considered giving her to a shelter but knew she would be euthanized because of her attitude, which completely defeated the purpose of giving her up in the first place.
But then something amazing happened: I began shutting her in the bedroom when I left the house, orignally to protect the other cats. After about a week, like magic she started using the litter box consistently. There was no gradual change, literally overnight she went from never using the litter box to using it 100% of the time. I have not found one accident yet, and it has been about 3 months. The attacks suddenly stopped around that time, and since then she has come to be rather friendly. Before even when she was in a good mood I could only pet her head. Trying to touch her back or sides or tail would get my hand clawed or bitten. Today I can run my hand down the entire length of her, head to tail, and not only does she not attack me but she actually enjoys it. For some time now I have been able to leave the bedroom door open; she comes out and the other cats go in and no one fights. She sleeps on my pillow at night. And right now while I am typing on the computer she has come out and gotten on my lap purring and butting my face with her head.
She has taken an extreme liking to the kittens. She dotes on them constantly, bathing them, playing with them, and protecting them from the other cats, the dog, and sometimes even fiance and I. If she hears a kitten cry anywhere in the house she is at their side in a heartbeat and more often than not she chases away whoever was hurting them, even if they were just playing rough. If I am trying to give them medicine, brush them, etc. and they cry she will meow at me endlessly and if I don't let them go in a timely manner she will ever so gently touch her claws to my skin threateningly until I do. But that is the closest she has come to any form of violence in months.
The biggest test was the other day when my fiance's 3 year old niece came to stay with us. She doesn't have pets at home so of course she is fascinated with ours, dragging them around by their tails and such like pretty much any toddler would do. I planned to let her nowhere near Callie because even with the improvement I was sure it would turn out badly. But I turned my back for just a second and when I turned back around she had Callie around the stomach trying to pick her up. Callie didn't react at all. The little girl finally got her off the ground (in a position that had to be rather uncomfortable for poor Callie, by the way) and carried her around for nearly an hour. She wound up without one scratch on her, not even by accident. And this was a cat that a few months ago I don't doubt would have seriously maimed a small child for less.
I don't know what changed but Callie has done a total 180. I am so incredibly proud of her.
