I hope I am not doing EVERYTHING wrong with this cat ....

Originally Posted by Honeylioness

Is it normal that he would still be so scared after two weeks? I am struggling with feeling as though he may be alone too much during the day and it is not good for him versus not wanting to traumatize him any further. When I was easing him out from hiding to treat the wound I was always careful to speak slow and calmly, never raised my voice and after I dealt with the "owie" I would gently croon to him and run just a fingertip along the top of his head a few times. And he never tried to bite me or lash out.

This cat is not acting like any other cat I have ever adopted or tried to help in the past and it has me flustered.

Click to expand...

My Patches has been inside since November and she is still a scaredy kitty of me. She's getting much more confident in her surroundings and enjoying her toys now and things like that, but it's taking her some time to trust me. I think that's normal considering she was an adult feral.

I think things are going fine. It just takes time to gain trust.

I think there was a little bit of progress Monday night on the kitty front. I had come home after 9:00 pm and used the back door to enter my office/studio where David has been holed up. As soon as I flipped on the light I noticed a black lump sitting atop a small craft chest that stands windowsill high. This "lump" was crouched and looking outside - then turned his head, saw me and jumped down.

And he was not alone - I had left the door open that leads up to the main living level of the townhouse and my other three cats were also in the office at various places. Yet there was no hissing, no growling, no large clumps of fur littering the floor or bloody swipe marks across anyone's face - just curiousity on the part of the three veterans about this new arrival.

After I entered David did not immediately streak towards the underside of the bookcase, instead he hunkered down just at the far side of my desk - which stands in the middle of the room and functions also as a work surface. I very slowly walked to that side of the desk and hunkered down also so I would not be towering over him, crooning softly to him about what a brave boy he was and how nice it was to see him out and about - I also was able to see that the fur on his back is making rapid progress in growing back over the wounded areas.

He put up with that for a minute or two before slowly slinking back to his hiding place. Pausing every few steps to look and make sure I was not coming after him I think. Realising I had forgotten to put down food that morning I took his dishes upstairs and filled them both before going over to sit at my desk and turn on the television to catch the second half of one of my "shows". When what do I hear? A slurping sound.

Looking over I see David has left the hidey hole and is making quick work of the wet food I had left for him. Watching him eat you really notice his mouth issues as he pushes the food bits up against the edge of the bowl so he can use his lower jaw like a shovel to get it into his mouth - his compensation for his lack of front teeth. Every few bites he would look over at me as if to make sure I had not moved - I spoke quietly to him the entire time and when he was through he turned very slowly and headed back to his safe spot.

This is the first time he has willingly come out of hiding when I am in the room. I knew he came out at other times since the litter box is being used and I find things on the floor that did not start out there. And at night we do hear him mrowling .

Patience wins out! It sounds like he is adjusting.

great news

Yesterday I saw David make a big step ... actually several of them. I was taking a break from chores in my office and noticed out of the corner of my eye a dark shape slink past. David had left his hiding place and moved into then out of hte laundry room and then into the front hall. I waited a few minutes then quietly went to see just how far he had gone. The entry hall leads directly to the stiars leading to the second floor of the townhouse where the kitchen and dining room are. He had moved to the fifth step and was laying there ... just kind of looking around.

He sat there for about 10 minutes - two of my other cats had, during this time, gone up and down the stairs past david with no hissing or aggression. However when I did have to go back upstairs to get back to work he was not thrilled with that idea and hissed at me. I spoke to him softly and tried to just walk past him. But at that point he ran up a few more stairs and eventually up into the kitchen - which seemed to really disorient him. He wound up face to face with the three other cats and ran to hide under the dining room buffet. He was there about five minutes until he decided the coast was clear and ran back downstairs to his hiding place.

Today I didn't see him at all until his evening feeding. Guess he will need a few more days to recover from his encounter.

That braveness is fantastic!! Since he put himself out there and was being so brave, it's no surprise he hissed at you. No worries! And super fantastic the interaction with the other kitties was basically no reponse - that's awesome!!!!

Keep us posted!

Originally Posted by killerapple

That braveness is fantastic!! Since he put himself out there and was being so brave, it's no surprise he hissed at you. No worries! And super fantastic the interaction with the other kitties was basically no reponse - that's awesome!!!!

Keep us posted!

Click to expand...

And, actually, the hissing is a good thing. It means he's feeling more confident in his space!

Oh, your little boy is doing great! It takes a lot of courage to go check out the world...The hiss was a good hiss. Can't wait to read more about him.
Marina

Thank you for the encouragement ... David really is the most challenging cat I have ever "adopted" - here is out latest saga

******************

Well, one step forward two steps back I guess. We had quite the melee last night.

My usual routine is to come home from work and re-set my brain from work mode to actually "working" mode by watching the BBC news and then Charlie Rose before I head upstairs to make dinner. When I come home I have been opening the door to the front hall so that the other cats can come in and say hello - or sometimes I will leave the door open and let the resident cats and David interact without me being there to referee.

As Anne had gone to a friend's house for dinner I was puttering around clearing off my desk, sorting paperwork etc as the news was on - and not really paying all that much attention to what the felines were up to. Until I heard The Noise .... that distinct sound of cat food tumbling down from a shelf. Looking over I see that my dominant female - Naomi - is standing on her hind feet and has knocked over the bag of kitten food I am feeding David at the moment to help him regain his weight. And little nuggets are raining down onto the carpet, into a magazine holder and a box of photos waiting to be sorted. I suppose this was Her Highness's way of telling me that HER dish upstairs was not sufficiently full.

So after feeding the clearly emaciated and starving kitties ...*RME* ... I headed back down stairs to do a preliminary cleaning of the spilled food.

It was almost 30 minutes later that I got wind of trouble brewing. This is what I surmise happened. It seems that kibble you have to pick out of the carpet or nuzzle out of a box of photos to retrieve is ever so much more delicious than what is in the food bowl. And apparently David was out to prove this point. However as he slowly grazed he was moving further and further into the center of the office and I think choosing to ignore the presence of the other three.

And then I heard the yowling - that sound is what first caught my attention, and it was not coming from David ... but from Jericho. My smallest and the last cat I adopted before David. After a couple of minutes it was clear Jericho was not willing to ratchet down the noise or back arching anytime soon, so standing to come around so I could see all of them I realized they had David outflanked in a way. Jericho at 2:00 o'clock, Tigger at 10 and Naomi at 6:00 o'clock.

When David saw me he let out a massive HISSSSSSSS and bolted to underneath one pedestal support of the desk - Jericho followed. So David dashed for the second support - Jericho mrowled and hissed as though we were being attacked by flying monkeys of something.

Deciding to intervene - especially in light of the fact that Jericho has no front claws and could really get hurt - I herded the three long timers out of the room and cautiously looked to where I though David was. Crouching down about four feet away I softly crooned to him that it was okay and he was all right .... but only get hissed at for my efforts. Deciding he had to understand that this was MY house (or at least I maintain that illusion for myself) I shrugged, rose and went to sit back down at the desk and finish going through the stack of papers I had been working on. David did growl a little when he thought I was getting too close .... but was quiet for long minutes before he slunk off and climbed up onto the bottom shelf of the bookcase to disappear.

See, he is not so much hiding "under" the bookcase as sort of "behind" it. The wall unit is a little over two feet deep and five feet long made up of slatted shelves. It sits against an outer wall and is not actually flush with the wall because there is a large sewer drain pipe that runs from the corner of the room about three feet before sloping into the foundation and tying into the main sewer line. And perched atop this pipe is where you are most likely to find David - the wall to one side, a wall behind him, and the edge of a storage container on his right that sits on the bottom shelf of the wall unit.

I gave him about a half hour to calm down a little then went over to give him his nightly allotment of canned food and freshen his water - and for my efforts was hissed at again ... though this one didn't really seem to have much conviction behind it. If, as I have been told, hissing is a good sign that he is feeling more comfortable in his space ... then this cat should be asking me tonight if he can have all his friends over and borrow the keys to my truck!

On the upside though - he did sit/lay for a while on the bottom shelf just watching me and where I could see him.

Now .... if I could just get him to stop pissing on the floor and do it in the litter box like he does to poop .... things would be SO much better (and better smelling as well)

Originally Posted by Honeylioness

Now .... if I could just get him to stop pissing on the floor and do it in the litter box like he does to poop .... things would be SO much better (and better smelling as well)

Click to expand...

How many litter boxes do you have? Some kitties prefer to pee in one place and poop in another. Make sure you are using an enzymatic cleaner on those places he's peed on the floor to he doesn't smell the pee and continue to use it.

I have two litter boxes in the townhouse for my original three cats - one on the first floor, one on the third floor - and we never had any issues.

Now with David being confined to the first floor during the day when I am not home so the other cats don't hassle him - the other three are sharing the one upstairs - with no problems there either. It is just David who will not use the cat box if the dome is on it - so I have taken it off. And instead will move his bowels in the cat litter - but pee NEXT to the box.

I have been washing the - fortunately - concrete floor daily and using an enzyme treatment - but it does not seem to affect him at all. I have even placed a urine soaked paper towel into the cat box to give him the hint ... nada.

And if anyone has any suggestions for getting him used to having the hood back on I would be very grateful as the flying litter is gettin gon my nerves

Buy a litter box with taller sides for now - buy two, and place them next to each other. He obviously needs more than one box. Having lived outside, he is not used to peeing and pooping in the same place. Some take OK to it - others do not. The way to fix it is to provide him another place to go to the bathroom rather than try to change his behavior. It is a battle you will not win.

The rule of thumb for litter boxes is to have one more than you have cats. I'm glad the others are sharing the upstairs box well - but if it were me, I'd add another one upstairs. This alone could help reduce some stress on the cats from David's intro.

I realize I have not posted an update on David in quite a while.

Last weekend I thought I should get him more used to my touch and I wanted to look him over and see how his physical condition is coming along. So I put on my heavy duty work/garden gloves and off I went. Or rather down I went onto my knees to get him out from his bookcase hiding spot.

THAT didn't go so well as he managed to snag me good on the right hand - even through the gloves! And then he ran past me and took off. Upstairs to the kitchen, flew down the hall and under the buffet in the dining room. Then with Tigger hot in pursuit he flew upstairs and under Anne's bed. I was able to prod him out from there and back he went down to the dining room again.

By the way - Anne was still in the bed and opened a bleary eye to glance up but never really woke up during this escapade.

Eventually David paused on the stairs leading back up to the bedrooms and after several minutes of talking to him quietly I was able to pick him up.

His fur still seems rather dry to me and his skin also. He did let me clip his front claws and then groom him a bit as I removed a lot of the heavy undercoat he is shedding at the moment. Once you have him he doesn't growl anymore or try to bite - it is just while you are approaching him he still exhibits this aggressive behavior.


For about a week I have been keeping the door to the office on the first floor, where David mostly hangs out, ajar at night. I have heard him a few mornings "talking" or "calling" from upstairs in the kitchen - so he is moving about the condo on his own. Of course another bad side of this development is that he has occasionally peed on my kitchen floor.

But another upside is that it lets him and the other cats interact as they will - so far there have been no more hostile encounters. Even when Naomi or Tigger wander over to help themselves to a nibble of his dry food or some of "his" water he exhibits no aggression towards them.


The last couple of evenings I have come home to find that he is perched atop a small box of fat quarters that sits an a short dresser I keep craft supplies in. This means that he is able to look out the window at the hedges which buffer that side of the building from the main street.

Now usually he will give me a quick look when I come in from outside and jump down to dart off. But last night he just sort of watched me quietly. I approached and while he did hiss and show me once again that he has no teeth except for his molars - he did not try to scratch me again. And he let me gently run the top of his head and behind his ears.

However I am concerned because it seems as though the area just below his right ear and his right cheek seems to be puffy and swollen - but not hot to the touch. it may be another abscess. I need to take a closer look and in better light that I had last night.

A few days ago, which was Saturday, I wanted to take a closer look at David's face as there seems to be some swelling on his right cheek. Catching him this time seemed to go much better than the last attempt. He was crouched down near the back door and I was able, by moving slowly, to grasp him behind the neck and lift him up. Then it was onto the lid of the washing machine which has become my defacto exam table.

There is some inflammation, however it does not feel warm to the touch nor is it very "squishy" which usually indicates an abscess. I did try to excise a small area to see if there was anything that needed to be drained out - but no luck. While not thrilled with my amateur DVM efforts David did not try to bite or claw me during this process. He is due soon for his second round of shots and I will ask the vet what she thinks this bump may be - it doesn't seem to bother him and he doesn't react when you press on it either.

However my gently brushing him to remove more of the loose and unneeded undercoat was cause to protest .. a lot! He actually did rather well until you get too close to his tail - that seems to be what sets him off. I was able to keep one hand on the nape of his neck so I could feel if he was ready to "go off" and avoided getting any new scratches this time - that's progress.

I have tried to interest him is various toys which the other cats like - but he seems supremely disinterested in such things. I have noticed though that at least half the time when I come home from work he will be either sleeping atop the box of fat quarters on my craft chest or on the floor near my desk. However he has still not tried even once to race out the door when I am coming or going.

This morning I came downstairs and as I rounded the end of the staircase to head into the kitchen I saw him sitting on the top landing of the stairs that lead down to the front door. So he is getting braver.

And last night I saw him skulk off into the laundry room and when I peeked in he was using the cat box with the cover! I saw his head poking out and almost gave a YaaaaHoooo ... I thought he would not adjust to using a hooded cat box. However we are still having issues with him peeing in various other locations ... so back to the drawing board on THAT!

Thanks for keeping us updated. Even if I have no comments to make, I really enjoy reading your posts about David.

Have you added more litter boxes? And you are using an enzyme cleaner to clean up where he's peed? And I'm sorry.... I don't remember - you're using Feliway? All of these things should help!

for you and for David!

Okay, regarding the cat box situation:

There are two boxes in the laundry room on the first floor where David spends most of his time. One is the dome hooded model and next to it is a simple rectangular shaped box. However David still seems to prefer peeing on my kitchen or laundry room floor.

Every time I clean up such an accident I do use an enzyme neutralizer that I have had good results with in the past ... at least with my other cats they did not "re-offend" on a treated area.

Perhaps David's "sniffer" is broken???

I know I have not updated in a bit .... things seemed to be progressing until these two incidents .... any insides would be greatly appreciated:

05 July 2010

Most nights when I come home he is on his perch atop a shallow box of fabric cuts which I have covered with an old towel to try and protect the contents. He will raise his head and watch me come in but no dash to the door and no hissing. For the last week or so I will quietly walk over to him and start gently rubbing his head and scratching behind his ears ... and even run my hand down his back and gather shedding hair. He normally will allow this for a few minutes before he declares he has had enough and jump down.

Well last week, at least twice, I came in and moved to pet him as has become our routine when I became of aware of something new. Slowly I slipped a finger under his jaw and it was true .... he was PURRING!!!! Not very loudly but he was purring.

And this event repeated itself for the next few days. However just when I was feeling good about the progress and making note I need to get him back to the vet to look at his "lump" .... well, he went all "CUJO" on me Saturday.

Not sure if it was the adrenaline rush from seeing the ground hog outside our back door. Perhaps it was my holding Tigger in my left arm and therefore over David's head by default as I moved into the office. Perhaps he though Tigger was in danger and he was trying to free his friend.

For whatever reason he charged me ... hissing loudly and swiping at the air. He's never charged me before - his hissing is usually accompanied by his backing up quickly. Then he charged again and made contact several times with my knee through the denim skirt. I dropped Tigger and grabbed the large package of paper towels I had bought to use as a sort of shield and he attacked my knee again and again and shredded the paper in the process. I honestly have no idea what set him off but for the first time he really scared the shite out of me.

I know have six new holes around my right knee to show for this little encounter. And the next morning he acted as though nothing at all had happened.


26 July 2010


Okay, I don't know WHAT the F*** got into him this morning but I could go a very very long time without THAT kind of adrenaline rush again.

My neighbor two doors down has two small kittens - a black one and an orange tabby. He also has yet to put screens on his bedroom windows. I often see one of both of the kitchens sitting in the open window. And on more than one occasion have retrieved a kitten from the back deck after they have fallen or jumped out of said window.

And so it happened again today. I hear a sad mrowling and there outside my back door was the black one. After a few moments of coaxing I got a hold of it and not getting any response at their door (and needing to get to work) decided I could not leave it outside in this heat so I would put it in the guest room with some food and water until tonight.

Then I walked back into the house.

Remember how David went all "Cujo" on me earlier this month when I was holding Tigger in my left arm? Well his did it again. Only this time was much worse. I had the kitten held under my left arm with a light grip on it's paws so it would not scratch. All of a sudden as I went to go upstairs David went psycho.

He was leaping up for the kitten .. hissing and spitting and attacking my right knee. I tried turning my body away and getting upstairs and he cut me off ... I was truly afraid of him and was yelling and trying to keep a grip on the kitten while using my feet to stomp and push him back. FINALLY I got him to the other side of a doorway and slammed the door closed between us. I am not sure who was more scared ... the kitten or me.

No idea if this is a territorial thing ... the smell of a new cat (though he did it with Tigger and they get along fine) .. Or the holding a cat above him ... Although when I came into the room David was no where to be seen.

After getting the kitten settled and myself calmed down I treated the puncture wounds on my left hand and right knee. Then feeling incredibly pissed off I stormed back into the room and read him the riot act ... eye to eye ... telling him I had been MORE than patient and understanding with him but by God this was NOT going to be allowed. And if he thought for one bloody minute he was going to get away with that he was sadly mistaken.

Now, I really have no freakin' idea how much he got .. except that I was PISSED. Perhaps if I have him fixed sooner rather than later it would help?

Some cats just go "cujo" when there is the sight or scent of a new cat. It's behavior you don't want, but not something you can control, other than by not bringing other cats into the house. I don't know if he thought Tigger was a different cat, but both instances you were holding a cat. I don't think this has anything to do with when he was fixed. But seems like he's not going to tolerate other cats being around.

Aw...poor David. He's all freaked out and can't help it. Displaced aggression is like that. My Baby had that. He was terribly frightening.

I kept a light blanket handy just for his episodes. I would lightly drop the blanket over him. This almost always immediately quietened him. Waited a minute or so, then scoop him gently up and put him in the other room (it was my bathroom, it was a one room apartment.)

I would put him gently on the floor, still with the blanket on him, and leave the door slightly ajar. Then I left him to calm down and come back to himself on his own.

The other progress is fantastic though, and you know, set backs are to be expected. yes, though I do think the neutering ought to be done pretty soon.