I feel like Jake hates me now - vent..

My Chester Cheetah has his moments too. Especially after I brush him, or should I say attempt to brush him. He will hide from me for hours then at bedtime he forgives me and cuddles up purring in bed. He will get over his rough day and be his old self again soon. Just give him some space. Cats have very sensitive little souls and can get their feelings hurt or get embarrassed as much as my 2 year old daughter does, if not more.

He will get over it, a vet visit can be stressful but mine are usually back to their usualy bad selves within a week

Don't worry, he'll get over it. Reach for him lots and lots, so he knows that not every time you reach for him means you are going to do something to him.

Cats can adjust to most anything. Tolly takes medicine four times a day, and has for years, in the early months I had such anxiety every time it was medication time, but we adjusted.

When Ootay first got sick, and had to be taking all the meds and getting sub q, she avoided me too, but after a few weeks she adjusted to the routine and no longer avoided me.

It will be okay. Use treats for incentive during and after brushing.

And...there's always feliway plug in diffusers!

The first time I took Holland to the vet right after her adoption and she had to get shots, the vet tech warned me that she would hide under the bed all night. Not that I didn't already KNOW that since she spent most of her first 3 days in my house under the bed. When she had to have her dental procedure, they also said she'd probably hide all night, but once I let her out of the carrier, she went under my bed for a total of about 15 minutes.

She hates to be brushed, thank goodness she's a short hair, so I try to get her about once a week, in a few different sessions since she won't sit still long. I'm really surprised at how quickly she got used to having her nails trimmed, though. I used to have to hold her in my mouth by her scruff because it was the only way I could have both my hands free. Now she lets me hold her like a football and doesn't even put up much of a fuss.

She also turns into a sulky kitty whenever she sees me pull out my overnight bag, because she KNOWS it means she's going to be alone for the night. Talk about being snubbed, after I pack and try to give her kisses goodbye she just looks at me and turns her head away "I want nothing to do with you right now, mommy."

I know you were just venting, and I know you know Jake will be back to his old self soon, but it's nice to have some reassurance.

Is he always picky about being brushed? And do you use a detangling comb before trying to use the furminator? If not, you could hit small tangles and it would hurt (think about trying to drag a brush through your hair when it's tangled).

My Sherman hates being brushed, too, but for him it's because I got him as a ~2 year intact tom that had likely never been so much as combed before. He doesn't like certain areas touched, let alone brushed. But I can usually get a detangling comb through those areas.
I've never used a furminator on any of my cats bellies, seems like a bad idea if you accidentally hit a nipple. Other places like under the front legs and on the back legs can be sensitive spots, too, that may be getting irritated by the furnimator. It even warns of this on the package. This could very well be why he doesn't like you grooming him.

Ironically the one thing Sherman doesn't mind me brushing him with at all... my hair brush (squishy paddle brush).

Otherwise, just give him time for the rest. Most of mine have pretty short memories for this stuff and are bugging me for a meal within 10-15 minutes of me letting them out of their carriers when they get home.

Ella gets upset pretty easily. If we've been gone a couple of days, she may even run and hide from us. She gets over it in a few hours, usually.

Like people, cats revert to the norm, generally in a pretty short time.

Mazy doesn't allow any grooming by me at all, ever, in spite of all the gentle training I have tried to do over the years.

Somwtimes when she sees Tolly and Jennie enjoying their grooming time she will come over, as if to give it another try.

I allow her to sniff the tool, and she will even rub her face against the tines, but if ever I try to purposely use it on her, she lifts her paw in warning, then runs away.

She has medium length fur, I guess I should call it short-hair, though it is longer than Jennie's. Since Mazy will not allow grooming, she does have some trouble with hair balls and gets dosed with hair ball remedies more often than the other two.

So he's just a fussy boy? Is he dramatic over other things? Sherman and Blaan are a little like this, making a bigger fuss out of things that the other cats just short shrug off.
All I can say it try gentle tools as much a possible to work him into accepting more.


All of my DSHs love brushing. Usually I'll start out trying to brush one cat and end up with 4 or 5 more of them (not so patiently) waiting behind me for their turns.

Tell your neighbors that they should rather report Jake for human abuse.

I don't know that his behavior is because he was taken from his mother so young. I've had ones taken away young that ended up clingy, as do others on here. I think it may just be Jake's personality - but there could be some under socialization there if he wasn't exposed to a lot of people as a young kitten. In which case, vet visits would really shake him up.

Only my semi feral Boo will stay off of me. All of my other cats will follow me around, lay on me, hound me.. I currently have one in my lap, one at my feet, and one on the back of my chair. A little space would be nice.

Hi Utopia, I don't know old Jake is, but he sounds just like my Shadow.
I got Salem (brother) and Shadow (sister) at approx 8 wks old. They deffo weren't socialised. I'm not kidding when I say that Shadow earned her name...I spent most of the first 6 months on my hands & knees checking where Shadow had hidden herself so I knew which room to move slowly through & to give her space.

I used to sit in the kitchen at the farthest point from their beds just reading my book. They cowered in the corner and even moving my hand to scratch an itch had them alert to run for cover!

I thought I'd NEVER get to pet Shadow...gave her oodles of space and time and now she'll come to me when she's comfortable...and LOVES pets - on her own terms of course!

The first trip to the vet - I'm serious - took 4 hours to round her up and get her into the cage. Then 4 weeks cooped in a small toilet (vet said it'd help recovery if she ws in a small room & away from her inquisitive brother)..I thought she'd never forgive me. BUT each time we return from the vet, she takes less time to get over the ordeal - so that now, 3 yrs on, about 5 mins outta their cages they are back to normal and scrounging for treats.

One Tip: I try keep my bedroom a 'safe' space - so while I may corner her to give her flea/worm treatments in the kitchen or even pounce on her when she's asleep on the sofa - I won't do anything like that in the bedroom. One day, I'd spent 20 minutes chasing her around the kitchen trying to catch her for her monthly treatment, but I ws so stressed I gave up. But 2 mins later I was in the bedroom and she came looking for pets, it was such a surprise & sooo cute! I realise she figured the bedroom was safe territory so I've kept it as such ever since.

Sorry for long post, but hope u are rewarded just like I was for patience and perseverance. People told me she'd never sit on my knees or want cuddles if she hadn't been socialised, but every day she surprises me with new 'closer' behaviours.

Keep at it!

4 weeks is too young for that to have had that much affect on Jake. At that age the only thing that really works well on them is their nose. Some still need help peeing and pooping, are likely to fall face first into their food dish, can't see very far, etc.
I meant did he not have a lot of socialization from 8 weeks and on? I don't have a lot of different people coming and going in my house, for example, and it makes for some cats that don't trust strangers if raised from kittens with me. Where as the cats I've acquired as adult cats will come out to bug strangers. Sherman especially - I rather wish that he wouldn't try to strike up a conversation with every single person that comes on my front porch (whether the windows are open or not).

There's nothing wrong with not being super socialized with lots of people. It just makes for some touchy cats concerning meeting new people. The rest of it just sounds like Jake. As far as I know you've never done anything to make him not behave as affectionately as other cats. Maybe as he fully gets out of his kitten stage he'll have more time for you.

Since they were feral, or very near to it, you should have kept them in a bathroom or a large cage in your bedroom for the first few weeks. It makes it a lot easier. I have 3 here that where completely feral at ~7 weeks old. I started letting them out into the room their cage was in when I was in there after a few weeks, and completely running free in the house at 13 weeks (had to make sure they were big enough that it was safe for them). They still ran to hide a little at that point, but would come when called.
One of them is still very shy, but I often get her bounding up to me for no reason and flopping on my feet or I'll wake up to her snuggling me. The other two are normal kittens.
I've tamed other, older, feral kittens in the past by the same method. It's honestly harder once they're passed 12wks to get their trust but once you have it the rest follows.