Totally New Cat Mom :)

torbiecat

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Hi All,

I have a new cat, officially my first, that I love so I am trying to get connected and stay informed to ensure my cat is happy and healthy! Rikku is 2yrs and 9 months. I adopted her last week from the humane society. She is a darling and my partner and I have enjoyed some pretty amazing moments with her. She was spayed a month ago and given to the shelter due to issues with a new dog. Apparently the combination of kids and new dog was too much for her. She has an incredible tortoiseshell-tabby coat and beautiful green eyes. She has such a complex and unique personality that I never saw in friends or neighbors cats I took care of from time to time. She is playful, talkative and social like a dog but spends the rest of her time play hunting like an experienced wildcat. I've decided that she will be an indoor cat due to my location in a city apartment. Everything is a toy/prey to be hunted even my partner and I... I'm trying to work on that. She only seems to really fear loud noises and water noises (like the shower). I look forward to connecting with other cat-lovers who might face some of the same thrills and challenges I've had with my cat this past week. Friendly hello's, feedback, and questions are always welcome since I am such a newbie.

P.S. I am curious if anyone has heard of "tortitude" and whether it really has any scientific relevance. Apparently the unique personality qualities in tortoiseshell and tortoiseshell tabbies are genetically linked to their coat color and therefore their behavior is predictable "more difficult" --whether this is true or not I want to foster the best possible relationship with my cat, the more I know and understand the better   
 

eb24

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Welcome to the forums TorbieCat and congratulations on your very first feline!

Having a tortie myself (well, technically she's a torbie like yours) I am well versed in the expression torti-tude. Personally, I believe there is some merit to the theory that part of a cat's personality is dictated by their coat color. But, this only comes from my experiences- I have never read any studies stating the fact. 

My experience with tortes/torbies is that they do have a bit of an edge and are a little more independent. My girl takes a long time to warm up to new people and, even after she knows them, is not keen on giving them affection. With her person(s) however, she's a big ball of snuggle. Whereas it's said that orange/red cats will take affection from anyone at anytime I think tortes/torbies are more reserved and prefer to save their lovin for a few select members of the family. 

As you get to know your girl you will learn a lot more about her personality and her likes and dislikes. Cats are very expressive with their body language and by watching her tail and ears you can get a good sense of when she's happy and when she's not. I personally like this article because it has pictures of common body signals and what they mean: http://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/cat-body-language

You can help her hunting instincts by providing a lot of enrichment for her. And, this doesn't just mean putting some toys out and expecting her to engage in self play. An absolute necessity to your toy bin is a wand toy (a stick with something attached to it by a rope). If you can try a few different kinds: ones with feathers, ones with bells, ect to get a feel for what she likes. Set aside several 15 minute blocks a day and really play and engage with her. Once you know what she likes it's good to rotate her toys so that she doesn't get bored with them. Also, start reinforcing now (and be consistent) with not letting her bite at your hands or feet. If one of mine bites at my hand I make a loud crying sound. This is what other cats would do to indicate that the play has become too rough. Also, resist the temptation to pull your hand away as this will just trigger the hunting instinct. Instead, as you cry out, push your hand back into her mouth. She won't know what to make of it and she will let go. Do this enough and she will learn that hands are pretty boring! The same thing goes with foot biting. If she's really having a crazy kitty moment and just won't let up quietly just get up and leave the room. This will help enforce that improper play=no play at all. 

You can help get her used to loud noises by slowly desensitizing her to them. For example, start a play session in the main room. Once she gets into it have your partner run the shower or vacuum in another room with the door closed. Doing this a few times she will learn that the noise isn't scary and is associated with something positive. Slowly increase her proximity to the sound. First by running the vacuum with the door open, then moving it into the main room, ect. It also helps if you can leave it out when not in use so she can smell it and get used to how it looks. Granted, she may never love these noises but with a little conditioning you can hopefully get her to the point where she doesn't run in the opposite direction! 

Be sure you take the time to look through all the different forum sections to get a feel for what TCS is all about. Never hesitate in starting a new thread to ask questions that come up and feel free to jump in on conversations. I look forward to getting to know you better as you become a more active user!

Welcome to TCS and congrats on the new addition! Of course, your thread won't be complete until you give us some pictures of your adorable new girl! 
 

nurseangel

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Hi, welcome to TCS!  I agree with EB24.  My Daisy definitely has tortitude.  She is a dark colored torti, with shades of black, silver, and red.  She is sweet, gets her grabby little hands into everything, and things in general have to be on her terms so that the household runs in harmony. 
  
 
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