New Cat Problems

Hi,

If any of you read the story of Rizzo you known I recently lost my  cat.   It was too soon but I adopted a young female.  Two problems:  she wants to play non stop & when not playing wants to eat.  The vet told me to only give her 250 cal per day or she would get fat.  She is very petite.  After I starting taking Rizzo outside he never was that interested in playing with toys.  After you have stalked a real mouse or bird, toys just don't cut it.  Now I have this little playing machine & can't keep up with her.  She sits in front of the door where I keep the fishing pole toys & cries.  I have been playing with her twice a day for 15 minutes; just stopping when she starts to pant.  1 min later she is back at the toy door.  She really needs another cat or a family to play with.  I have a one cat limit at my condo.   As soon as I get things organized & caught up on a few things, I was going to get foster kittens for her to play with.  The problem is that they are usually sick with URIs. 

I have lot of toys for her to play with while I am gone but they hold little interest.  One that she likes for a little while hangs over the door with a toy on a string.  I gave away my laser & other expensive toys because Rizzo ignored them so I will go & get some more.  .  I have a under cover mouse but I am missing a part. She would love to go outside; tries to run out the door.  I will not start this again because Rizzo wanted to go out all the time & it was just too time consuming.   This is probably why she was a stray, but maybe not because she was not fixed.  If I don't keep her busy she is into everything.  I just had to get her out from behind the washer. 

I am going to try getting more things like I mentioned above but does anyone have any ideas to keep her busy when I want to just rest & watch TV.  I have a tread mill.  Has anyone taught their cat to walk with them?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Thinking of giving up this fight.  The toys I have given her to play with hold little interest.  She wants to play with the fishing pole toys &  I don't have 3 hours to play everyday.  I always thought that cats sleep a lot.  Not this one!  She sleeps for a few hours in the afternoon & I am sure most of the night but that seems like too little for a cat.  I am going to discuss this with my best friend who works at the shelter & the kennel manager.  She needs another young cat to play with & I can't provide one.  I just hate to give her up after I gave her a home but I want  her to be happy & I don't think she is.

Any options on taking her back to the shelter.  it does not seem fair because she has been at 2 humane societies, my friends house for a week & now mine.  Being friendly with everyone, I wonder if this affects her.

Any thoughts on returning her would be appreciated.

Being shuffled around absolutely has an affect on a cat.

Is the shelter she came from a No Kill and do they truly operate in this manner?

How did you go about selecting this girl? How long has she been in your home? What were her living conditions at the shelter (living in a cage, free-roam in a room)?

The shelter where I work is no kill & mean it.  Only aggressive (extremely) are put down after all options are considered.  She was at the first shelter 3 weeks & then ours one week when I adopted her.  My friend took her for a week while I was on vacation before she came to me but was kept  in a separate room.  I have a large condo & she has free run.  She would also like to run out every time the door opens.  All the staff & volunteers said they was a perfect cat.  I met with her & agreed but  no one saw this coming.  She was in a cage at both shelters.  I am afraid she will be to rough on foster kittens.

She has been in my home for one week & acts like she has been here for years.  In the 4 years of working at this shelter I think only one dog has been put down.  Cats that pee are send to foster homes to see if they were stressed at the other homes.  Usually they are OK with the foster unless declawed & in pain.  Then we have no choose..

Ok. It is VERY normal for cats that have been crated for weeks at a time to be crazy when they are given more space to move around. Even moreso if the cat is very social, which appears ti be the case with this girl. They often will calm down after a few weeks once they settle in to their new space. Honestly, 2 15 min play sessions a day doesn't seem like a lot for a young cat, especially if she spends most of the day by herself.

Even though she appears to have settled in, she is still adjusting to her new living arraignment. With that being said, I think you've already made your decision. If so, no sense in delaying returning her and getting her into a new home. If I'm wrong about this, please say so and I can offer some suggestions. But, these suggestions will not change the fact that this girl seems like she is going to be demanding for interaction.

when i got my first kitten she was really hyper and clingy despite having dogs so i got her a freind, they get along fine and tire each other out by playing all the time. there still hyper but are always playing together and she doesnt bite anymore, i only wanted 1 kitten but im glad i got oscar as well as there great friends. i alos have toys on elastic and they love playing with them with me too. i recently got out the grankids old play tent the ones that pop up and they love messing in and on that, and ger some boxed to for her to mess about in and make a hole and poke toys on a string thru, it would be a good idea if you got her a freind x

@crazy kittens, Riley1 isn't able to get a second cat due to her condo restrictions.

a pic x

Hi,

I should have mentioned that the 2 play periods are just some days.  Other days I try to fit a few short ones in.  Earlier I thought that taking her back was the only solution but I have thought of some others.  I don't really want to take her back but I don't want  her to be unhappy in her own home.  Just emailed a local shelter who fosters all of their available cats.  My new cat is very social, had to stay at a friend's home with 7 cats for the first week.  There was no intro & no problems.  She loves everyone right away but I would do an intro with the two. I was told that she knows when to back off if someone is not in the mood to play.   I don't think the condo will have a problem if I don't own the cat.  I have been fostering kittens for three years & no one has said anything. 

She was playing with an over the door toy for several days & then lost all interest.

 Will try the under cover mouse & a laser toy.  Hoping they will help!  You guys are probably right about the freedom after being in two shelters in a cage.  Really trying to work this out for the two of us.

She stays!  I have decided we just need time to get used to each other.

So happy to hear this! Keep us updated with the progress. =)

Things have not really gotten that much better since I last posted.  For the first month she stalked me around the house like a shark.  Most days I would have to put her in a bedroom just to get anything done.  She does not want affection, she wants eat, eat, eat & play, play, play!  If I sit down she jumps on my lap & starts biting me.  I can hardly eat because she tries to jump into my food.  At first I would lock her up until I was finished and now mostly just have to push her away three or four times.  There is no way to keep her off the counters or tables.  I put contact paper on all the counters but not the stove or sink for three weeks. This kept her off the counters but not sink/stove.  I replaced the paper with carpet runners & she just walked on it, points & all.  Back to the contact paper for three weeks.  Took it off, she is back on the counters.  She does not respond to yelling, clapping or cans of rocks.  She is basically fearless & does not respond to any corrective measures.  For about a week she would come in my room about 3:00 a.m. get under the covers & bit/scratch me.  One morning she bit my face.  She is now locked in a room at night. This behavior is not directed at just people, she will bite/bunny kick anything available.  She has not broken skin but the bites really hurt.  No amount of play is enough.  One night I played with her for 90 min, bringing her to panting 3-4 times.  She took a two minute break & was back crying at the toy door.  She rarely sleeps during the day & when I am home she thinks  I should supply the entertain for her.  Someone suggested that I take her outside on a leash.  No way!  My dear departed baby drove me crazy for 6 months of the year wanted to go out for hours.

This is not a mean cat.  She sometimes sleeps on me & looks like the sweetest creature on the planet.  I think she has the energy of 2-3 young cats & bites out of frustration.  I have had little patience for people who surrender cats & never thought I would ever be even thinking about it.  I work at the shelter & can return her but I wonder what kind of home can handle her.  I live alone & my house is as quiet as a tomb. She probably needs two or three young playful male cats to play with.  No young children or people planning on having any because she would have no problem bunny kicking & biting them.  She would need to be fed separately & no dry food could be left out because she eats any thing she can find & no amount of food satisfies her. 

She is extremely beautiful.  The people where I work will not believe what I will tell them & she will be wanted by everyone one because of her beauty, unusual coloring & sweet temperment.  I am afraid that if I bring her back she will go out & be returned several times.  Also, because of the scratching I am afraid someone will declaw her & then the biting will really start.  

Really between a rock & a hard place here guys.  Love her, but finding it almost impossible to live with her.  Afraid that the folks at the shelter will not take my suggestions/information seriously enough to get her just the right home & she might be abused for her behavior.  When I picked her out she was so sweet, loving & could not stop purring; no indication of trouble. 

I am going to call the vet tomorrow to see if she has any suggestions.  I am beginning to think she really isn't a cat at all.  Have any of you had a cat like this or know what to do?

Have you got toys she can play with without you? Asha has a couple of big toys that she amuses herself with when I'm too busy to play with her (in addition to the regular interactive wand toy play sessions). Your girl might also really like puzzle toys - the kind that you can hide food or little toys in. Catit is the brand that springs to mind, but really you're spoilt for choice by all the options out there. You could also look at cat tv dvds - the type that have pet moving across the screen that she can 'stalk'. Electronic/battery powered toys might have a place here too - set them going when you want to eat, and she might be distracted enough to leave to in peace.

With going on the counters - have you tried using scent to discourage her? Something like lemon essential oil in water (1 drop per 10 mls) could be a harmless spray that you can use all around the counters. Can't hurt anyone, and the scent might be offputting enough that she keeps away.

As others have said, the ideal solution is another cat, but I know that that isn't an option for you. I hope she calms down soon and starts giving you a little peace.

Update on cat:  Have finally gotten her to stop biting me most of the time.  She still is very demanding about food & play.  Anything I try to work on at home becomes a toy.  She does not respond to any corrections & just keeps coming at me until I lock her in a room.  The same goes on anytime I try to eat so I lock her up eat, clean up & let her out.  Can't keep her off the counters after this.  Even though there is nothing up there to eat she still just won't stay off them.  At least now she runs when she sees me coming.  I push her away 4-5 times before I lock her up.  Being stalked & begged all the time I am home is not very pleasant.  She is sweet & affectionate about 10% of the time.  I play with her about 45 -60 min. a day & have no intention of adding more time.  This little cat is just a pest!  Any ideas appreciated. Don't really know what to do with her at this point.

If you did not read the first posts: I can not have another cat where I live,  I feed her high quality canned & a little raw 4 times per day mixed with water.  My home is like a tomb; nothing goes on here but she does have lots of toys & 2300 sq ft to run around.I had tape on my counters for 6 weeks.  As soon as it came off she was back.She does not have worms & gains rapidly if I give her even a little more food.

I called the shelter who transferred her to my shelter & asked why a cat this beautiful was not adopted out in 7 weeks.  Also, asked if she had been adopted & brought back.  They really danced around this one & i never got  a believable answer.  I just wanted to know what had happened if she had been adopted out.    My shelter tells all because we want to know what they are getting going in.  I think she needs to be in a home with other young playful cats but would have to be fed separately & no dry food could be left out for the other cats.