Young Cat Seems Afraid In General

curlymess

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Hello, I'm here today to get some advice about my cat Belsnickel. I adopted him from my local shelter a little over a month ago, he was neutered immediately before he came home. They told me he was 1.5 YO but upon further research he seems to be more like 7 or 8 MO. Hes never had a litterbox accident, doesnt seem to be in any pain and the first week we got him everything was lovely. I am also a 1st time pet owner.

One of the first things I noticed was a marked disinterest in toys and lack of eagerness toward food, but I put it up to a new environment since he does not seem to be unhealthily thin. Moving into weeks 2,3 & 4 I would attempt to play with toys which seems to result in an overexcited mental state and even after stopping he would be scared and extremely wary of myself and my boyfriend. He seems to be particulary scared/excitable toward my boyfriends sister who has no other pets and is a good friend of ours. To help him adjust to his new environment we'll allow him out to roam freely and if he seems tired or overwhelmed I'll put him in the bathroom with his litterbox bed and toys for a while.

As it is now it's pretty much guarenteed hes going to have a fearful episode of dashing around the house, jumping on the kitchen table with his back arched and tail fluffed and waving in agitation during some point of the day if not multiple ones with no clear triggers, we dont often have guests.

Some other notable facts is he seems to be a bit plumper but still not enthusiastic toward his Nature's Variety Instict kibble, his food dish holds maybe 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup and doesn't normally clear the bowl in a 24 hour period, he seems to have sufficient bowl movements every 24 - 36 hours and has been dewormed. Ive even bought a Feliway calming difusser which has no marked difference in this behavior. He basically seems to want constant attention but also gets aggitated and upset with the attention or normal noises of a household increasing quickly from when we first adopted him, I now feel apprehensive at the thought of interacting with him which I know doesnt help but these episodes are frightening.
 
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curlymess

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Any help or advice is appreciated, as I dont want to have to take him back to the shelter but with his increasing anxiety and no obvious causes to fix I am scared he will hurt us or himself one day. I forgot to mention one repeating senario in which he will go downstairs to investigate noises from the apartment next door, he'll stay there meowing loudly for a few moments and then make this funny trilling noise before dashing madly back upstairs and under our bed. He normally calms down a few minutes later and then does the same thing. He also seems to eat and sleep the most when someone is in the room with him but again, isnt necessarily interested in touching ot affection and easily spooked by normal movement.
 

maureen brad

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If he is the age that you think then he is in the 'terrible teens' cats of that age can be , well, ridiculous. You also have not had him very long. Do not worry. He will be fine and you will too.

When you play are you using a wand toy? Those are the best but I would stay away from laser lights. Laser lights can really agitate some cats and with the behavior you mention a laser light probably isn't a good choice. Da Bird is a great toy as is the Cat Dancer. The cat Dancer looks silly but both of those toys are remarkable at building a cats self confidence. Your cat sounds insecure.

Do you have a cat tree and some places that are just his as well as scratching posts? Cats really, really need those things. It can make all the difference in the world.

As far as being very affectionate, many young cats are not as affectionate as they will be when they are older.

One of my cats, Desmond, was just weird when I adopted him at 10 months. He loved to play and was very chatty for attention but if I pet him he would bite ( not viciously) sometimes he would walk onto my lap and sit for a moment and then panic and run away. He is 2 now and a very 'normal' cat.

I may be wrong but it seems like your cat is nervous about his territory. It may be to soon to be letting him go outside your apartment etc. Cats can take some time to get used to things. Much longer than people. Please be patient and don't return him.I spent years volunteering at the shelter and very often cats that are returned just fall apart.
 

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Some cats take a while to settle i o a new place. It on average took three months to a year depending on the individual cat's personality before any new cat was fully comfortable when my family added one. Also pay attention to the energy you are protecting If you are scared, aggitated and the like, he will be too. Speak softly when talking to him and be patient.


Cat trees near a window. Anything near a window so he can look out. Lots of toys. It'd take time before you and he finds what he likes _be patient. Maybe try cat nip filled mice. Wal-Mart has them in multi packs.
He could be reacting from the recent neutering surgery. He might be a smudge sore.
The trilling sound. Cats make those when they see or hear prey. Like looking out a window and seeing birds. They will trill and chitter. A teeth clicking sound.
Sometimes they trill seeing cats or you. Mine will make a "eerruuu?" Sound a question of sorts..As if he is asking "whatcha doin? " Maybe your neighbors have birds or another cat he's curious about.
 
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curlymess

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Thank you so much for the responses! Actually yes, the agitated behavior I mentioned is almost instant whenever I bring out the lazer point, I think he despises it honestly! I also think he is insecure, I have cat nipstuffed toys and KONG catnip spray which he doesn't care about at all. The only toy I find he likes is a balled up wad of alluminum foil. The cat wand I have has three attchments which he may bat at a few times while making that funny trilling "bruuull" noise. Most of the time he might play for a few and kind of flip and run away at the same time, and then seem a bit upset afterwards.

He does have a cat tree with an attched scratching post that he never uses and I also built him a very tall box maze/fort which he doesnt seem interested in either. :(

I am trying my best to help us both adjust, maybe I will give those 2 toys a try and what do you all think about Spirit Essences?
 
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curlymess

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In the picture above is the box fort, he can climb inside up to the top and stop at that area in the middle to look out of the window, this is piture of him. Based on an article I read he appears to be under 1 years old.
 

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Have you placed something of yours in the cat tree and fort? Like a T-shirt you wore yesterday and haven't washed. The scent will be calming. Be patient with him. Let him adjust on his terms. If he likes foil balls great. One of my cats likes foils balls too. He also oscillates between the feathered wand toy,foil balls and cat nip mice.

Your little guy will adjust it merely takes time. The other kitty owners here can attest If I'm correct or not.
 
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curlymess

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Well no I hadn't but I can certainly scatter a few dirty things throughout. Any comments about his age or Spirit Essences product?
 

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It's very hard to age a cat once their adult teeth are all in - especially within the age ranges you're talking about.

I've recently taken a girl in of a similar age (we're guessing she was 8/9 months when we got her at the beginning of March). She has goes crazy sometimes, racing round the house at top speed, pouncing curtains, attacking rugs - generally being a lunatic :jump: It really is an age thing.

A month isn't very long to settle in somewhere for a cat - especially a shelter cat. You don't know his background, or what happened to him before the shelter. The fear / nervousness is very likely linked to past experiences. It should ease over time.

Interactive play really is the best way to build a cat's confidence, even better if you can mimic the hunt-kill-eat cycle. Anywhere a cat catches, kills and eats immediately becomes 'their' territory...just what is needed to build both self confidence and confidence in the environment. These articles should explain it:-
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-play-the-rules-of-the-game
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playing-with-your-cat-ten-things-every-cat-owner-needs-to-know
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-cat-toy-for-your-kitten

You say he's not terribly interested in food - have you tried wet food? As well as (in my opinion) being better for your cat, it's also smellier and so sometimes more tempting than kibble. My girl doesn't actually recognise kibble as food and pretty much ignores it, but goes nuts for wet or raw food.

I've not used Spirit Essences specifically (I'm in the uk), but I have used other flower essences on my animals (for all kinds of issues) with good results. Bottom line - flower essences cannot do any harm, but could well help. Worst case scenario is that they just get peed out again .

You've done this little boy a great service by adopting him. Don't give up, give him time and space. He will settle eventually.
 
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curlymess

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Good morning! Does your little girl seem afraid during those episodes or just having a goodtime? It's comforting to hear other stories of crazy cats lol :D. I've done a lot of research and since he doesn't react much to cat nip I've decided to try Valerian root, also utilizing the information in those articles (thanks!) And maybe make a few more hiding places downstairs.This seems like the best game plan right now, and also time as you all say.

One big question, if its true that the hunt catch kill builds confidence, does the opposite destroy it? Maybe I have played to vigorously and have not let him catch and kill.
 

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Nope, not scared...just a little crazy. Even my 13 year old boy has mad moments - racing through the living room at top speed and bouncing off the wall to round the corner because he's going too fast to make it from the ground :lol3:

Valerian is a good idea. A company I get a lot of toys from also does what they call a 'power mix' herb blend that Asha goes nuts for. It's a uk site, so I don't know if you can get them.

Not following through with the hunt-kill-eat cycle won't destroy confidence at all. It's just that following that cycle give the optimum results because the cat can fully act out its natural instincts.

Just relax and enjoy your crazy teenager!
 
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curlymess

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Great news all! I returned a lot of Belsnickels old toys in favor of Da Bird and he actually played with it without becoming fearful. Afterward when he was tired out I mixed his new wet cat food and some unseasoned pureed pumpkin with oat grass on top, yum. Very happy about my progress today, hopefully this will continue to inspire confidence in him!

I also bought some 500mg Valerian root supplements and broke them open, I used the powder around his room but no change so far, that stuff stinks tho!
 

maureen brad

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As far as the wand toy, make sure you aren't waving it high in front of him. That isn't what prey would do. Run it along the floor and let it hop and jump a little. let the cat hide behind furniture and boxes etc. and jump out and get it. many people wave the wand toy like crazy in a cats face and the cat jumps and bats at it but that is actually defensive behavior. Cats like to hide and jump out at their prey.

There are two toys that really help insecure cats one is Da Bird and the other is the Cat Dancer. cat dancer is really inexpensive too. You can use wand toys with like a small mouse on it. large toys can make an insecure cat overwhelmed.

Also make sure when you are playing you have the wand toy moving away from the cat. Prey runs away and not toward a cat. I know I sound nutty but it is true.

Good luck!
 
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pumpkin2

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Your cat looks exactly like our two new kittens, and our neighbour's cat to boot!

A favourite of all our cats is to play on our bed sheets. We put our hand underneath the sheet, and the cats go crazy trying to hunt it. We like to "play dead" when they have caught and subdued the hand...it's good to build self-confidence in their hunting skills, since they'll never have a chance to catch anything bigger than a centipede :)
 
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