Helping our newly rescued stray have more confidence and love us

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chloemccarthy17

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Hello , I was wondering if anyone could help . We rescued our cat called Harry (about 3-4 months ago)from a man that took him in because he was a stray. All we know about his past is that we think he was abandoned when his old owners moved out . He has settled into our house but doesn't Like to socialize . He will go out and return home with out a problem. He likes to stay in the kitchen and just lie in there instead of coming into the living room
with us . When we do bring him into the living room all he does is cry at the door to be let out . He doesn't really like when we pick him up because he will always squirm to get out of our arms. He only like us scratching him if it is late at night when he is sleepy. He likes to chase string and opens up quite a bit when playing but I was wondering if anyone else could suggest how to make Harry be confidant ,trust us and to love us back ?

Thank you .x

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shadowsrescue

shadowsrescue

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Since he was a stray and abandoned he has become less trustful of humans.  This is often more difficult to overcome, but not impossible.  The key is to spend a lot of time with him.  Playing is one of the best activities.  Have you tried a wand or da bird toy or laser pointer?  There is a technique called hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep.  You want to play with the cat and really get him moving.  Aim for 10 or more minutes of play.  This will satisfy the hunt, catch and kill.  Next, the most important step is to offer a special snack or small meal.  It should be something different than his usual food or treat.  I use plain cooked chicken or canned tuna.  Just a small bit to satisfy the "eat".  Next he should groom himself and take a nap.  This can be done multiple times each day.

When you are working with him, I would start by not trying to pick him up right now.  SIt on the floor at his level so you are not looming over him.  Food is usually a great motivator for cats.  You can try Gerber stage 2 chicken or turkey baby food.  Cats go crazy for it.  You can offer some on a small plate to have him try it, then progress to him eating it off a spoon you hold and finally having him lick it off your fingers.

Have you tried Feliway diffusers?  They might help to make him feel more confident.  Yet, this process could take awhile.  The key is to not give up on him right now.  He can be socialized it will just be a process and it might be slow.  I brought a feral/stray cat into my home over 2 years ago.  His socialization process took well over a year.  He still does not like when others come over, he's very scared of the sweeper and does not like to be picked up.  Yet, he now is out and about all over the house, plays with our other cat and sleeps in our bed at night.  You just have to keep working with him.

Since he goes outside, I hope he is neutered?  When you rescued him, did you take him to the vet for a clean bill of health?
 
sweetpea7

sweetpea7

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Let him decide on contact at his pace and as he is happy to give. Hard I know. The feral I took in two months ago would claw me if I tried to stroke her, but she wraps round my ankles and purrs when she is hungry. That is her limit and her way and after the abuse she suffered ( she hand her kittens were about to be buried alive) it is enough that she is safe and well fed and even starting to play. I aw her chasing a large onion round the kitchen floor this week after knocking it off the dish. Just enjoy your cat as he is now and as he will be in time. This one may never allow handling but that is fine too; at least she finally came out from under the bed...
 
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chloemccarthy17

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ShadowsRescue said:
Since he was a stray and abandoned he has become less trustful of humans.  This is often more difficult to overcome, but not impossible.  The key is to spend a lot of time with him.  Playing is one of the best activities.  Have you tried a wand or da bird toy or laser pointer?  There is a technique called hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep.  You want to play with the cat and really get him moving.  Aim for 10 or more minutes of play.  This will satisfy the hunt, catch and kill.  Next, the most important step is to offer a special snack or small meal.  It should be something different than his usual food or treat.  I use plain cooked chicken or canned tuna.  Just a small bit to satisfy the "eat".  Next he should groom himself and take a nap.  This can be done multiple times each day.

When you are working with him, I would start by not trying to pick him up right now.  SIt on the floor at his level so you are not looming over him.  Food is usually a great motivator for cats.  You can try Gerber stage 2 chicken or turkey baby food.  Cats go crazy for it.  You can offer some on a small plate to have him try it, then progress to him eating it off a spoon you hold and finally having him lick it off your fingers.

Have you tried Feliway diffusers?  They might help to make him feel more confident.  Yet, this process could take awhile.  The key is to not give up on him right now.  He can be socialized it will just be a process and it might be slow.  I brought a feral/stray cat into my home over 2 years ago.  His socialization process took well over a year.  He still does not like when others come over, he's very scared of the sweeper and does not like to be picked up.  Yet, he now is out and about all over the house, plays with our other cat and sleeps in our bed at night.  You just have to keep working with him.

Since he goes outside, I hope he is neutered?  When you rescued him, did you take him to the vet for a clean bill of health?
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Thank you for your advice :) he loves to play ! He goes crazy over string and crunched up paper . I've decided that I'm just going to play with him over the next few days just for him to get used to it and then start introducing new things to him . He is okay with us picking him up along as it is for a very long time. He his a very sweet cat just needs to be worked on a bit x
 
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chloemccarthy17

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Sweetpea7 said:
Let him decide on contact at his pace and as he is happy to give. Hard I know. The feral I took in two months ago would claw me if I tried to stroke her, but she wraps round my ankles and purrs when she is hungry. That is her limit and her way and after the abuse she suffered ( she hand her kittens were about to be buried alive) it is enough that she is safe and well fed and even starting to play. I aw her chasing a large onion round the kitchen floor this week after knocking it off the dish. Just enjoy your cat as he is now and as he will be in time. This one may never allow handling but that is fine too; at least she finally came out from under the bed...
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Thank you for for your advice :). His a really sweet natured cat and was only stray for about a week maybe a bit more. We don't know anything about his past but we don't think he was abused . I'm just going to play with home for a couple of days and get him used to it before I introduce anything else to him . I hope your car is doing well :)x
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