New kitty

abbygibson1212

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So, I have a lot of friends in the Amish community, and there's an older Amish guy I know who has a bunch of barn cats and he had this one younger cat (about six months old) who he was going to shoot because no one he knew wanted her, and she was causing more problems than doing good on the farm. So of course, I offered to take her home. I'm a sucker for cats in need of a home, not to mention she is absolutely beautiful. So this is my new cat, she's just a little calico colored domestic short hair, but she is so sweet. She is very timid though, being from an Amish house she just lived in the barn and they didn't have any desire to cuddle with her. So what could I do to get her to open up a bit?
Also, she needs a name (I was thinking she needs something halloweeny) [emoji]128522[/emoji]
She doesn't look so cute right now, it's been raining here and she's wet!
 

shadowsrescue

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First off, thank you for rescuing her.  How terrible that she was going to be shot.  You are her angel for saving her.

Secondly, she needs to get to a vet for a full check up.  You will want her tested for Feline Leukemia and Feline Aids as well as receiving all of her vaccines.  She will need to be wormed.  Most importantly she needs to be spayed.  The sooner the better.  She may have already had a heat cycle.  You do not want her roaming around winding up pregnant.  Please get her to the vet ASAP.

As far as socializing, it would be best if you gave her a room of her own.  One that is cat proofed.  If it is a spare bedroom, you will want to pick up the bed or place the bed flat on the floor.  Otherwise, she will go right under and it's almost impossible to get a cat out from under the bed.  While socializing her, you don't want her hiding where you cannot reach her.  Also block off behind large furniture where she could also hide or get stuck.  Do provide her with a safe place to hide such as a simple box with a cozy blanket or a hiding box found on a cat tree.  Allow her to spend some time in this room getting used to your home.  I hope that she will be an inside only cat as that is the safest place for her.  It may take her a bit to adjust, but they do adjust as long as you don't overwhelm her.  That is the importance of starting in a small room of her own.

If you can, get a feliway diffuser.  This might help to calm her.

When you visit her, sit on the floor at her level.  Do not loom over her.  Sit and talk quietly.  Allow her to approach you.  You can offer special yummy treat rewards to help.  You can use canned cat food, a small bit of canned tuna or even Gerber stage 2 chicken/turkey baby food ( small glass jar with ingredients of turkey/chicken and water only).  She can learn to associate you with something yummy.

If she seems afraid to be alone, you can play soft music for her while you are gone.  Just be sure to keep her in the room not allowing her to have run of the house yet especially when you are gone.

How is she doing with the litter box?
 

mollyblue

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Congratulations on the beautiful new addition to your family.  Not sure about a halloweeny name, but my first thought was Patches... okay, my first first thought was Little Bit or Bitsy, cuz it looks like she could use a little bit... a little bit of food, a little bit of love... and little bit...ya know, but she doesn't look like a Bitsy.. so anyway, theres my two votes for the name.

As for helping her open up, I would say time, love and tenderness will go a long way.  Some cats warm up quickly, some take a little longer.  Hopefully she will be a faster warmer upper.

You didn't mention what kind of trouble she was causing on the farm, but she may be used to being yelled at by humans if she was always getting into stuff, and I am assuming you just got her, so this is a total shock to her little system... so my suggestions are to make sure she sees you feed her, sit quietly and talk to her, so she learns your voice.  Leave an article of clothing that has your scent on it in her room (or space) so she can learn your scent and investigate it at her liesure, and give her a day or two to adjust.  then report back here and let us know how you are doing and we might all be in a better position to know how to move forward.
 
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abbygibson1212

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I think she was just getting into stuff and keeping security lights on all night and stuff. Things that I wouldn't mind, but the Amish are old school and don't want to keep anything around that is a nuisance. As for warming up, now that she's off the farm and in my house she is MUCH friendlier than I thought she would be. She even curled up with me and took a nap, purred, and let me scratch her belly. Right now she is just in my room, no need to introduce her to the dogs and the rest of the house yet as I don't want to overwhelm her. And I have some wormer at home, I always keeps some on hand, I'm going to give her some of that and then get a vet appointment soon. So, so far so good on those fronts, but now I've run into a new set of problems. First one, I thought she was just wet from rain, but I think she must have cow milk on her or something because her fur is staying all stinky and stuck together, when I seen her yesterday she was clean, so she must've spilt something on herself, should I try and wash her off or just wait till she cleans her self? And second, I think the only think they have ever fed her is warm milk straight from the cow, I gave her some food, but she was totally uninterested, do you think she's just full or doesn't understand what to do with the food? And lastly, the biggest problem, she peed all over my bed, and I want to keep her strictly indoors, but how can I litter train a six month old cat? And how can I do it FAST? I don't want to have to put her outside
mollyblue mollyblue shadowsrescue shadowsrescue
 

shadowsrescue

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I think she was just getting into stuff and keeping security lights on all night and stuff. Things that I wouldn't mind, but the Amish are old school and don't want to keep anything around that is a nuisance. As for warming up, now that she's off the farm and in my house she is MUCH friendlier than I thought she would be. She even curled up with me and took a nap, purred, and let me scratch her belly. Right now she is just in my room, no need to introduce her to the dogs and the rest of the house yet as I don't want to overwhelm her. And I have some wormer at home, I always keeps some on hand, I'm going to give her some of that and then get a vet appointment soon. So, so far so good on those fronts, but now I've run into a new set of problems. First one, I thought she was just wet from rain, but I think she must have cow milk on her or something because her fur is staying all stinky and stuck together, when I seen her yesterday she was clean, so she must've spilt something on herself, should I try and wash her off or just wait till she cleans her self? And second, I think the only think they have ever fed her is warm milk straight from the cow, I gave her some food, but she was totally uninterested, do you think she's just full or doesn't understand what to do with the food? And lastly, the biggest problem, she peed all over my bed, and I want to keep her strictly indoors, but how can I litter train a six month old cat? And how can I do it FAST? I don't want to have to put her outside
@MollyBlue @ShadowsRescue
You absolutely do not want to introduce her to the rest of your animal family until she has been to the vet.  Most likely you will find the that only prescription strength wormers from a vet will do the trick on a cat that has lived outside.  The worms are pesky.  Truly get her to the vet sooner than later.  Also do not allow her outside time.  She is not spayed.  There is also a possibility she is pregnant now.  A vet check is very much needed.  If you are allowing her in your home, the worms can easily spread to you and your animal family.

As for food, you may have to try a variety to see what she likes.  Get her canned kitten food as it will have the most calories for her.  Do not give her milk.  She needs proper nutrition.  Another reason a vet visit is in order.  Get her some really stinky canned food.  Fancy feast comes to mind.  You might have to see if she prefers chicken/turkey or sea food varieties.  Hunger will win out and she should start to eat soon.

As for the litter box.  Get more than one for now.  Outside cats sometimes are used to peeing and pooping in different spots.  You can try sopping up the pee with a paper towel and placing it in the litter box to attract her.  The same with poop.  You also could try mixing in some soil from outside in with the litter as she is used to going outside.  The absolute best is Dr. Elsey's LItter Attract.  It contains special herbs to attract cats to the box.  IT usually works very quickly.  YOu can to be sure you are cleaning her accidents with an enzymatic cleaner.  If not, she will continue to pee there over and over.  You may not smell it, but cats have a  much heightened sense of smell. 

Please please keep her inside.  You do not want her pregnant.  Yet a vet check is so necessary.  You want to be sure she is not pregnant now.

Nothing works fast.  It all takes time and patience.  If she continues to pee outside, the box, you will need to confine her to a very small area.  Some use a small bathroom or others a large dog cage.  You will need to put the litter box in the confined space with her.  She should catch on quickly.  Yet, please give her time. 
 
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abbygibson1212

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shadowsrescue shadowsrescue The wormer I have is from the vet, they let me buy it in little bottles to keep in my fridge, probably because they know I'm bound to bring home a puppy or kitten at any given time [emoji]128517[/emoji]
And food, I think I might have some canned food stored away somewhere, I will find it.
And I've got a big dog crate if she continues to pee inside, for now I moved the litter box closer to my bed so maybe she'll get the idea, if not, is that litter something I could get at Walmart?
And what should I do about her dirty fur?
 
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abbygibson1212

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The more time I spend with her the more things start to make sense. She nibbled on her hard food a bit and ate a couple of bites of cheese, but I think what the problem is, is that she's never had hard food before, and is a bit weary about it. I put wet food out, and she lapped at it for a good 5 minutes before she actually started eating. I also gave up and gave her a bath because I couldn't get the milk off of her, I've never gave a cat a bath before so I thought it was be a lot of hissing biting and scratching, but she actually just stood there and meowed. I wormed her earlier and upon giving her a bath I discovered she had fleas so I gave her a flea pill. Hopefully since she's only been in my room (there's no carpet in there) and in the bath tub, and I gave her a flea pill within a few hours of getting her, the fleas won't get on my dogs. That would be a real pain. Also, I noticed that she'll sleep a long time, and then wake up and pee where she's been sleeping! Fist on bed, then on the couch in my room. So I got an old dog bed out and put it right next to my bed, and put the litter box right next to hers, so hopefully she'll make the connection. And while I was giving her a bath I noticed she looked a little malnourished, probably from living off of milk. Her digestive system is probably messed up. But she is a very sweet little cat, follows me around every where I go and meows when I leave the room.
 

mani

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Poor little darling.. how wonderful that you took her in.  She obviously loves you.


If you bathe cats early enough I think they just believe it's part of life, even though they really don't like it.  I have to keep allergens down so if I have a cat from a kitten I always get them used to bathing.  Not that you'll need to keep doing it...

My cats always lap up the wet bit in cat food before getting into the chunky bits (if I'm lucky.. sometimes they just leave them..
)  so it's not unusual.  It's wonderful that you can now give her a good, balanced diet.

At the risk of sounding like a TCS stuck record.. she does need to see the vet.
 
 
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ondine

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You could try adding some dried leaves or dirt to the top of the litterboxes. Just a thin layer. This is probably what she is used to using and once she gets what the litter is for, you can stop adding it.

She may be peeing as a way of making things smell familiar and therefore less scary. Get a good enzyme cleaner and soak everywhere she's peed. If she pees on a shirt or blanket, you can let it dry and put it into her bed. At least at the beginning, the familiar smell will help her feel "home."

Most cats become lactose intolerant by young adulthood, so her tummy is probably upset. Don't give her any more dairy.

And yes, please try to get her to the vet ASAP. She's beautiful - for some reason, "Madeline" came to mind when I saw her.
 
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abbygibson1212

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Oh I don't plan on giving her more dairy. I know that it is bad for them. I don't know why the Amish didn't know that, maybe just because they don't have access to all the same information we do. I will try that with the litter. And I'll be taking her to the vet too, just didn't want to do it today because I didn't want to traumatize her. And that is a cute name! I'll put it on the list.
And she is the sweetest cat I have ever had! She won't leave my side, and if I'm just sitting down not petting her she'll put her paw in my hand, or take both of her paws and pull my hand to her. She likes to have at least one paw on me at all times.
This is her current sleeping position, accompanied by loud purring
 
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abbygibson1212

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Oh and she loves belly rubs! Which is a little odd lol
 

mani

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And yes, please try to get her to the vet ASAP. She's beautiful - for some reason, "Madeline" came to mind when I saw her.
   I think Madeline really suits her!
 
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abbygibson1212

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So, everything was going well (aside from no use of the litter box yet) and I decided to run down stairs really quick to let the dogs out to go potty, and when I came back up to my room she had peed ALL OVER my bed. I'm talking five or six huge puddles. My mattress is probably ruined. So I spent the last 30 minutes cleaning up pee and cat proofing my room to the best of my abilities. I put any thing made of fabric in my closet, and then laid paper towels down on my entire bed, in a feeble attempt to soak up any pee in case she decides to go again, but also to be able to tell if she does go on the bed again, and then I put her litter box on the bed, put some leaves in the box and a paper towel with her pee on it. So the only place with fabric that she could possibly pee, would be on the couch, where I'll be sleeping tonight seeing as my bed is occupied, and if she does that, I might lose all hope. If the night goes bad, I'll make one last attempt, and find my dog crate and lock her up with her litter box. But if that doesn't work then it will be the great outdoors for this kitty. I wish I could find the crate and get it to my room tonight without making too much noise.
Oh, and she apparently walks in her pee after she goes, because it's all over her feet.
 

mani

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Please take her to the vet.. it could be a UTI (urinary tract infection).  They pee all over the place with it.
 
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abbygibson1212

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Okay, I will get her to the vet
 
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abbygibson1212

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We are going to the vet around 1:00. Right now she is in a big dog crate with her litter box, food and water, and a towel to sleep on. She peed on the towel instead of in the box. Would a UTI cause her to do that? And why?
 

ondine

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I once had a rescue cat who slept in the litter box and pooped and peed in the straw I provided for her bed! She just was used to using straw and grass. She eventually sorted it out. Have you tried burying a paper towel soaked in her pee in the litter box. May give her a clue.

Good luck at the vet!
 
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abbygibson1212

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I did try the paper towel, with no luck. But you gave me an idea! Since the entire barn she was in was filled with straw, I might try putting some in her box. And she went to the vet, they weren't sure if she had a UTI or not, but they gave her some antibiotics anyways, and told me to keep her in the crate for a few days, and said if she didn't start using the box it's probably a behavioral issue
 

shadowsrescue

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I would definitely look into the Litter Attract by Dr. Elsey's.  I have used it on numerous cats that used to live outside.  It works very quickly.  My guess is that she has no idea what a litter box is since she has lived strictly outside.  She will be attracted to the scent of the Litter Attract.  If you cannot find it locally (most pet stores carry it) you can order it online.
 
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