Behavior Question

After feeding my stray/semi-feral (?) cat Bella outside for about a month, today I brought her inside. While outside, she would approach me and let me pet her a bit, then when she had enough she would walk away calmly. 

After about 5 or so hours of being inside she finally calmed down to the point where she wasn't panting and constantly meowing anymore. I went in the room, and she allowed me to pet her as usual, and once I initiated the petting, she began being super affectionate with me, but she still seemed a bit nervous even though she was purring a little...her hair seemed to stand up just a bit. She followed me everywhere in the room, rubbed against me and my hands, and when I sat down on the floor she put a paw on my chest and put her face close to mine. She would constantly want to be petted, and sometimes she would lay down on her side, but within a minute or so she'd get back up, and do it all over again. She was never that affectionate with me while outside. 

What is she trying to tell me? I'm so confused because when I fed her outside she would still seem wary of me, but all of that seems to have gone out of the window.

Thanks!

It takes cats quite awhile to settle into a new home.  She is nervous and you are the only one she knows.  Give her time to adjust.

Also she needs a vet visit.  She will need to be vaccinated as well as spayed.  Since she has been living outside, she also will need to be wormed.  Please try to make a vet appointment for her soon.

ShadowsRescue said:

It takes cats quite awhile to settle into a new home.  She is nervous and you are the only one she knows.  Give her time to adjust.

Also she needs a vet visit.  She will need to be vaccinated as well as spayed.  Since she has been living outside, she also will need to be wormed.  Please try to make a vet appointment for her soon.

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Thanks, that makes sense. I guess I assumed her behavior would swing in the other direction and she would be even more wary of me. I had read so many posts about ferals to prepare for this, I fully expected her to stay hidden and not want anything to so with me.

This is not unusual behavior for a feral / semi-feral cat. The point was made earlier about the cat only knowing you and that is very true. Since the new environment is altogether foreign, you become the only "known" part of all this. Cats, even more than people, like routine and familiarity. You're it! It may not last although a lot of whether it will or won't is dependent on your cats personality. I've had semi-ferals that I've caught and brought to the vet for vaccinations act very friendly and seek attention right after I brought them back home and released them. It was as if the whole experience was so un-settling that they sought out some comfort. A day or two later, they reverted back to their old selves. Contrast this with "house" cats that I've brought to the vet and who seemed to hold it against me for days. Cats will be cats!

Female cats can become unusually affectionate when they are either in heat or pregnant. I've seen this a lot.  It's important to get her to the vet to get spayed soon.  Aside from the hormonal issue, rescued strays tend to be very grateful and form a strong bond with the human who rescued them, so you'll have a true friend for life

Well I wish I had let her stay in the bathroom until I took her to the vet. Hubby said she probably felt confined so I clipped her nails (yay!) and let her into my bedroom. I figured it would help her get used to the sights, sounds, and smells of the house, at least. She stays under the bed and other furniture, and will come out when I call her, but only if I am alone. If my 1 year old is anywhere near, she won't come out.

Last night I was getting ready to fall asleep and she kept meowing. She's usually pretty quiet these days, so I figured she wanted something. I realized I left the bathroom door closed, her food and litter box are still in there. So I opened the bathroom, turned on the light, called her, and she immediately came from under the bed and into the bathroom. She started to eat, and I wondered if maybe I'd rushed bringing her into the bedroom and maybe she wasn't ready....so I was going to leave her in the bathroom. I closed the door and got back in the bed. After a few minutes, more meows, and when I opened the door, she was literally right there by the door, on top of the counter, she put her paw in the doorway so I couldn't close the door again, and when I opened it fully, she meowed again and hopped down and went back under the bed.


Even though she stays under the bedroom furniture, I think she's doing well. While sitting in the bedroom with my toddler doing this thing around the room, she came from under the dresser, and went under the rocking chair. So she made herself more exposed, to be closer to me it seems. But she wouldn't come out completely because, you know, toddler.

I highly doubt she would go back into the carrier willingly. I don't have anything to entice her, she doesn't eat much since she's been inside. No clue on how I'm going to get her back in there to bring her to the vet.

I think it's good you let her out of the bathroom-she was likely lonely in there. There's nothing wrong or unusual about cats hanging out under the bed--mine do quite frequently. It takes cats longer to get used to toddlers than adults --toddlers are noisier and move quickly. She will adjust in time. If you're able to handle her well enough to clip her nails, you should have no problems getting her to the vet. Pick her up or scruff her by the back of the neck and push her into the carrier. It's an ordeal to get ANY cat into a carrier to go to the vet. I swear mine know what I'm up to an hour before and hide from me-even my 15 year old cat fusses and cries and struggles when I put him in a carrier and car. But it's something every pet cat has to go through. You're doing great, don't doubt yourself. My only suggestion is to consider purchasing a cat tree on ebay or Amazon. They cost 85-100 dollars --pricey but much less so than at Petsmart. Cats love them-get one 6 feet tall with cubby holes--your cat will prefer being in that tree rather than under your bed and you'll get to interact with her more. I can post a pic of mine if you like. Otherwise you're doing great.

MsAimee said:

I think it's good you let her out of the bathroom-she was likely lonely in there. There's nothing wrong or unusual about cats hanging out under the bed--mine do quite frequently. It takes cats longer to get used to toddlers than adults --toddlers are noisier and move quickly. She will adjust in time. If you're able to handle her well enough to clip her nails, you should have no problems getting her to the vet. Pick her up or scruff her by the back of the neck and push her into the carrier. It's an ordeal to get ANY cat into a carrier to go to the vet. I swear mine know what I'm up to an hour before and hide from me-even my 15 year old cat fusses and cries and struggles when I put him in a carrier and car. But it's something every pet cat has to go through. You're doing great, don't doubt yourself. My only suggestion is to consider purchasing a cat tree on ebay or Amazon. They cost 85-100 dollars --pricey but much less so than at Petsmart. Cats love them-get one 6 feet tall with cubby holes--your cat will prefer being in that tree rather than under your bed and you'll get to interact with her more. I can post a pic of mine if you like. Otherwise you're doing great.

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Thanks, a picture of that cat tree would be great. I actually haven't been able to handle her yet. I tried picking her up a little but she would kinda wriggle and jump out of my arms. It doesn't help that I've never held a cat before. What are the steps to being able to pick her up and having her comfortable with it?

I only managed to clip most of her nails by being patient and clipping them while she bathed herself or was eating. I had to, because she would press her paws on my leg while I rubbed her belly and OMG they were razor sharp.

Thanks for helping me through this, I appreciate it so much. None of my friends have cats.

Whoo! I'm so proud of Bella. Last night after baby went to bed, she started meowing. So I spent some time with her in the bathroom again and when I got ready to walk out I could tell she didn't want me to leave. She had been sitting there watching the tv and I felt maybe she was more comfortable with her surroundings.

When we walked out of the bathroom she went to the closed bedroom door and sniffed it. Began playing with the doorstop. I opened the bedroom door and she ended up following me all the way to the living room. She explored everything in the living room and kitchen. She went behind the sofa, but she only walked around back there. She ended up settling on top of the sofa. Its the perfect spot because my kids won't be able to bother her there!

Baby steps, now a huge leap. I feel pretty confident now that she will enjoy being inside and be a normal house cat in no time. I'm relieved she doesn't have to deal with living outdoors anymore. Its been hot, and summer is just beginning.

MamaBella78 said:

 
After feeding my stray/semi-feral (?) cat Bella outside for about a month, today I brought her inside. While outside, she would approach me and let me pet her a bit, then when she had enough she would walk away calmly. 

After about 5 or so hours of being inside she finally calmed down to the point where she wasn't panting and constantly meowing anymore. I went in the room, and she allowed me to pet her as usual, and once I initiated the petting, she began being super affectionate with me, but she still seemed a bit nervous even though she was purring a little...her hair seemed to stand up just a bit. She followed me everywhere in the room, rubbed against me and my hands, and when I sat down on the floor she put a paw on my chest and put her face close to mine. She would constantly want to be petted, and sometimes she would lay down on her side, but within a minute or so she'd get back up, and do it all over again. She was never that affectionate with me while outside. 

What is she trying to tell me? I'm so confused because when I fed her outside she would still seem wary of me, but all of that seems to have gone out of the window.

Thanks!

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Its apparently going very nicely.  You took her in in a good moment, and proceed  well enough.

But this scene?   I think she knew she was out in deep waters, more or less in trouble.  And you were the only person there whom she knew is friendly to her. Whom she could hope to get help from in this scary place.  So she did everything she could to please her in, to be sure she would get help....

Very sweet and very street wise.   

I think its wonderful that your kitty is allowing so much interaction with you-I am almost certain she is not a feral cat-ferals take weeks to get used to humans-I bet someone dumped her-if you want to interact with her more-when she meows at you-blink your eyes slowly-she should blink back-that friendly body language-it may make her meow at you even softer and probably want to rub her face on you. When she rubs up against the furniture and yourself-she is putting scent on you-she is marking you. they have scent glands in their cheeks=so when she rubs against a doorway or couch etc-she is marking it as hers-one of my cats loves to rub her face against mine-but then I have to sneeze because she sheds a bit-she has short hair and sheds more than my long hairs.

Do you have a soft bristle brush? you can experiment to see if she likes it. most cats love their neck and back brushed. Also if she was outside you may want to look into a flea preventive from the vets-revolution is alchohol based and doesn't take long to soak up. they can apply it for you. otherwise you will have to wash and vacuum everything to get rid of the fleas. Also don't use flea stuff from the store. EVER. no flea collars either-a cat can get hung up somewhere and strangle=this happened to my boyfriend's cat in his neighborhood-he found it. And I always recommend breakaway collars if you have to put a collar on them.

Also the vet visit is needed to make sure she isn't pregnant. We have lots of experienced folks when it comes to pregnancy here so don't worry-we will help you-

and I would let her sleep in the bedroom with you-bring the box and food/water. she will probably sleep with you when the house quiets down.

as far as under the bed=my kitties love sleeping under the bed=if you can=make some tents out of boxes and tshirts for her-someone posted a photo of putting a tshirt over a box and it looks like a box shirt tent-their cats love sleeping inside the box. In my house we make caves all over the place-a towel draped over an end table with a cat bed underneath-she will probably venture out if she has safe hiding spots to watch you guys without the kid being able to reach her. likewise a cat tree-amazon is a great place for one-or you can look up Jackson galaxy catification tips on how to add shelving in the room to give her high space to get up and away from the kid.

Thank you for taking her in-you have made a friend for life!

Here's a picture of the cat tree I bought from Amazon. Perhaps you could find something simpler and less expensive, if not on Amazon, then on ebay. Most cats feel safe and comfortable from heights, which is why this has been very helpful for me in socializing the feral kitten I took in three months ago.

https://jet.com/product/detail/2d5f...gclid=CO_p4PTdos0CFUQjgQodHNcP3w&gclsrc=aw.ds