And the saga continues....

kabrooks · Sep 29, 2005

First of all, thank you all that responded and helped me with the issue of my new kitten getting along with my other 3. They all get along great now. Your advice really helped.

For those that don't already know, my new kitten was a stray barely weened from its mother that had been thrown from a car near my husban'd work. It has been an adjustment for us all. Lucky now gets along with Lil'Bit, Cali, and Shad but still gets too rough and huisses alot when they play. I wouldn't be so concerned except she also hises and bites us. I have tried everything I could find on changing aggressive cat behavior nad none are working.

We tried to take her to the vet without a cat carier....she hates closed spaces...as soon as she saw the car she lost it and it took everything in me not to drop her. I go to give her a treat she hisses, I go to pet her she hisses. I have had her over a month now. She curls up and sleeps on my stomach at night. She purrs once I finally get to pick her up and pet her. So why is she hissing so much and what can I do to train her not to? I am about to give up. If you have any advice that is not listed on this forum (trut me I tried it) it is greatly appreciated.

purity · Sep 29, 2005

She sounds as if she's scared when you approach her, but then realises there's nothing to worry about when you pick her up. Have you tried ignoring her, and letting her be the one to approach you?

The cat carrier problem, I find mine don't have any problems at all since I left it out in the lounge with a blanket in all the time. They play in it, sleep in it, have treats in it, and when they need to go to the vet it's not so scarey for them

kai bengals · Sep 29, 2005

Originally Posted by kabrooks

First of all, thank you all that responded and helped me with the issue of my new kitten getting along with my other 3. They all get along great now. Your advice really helped.

For those that don't already know, my new kitten was a stray barely weened from its mother that had been thrown from a car near my husban'd work. It has been an adjustment for us all. Lucky now gets along with Lil'Bit, Cali, and Shad but still gets too rough and huisses alot when they play. I wouldn't be so concerned except she also hises and bites us. I have tried everything I could find on changing aggressive cat behavior nad none are working.

We tried to take her to the vet without a cat carier....she hates closed spaces...as soon as she saw the car she lost it and it took everything in me not to drop her. I go to give her a treat she hisses, I go to pet her she hisses. I have had her over a month now. She curls up and sleeps on my stomach at night. She purrs once I finally get to pick her up and pet her. So why is she hissing so much and what can I do to train her not to? I am about to give up. If you have any advice that is not listed on this forum (trut me I tried it) it is greatly appreciated.

Maybe a long shot......but check her vision. If you move the eraser end of a pencil back and forth across her field of vision ( 12 inches from her face ), does she follow the movement? Maybe have your vet check her eyes with a light.
If objects appear blurry to her, maybe lots of things frighten her including enclosed spaces and only things that smell familiar get the nod of approval.
I'm just guessing here...one more thing to eliminate.

chichismom · Sep 29, 2005

It sounds to me like normal scaredy cat syndrome

she was probably in an abusive/neglective situation before seeing that the previous owner threw her out of a car

and she is probably not fully sure that she is now safe with you. please allow her more time to accept you dont give up yet please!!!!! We once had a dog whom we rescued from a shelter and they knew he came from an abusive enviroment it took him a while to fully trust us, and it took him 3 years before he would join us when we went downstairs in the basement, there are certain things that remind them of being traumatized and you must keep that in mind. I can tell by the way she curls up with you at night she loves you very much and wants to be your kitty just allow her a little more time to settle. Good luck ChiChi and I send you lots of kitty love.

decadenz · Sep 29, 2005

Oh no... that poor kitty. Can't imagine being thrown out of a car, no wonder she's tormenting by the sight of it...

Give her some time, maybe leave the carrier where she can have easy access to it. Give her treats while she's in the carrier and put some toys in it so she'll know it's nothing to be afraid of. Go slow with this kitty, she's had a really rough start in life... But as mentioned in the previous post, it's obvious she loves and trusts you to be able to sleep on you. She probably craves attention from you, but at the same time is afraid you might hurt her like the humans she's known before, hence the hissing and purring see-saw.

Allow her to approach you on her own terms, offer goodies like toys and treats and minimize anything scary (loud noises, sudden movements) which might reinforce her fear of you and of other humans. Trust is not easy to build up, especially with an abused kitty, but I know you can do it! Good luck with her... she sounds precious!

kabrooks · Sep 29, 2005

Thanks for the advice. I am deffinitely going to try that. I just woke up from a long sleep and Lucky was curled up on , of all places, my ear lol. Anyway, I got up and fed her and am trying to ignore her until she wants attention. She is playing with the other kittens and doing fine. Maybe I was overcrowding her with attention so hopefully this works.

And the saga continues....

kabrooks

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purity

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kai bengals

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chichismom

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decadenz

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kabrooks

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