Wild kitty--help!! (long post)

I am rather new to this forum, but I have been reading it since I took in a stray (possibly born in a feral colony but not sure) female cat about 6 weeks ago. I posted one message about introducing the new kitty to my two older (15 and 17 years) cats. I was nervous about their reactions, jealousy, etc. Here is how I introduced them: first week completely isolated, second week supervised visits throughout the house when we home but isolated when we slept, during the third/fourth week she was isolated in her room with a screen door only when we were at work. In the fifth week we let her have access to the whole house at all times. I bought three feliway plug-ins and sprayed the entire house during her first week out of isolation.

I expected the hissing, growling and all the other stuff, but what I did not expect is how hyper the new girl is now that she is exposed to my other kitties and the whole house. She is very hyperactive, scratches/bites (not too hard but hard enough) when petting her or playing and is aggressive towards the other two and sometimes us. She runs around all the time despite two good play sessions a day. I am convinced she will bolt out the door at the first opportunity. She can be very sweet and loving at limited times, but is constantly restless. Her greatest display of affection is lots of head butting and licking your hands/face (when she finally calms down). Occasionally she sits next to me and purrs. The vet estimates that she is about 13 months old. I have had cats all my life and have never seen one so hyperactive. It is interfering with the whole household. I think the other cats would come to accept her if she just sat still and was calm once in a while. My husband dislikes her completely.

The one thing I noticed is that the problem got worse when she was allowed free access 24/7. When more isolated, I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t notice her extreme behavior as much. When I first found her she was so sick that she was completely docile and very affectionate.

My vet suggested a product (in addition to the Feliway) called “Composure†which is mixed in with wet food twice a day. Has anyone had luck with this? Do you have any hints for calming her down? I really want this to work. She is a beautiful, smart girl (we think she is flame point Siamese). The vet also suggested isolating her again with the screen door. I feel bad about doing that, but will if it helps.

Thanks,

Mokitty

It may be partly her age. Younger kitties are much more active than older kitties. Also different breeds have different characteristics. I had a siamese mix kitty once, and he was so different than every other cat I have owned! His whole thought process was different. He LOVED being chased by the 70 lb dog, stole the kids toys, etc.

I never heard of Composure. If she is just a hyper girl and running around too much, I would just let her go and see if she settles down in time. But if she is picking on the old kitties, you will have to give them breaks from her, of course.

Try not to let her ever bite or scratch you. Sometimes people recommend a hiss to let her know you don't like her behavior. Maybe have a toy you can use to play with her, so when she wants to wrestle and be rough, she can bite and scratch at that.

I can't figure out why she would be more wild with more freedom. I would think it would be the opposite! Has she been spayed yet?

Hmm... have you tried tiring her out with play? You say you are already playing with her twice a day; maybe she's just got the kitty version of ADD...

She could be "hyper" because she feels insecure, as well. Does she have a place she can go where she feels safe--a covered cat bed or something of the sort? Maybe go back to putting her in one room while you all sleep, for a while...

My cat is the same way. He's about the same age, over a year. He was very calm for the first few weeks we had him. Once he got comfortable, he became very hyper. His new nickname is "ADD-Cat" because he can't seem to focus on anything for more than 30 seconds.

We play with him in the morning when we get up, and 3 times when we get home. Really, it does take that much to chill him out, and even then he plays by himself in between play sessions.

I don't think isolation will help. She may have just been calm due to illness and being in a new home. Now that she's claimed it as hers and is comfortable, she may get upset if she's confined.