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- Aug 1, 2013
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Jackson "found" us (my partner & myself) at about 3 months old and lived outside until he was 6 months old. He has been living inside for going on 5 months now and making really good, if slow, progress with socialization. When he lived outside we could barely touch him at all, but by now he is coming to us to "ask" for affection (petting; he still won't allow us to pick him up), and has even started to rub up against our legs. Overall, he seems to be a happy little guy who has come a long way in terms of trust.
However... as he is losing his fear of humans, some problematic behaviors are emerging at times that he never would have dared to do in the past. He frequently smacks/slaps our legs when A.) he wants food but it isn't yet his meal-time; and B.) when he is getting affection and we try to walk away before he is "done". This behavior almost always happens when our backs are turned to him and/or we are walking away. It definitely seems to happen the most when he wants food before his meal times. Tonight it happened with such vigor that I had to yell and clap my hands to get him to back down and stop slapping (he cornered me when I tried to walk past him), which I hate to do... especially with a formerly-feral kitty who is still learning when it comes to humans.
Major caveat here is that he has been dealing with a stubborn, raging case of roundworms that is proving very hard to treat. We are doing everything possible to address this, and it does seem understandable that he could feel some desperation around food/hunger in light of this... not to mention in light of his feral "childhood" where competing for food was what he knew. But the slapping behavior is clearly not acceptable. We are trying to make his meal times and routines as consistent and as predictable as possible so that he doesn't have to "wonder" or have anxiety about when he will be fed. But even with this in place, he tends to slap the backs of our legs as we are washing his dishes and getting his food ready, as if to say, "You're not doing it fast enough!". And when we occasionally/inevitably have to slightly adjust his meal routines due to realities of human schedules, this behavior most definitely shows itself.
He also has daily, interactive play times that he seems to enjoy, and plenty of space that he can and does utilize to run around and "burn off" some of his kitten energy.
What am I missing here? Is there anything else I can do or not do to help him past this maladjusted smacking behavior?
Thanks for any/all feedback, especially from people who have successfully dealt with this type of kitty behavior!
However... as he is losing his fear of humans, some problematic behaviors are emerging at times that he never would have dared to do in the past. He frequently smacks/slaps our legs when A.) he wants food but it isn't yet his meal-time; and B.) when he is getting affection and we try to walk away before he is "done". This behavior almost always happens when our backs are turned to him and/or we are walking away. It definitely seems to happen the most when he wants food before his meal times. Tonight it happened with such vigor that I had to yell and clap my hands to get him to back down and stop slapping (he cornered me when I tried to walk past him), which I hate to do... especially with a formerly-feral kitty who is still learning when it comes to humans.
Major caveat here is that he has been dealing with a stubborn, raging case of roundworms that is proving very hard to treat. We are doing everything possible to address this, and it does seem understandable that he could feel some desperation around food/hunger in light of this... not to mention in light of his feral "childhood" where competing for food was what he knew. But the slapping behavior is clearly not acceptable. We are trying to make his meal times and routines as consistent and as predictable as possible so that he doesn't have to "wonder" or have anxiety about when he will be fed. But even with this in place, he tends to slap the backs of our legs as we are washing his dishes and getting his food ready, as if to say, "You're not doing it fast enough!". And when we occasionally/inevitably have to slightly adjust his meal routines due to realities of human schedules, this behavior most definitely shows itself.
He also has daily, interactive play times that he seems to enjoy, and plenty of space that he can and does utilize to run around and "burn off" some of his kitten energy.
What am I missing here? Is there anything else I can do or not do to help him past this maladjusted smacking behavior?
Thanks for any/all feedback, especially from people who have successfully dealt with this type of kitty behavior!
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