2 weeks ago this cat has showed up and I'm confused by behaviors

[ondine]

Here's a tip - when you offer him your hand, make it a fist at first.  This will look like a cat, lookiing for a head bump.  Once he accepts your touch, you can open your hand and stroke him.  An open hand coming at him may look scary.

You are making great progress!

 

[jaimemill]

You guys are so great and helpful!!!! I wish you could load videos on here cause I have videos of jasper and I interactions. I don't think he is sick or in dire need of the vet. I mean he does meow a lot but none of his meows sound sickly. They are either I'm hungry, you're getting too close, hey that's my bowl of food, or the friendlier I think I want you to pet me but if you move a muscle I'll hiss lol so I'm gonna give us some more time before I traumatize him with the vet trip lol. Probably in the next two weeks I'm gonna try what one of you recommended where I start feeding him in a trap but wait a few days before I close the trap.

Thanks again everyone!!! I will try holding a fist out to him...though he has me just as nervous as he probably is now I really hate getting scratched by a cat lol but I will try it. I do want him to know I don't want to hurt him and what I've been doing is when he does hit me I walk inside the gate and leave him alone for a little in hopes he will learn that's not how you get my affection...he hates when I go back in the gate he always try's to block the entrance by sprawling out and rolling around so I won't go through it lol poor baby. I wish he could tell me what his life has been like. I'm sure he has a crazy good story lol

 

[jaimemill]

You know I hope he isn't sick I've been really thinking about what the last person said....I notice when he does walk around me and puts on what I call "a show" he is always stretching like full body stretches where they really extend their back legs at the end of the stretch he doesn't limp or anything like that just spot of stretching and he is always what looks like kneeding the ground with his front paws. I originally was thinking he might be purring or something because kneeding is a good thing right? But he does it all the time even if he is just sitting? Should I maybe bring him to the vet sooner? Do you guys think there is something wrong? Also today he's been very feisty about his bowl like he runs up on me as I pick it up or put it down which he usually does and I was thinking this was just him getting more trusting of me but today he seems to be hissing more and making those like meow growls which had me legitimately afraid to approach him and put his bowl down because I'm so afraid he was going to attack me....he was rubbing on my legs again earlier so I don't know if it's just super protection of his food but I literally threw the bowl down before and kind of ran because he ran super fast to me and was making those meows and he didn't feel friendly lol. I just don't know if this behavior is just normal nerves or if he might actually be sick that's making him so hard to read. Any ideas?

 

[dandila]

My hunch is that he hasn't had much human contact and as previously mentioned, he can't get past the scent of dog.  When cats live outside without a human they've usually had some sort of run in with a dog.  You've really got a good start with him so I'd say trapping him and taking him to be neutered is really going to make a difference in his life.  I neutered two stray Toms this summer and now they are complete mush balls that won't leave my yard.  Love them!

 

[kittychick]

It sounds like he is kneading in a show of excitement & happiness--quite possibly a combo of excitement over the idea of food & your presence (which he now knows means food! The first step towards getting kitties to trust you is knowing you mean happy happy food!). I've never in all my years of animal work seen a cat knead when angry. My gut is - without actually seeing the interactions - is also that the hissing has to do with the dog scent...and just a general "I'm not sure if I should trust how excited I am by this humans presence --I like it & good things come but I'm supposed to be scared of people & dogs - they recently have meant bad scared things. " I certainly understand that being rushed & hissed at is scary! But I bet if you keep giving it time --and keep bringing him food --he'll eventually let his excitement lead to trust. If you're very frightened/nervous maybe back off offering your hand for a bit till you get more comfortable with each other. But know that I've never seen either kneading or the rubbing on/towing around your legs as anything but happiness about you & what you're bringing!

Im not sure if anyone else on this forum has any thoughts about this....but you might try something you can get at a pet store called Feliway spray. You can buy it as a room diffuser but you can also buy it as a spray. It's a spray that often helps calm kitties. you might spray it lightly on your clothing before you head out of the house to feed him...and it might help calm him and counteract the dog scent. Worth a try?

 

[ondine]

Im not sure if anyone else on this forum has any thoughts about this....but you might try something you can get at a pet store called Feliway spray. You can buy it as a room diffuser but you can also buy it as a spray. It's a spray that often helps calm kitties. you might spray it lightly on your clothing before you head out of the house to feed him...and it might help calm him and counteract the dog scent. Worth a try?

Great idea, kittychick!

JaimeMill - make sure you spray it before you go near him, though.  The pffft noise will sound like a hiss and may spook him.

 

[jaimemill]

So it's a very hot day today and I can tell jasper is hot he keeps holding his mouth open almost like he's panting and you can tell he's sluggish from the heat. You guys have any ideas of what I can do to help cool him off? He keeps himself in the shade but it's still very hot. He has fresh water in his dish but I wasn't sure if there's anything I can do to help cool him off?

 

[GoldyCat]

So it's a very hot day today and I can tell jasper is hot he keeps holding his mouth open almost like he's panting and you can tell he's sluggish from the heat. You guys have any ideas of what I can do to help cool him off? He keeps himself in the shade but it's still very hot. He has fresh water in his dish but I wasn't sure if there's anything I can do to help cool him off?

You can add ice cubes to his water. Of course they'll melt pretty fast, but it's a start.

 

[jaimemill]

Sorry if this posts twice it wasn't showing up in the thread so I'm doing it again lol. Anyways it's a very hot day today and I'm sure jasper is very hot I obviously don't know that much about outside cats but he is holding his mouth open almost like he's panting like a dog does and you can tell he's a little sluggish today. I mean he keeps himself in the shade but it's still pretty hot. I was just wondering if you guys had any ideas of something I could do to help cool him off?

 

[jaimemill]

So the last few days jasper rubs on my legs but he still is confusing me with his behavior. Today for instance he rubs himself all over my legs for like 5 min then he will walk a little away and start rolling around and kneeding the air and when he doesn't want me to leave yet and I start walking he will get up and run to me and start rubbing on me again lol. But just now he was rubbing himself all over my legs and I don't move when he does this because he gets tense when he sees my hands move so I'm holding still and he's rubbing and really head butting my legs then out of no where he scratches my legs and hisses. I know that some places say that cats can do that when they are annoyed or done with being pet but I'm not letting him he is petting himself on me so if he was over it why doesn't he just stop rubbing? Why is he scratching and hissing??

 

[chipmunk-kim]

Have you tried sitting down outside near him? He has a very sensitive sense of smell, so he probably smells other animals on you. I find that when I feed the feral/semi-feral kitties and sat about twenty feet away they often eat and keep an eye on you. Eventually they may start approaching you when they're finished. I really feel like he might be a different cat once you get him inside and neutered, though sometimes it takes a while. Inside, he may eventually start to feel less exposed and nervous, although a dog could be an issue. I've never had dogs, so I don't know.

Anyway, consistently proving that you're not a threat, and remaining calm- even monotonous if needed- will help him settle down.

 

[jaimemill]

Ok so it's been a month since I updated everyone on Jasper and my's bizzare relationship lol and I'm still confused by his behavior!!! So we have made huge strides in bonding when I call his name if I don't see him outside he always comes running and rubs on my legs constantly. When I feed him he runs right up to the bowl before I even fully put it down and always takes a few bites then rubs on my legs then eats some more than rubs on my legs lol so I definitely think he likes me and is more trusting. However I still get swatted at from time to time. So basically I have a chair I put out in the area where he hangs out and eats and that's where I sit all the time when we are hanging out and he rubs all over my legs and then will always plop down and sprawl out and kneed the air and pur. I can actually hear him purring lol. Anyways when he rubs on my legs I can actually stroke his tail with my hand however he's started this new thing where when I do that he puts his two front paws on my lap almost as if he's going to jump on my lap but I think he does that to get closer to swatting my hand which he has done lol. At first I thought he was doing that because he didn't want me touching him because even in the very beginning when he first started rubbing on my legs he seemed to always be very aware of my hands and basically afraid of them but after he does swat at my hand now he will rub on my legs again and if I don't stroke his tail((which of course I don't after he scratches my arm or hand lol)) he will actually wag his tail harder and turn and look At me with a look like he's saying "why aren't you petting my tail?" So then I do and he will let me do it a whole bunch of times and then eventually jumps up and swats at my arm again lol. I don't think he's doing it to be mean because he is usually purring the whole time and there are times where he will sit before he jumps up and while he's sitting staring at me he's kneeding so I think it's more playful also when he lays down he rolls all over the place and gives me looks like he wants me to pet him even when he rubs on my legs he always looks up like he wants his head scratched. sometimes when he's laying out doing Rollie pollies he will stretch his arm out to touch my foot and will roll his head and just act like he's playing with my foot. Even when he hits me the only marks I end up with are little dots where the tip of his nails go in so I don't think he even means to hurt me or realizes he is hurting me. What do you guys think? Also he hangs out in my backyard with me now when I open the gate for him and if I'm on the phone walking around he will follow me all over and will play with the leaves and the strings that hang off our patio furniture and if I'm just standing or sitting he rubs all over my legs and sometimes swats at my leg but I always feel more of his paw when he does that literally it's the tips of his nails that prick me and I don't think he's ever swatting me with the intention of scratching because I never end up with scratch marks except for when he plays with my feet and his claws get stuck in the rubber but I again I think it's more playful. I really wish I could show you guys videos so you could really see it instead of me trying to explain it lol but I really want to know what you guys think? What's more confusing is the last two days he has started biting me...well trying to bite me. He will rub and rub on my legs then stop and sit down and then bite me but it's more like he's mouthing me he doesn't break skin and it doesn't even hurt at all when he does it but I always flinch or jump because if he really did bite me for real I know that can be very serious for me health wise lol. I just don't understand why he has been doing that? I think it may be just a playful thing cause again he always kneeds the ground before the attack and is always purring and his eyes get super dilated like when my old pet cat as a child's eyes use to get when they were playing but I really would like some input on this just in case I'm totally misreading his signals and he's not being friendly and playful but is actually being mean and I could end up getting viciously attacked and I should not continue with these interactions. Please let me know ASAP what you guys think? And as always thank you for listening and for responding I really appreciate it.