Adopted two undersocialized Maine Coons - how to get to the vet?

[Vicki Parrish]

Last yearI lost two kitties to kidney disease, both around 12 years old. They only just tolerated each other even with clicker training. So I knew I wanted a bonded pair this time. I thought I was going to get cats between one and three years old. Then I saw Leia and Luca on the Maine Coon Adoptions website. They were being presented as backyard or barn cats although they were not really feral. Since I already had a large "catio" with a cat door off of a small craft room that would provide a safe cat space I thought I would find out about them. They had been adopted 3 and a half years previously by a family with small children. Then the family returned them when they were almost 4 years old with very little explanation. They said they basically hid under the bed during the day and only came out at night. Luca had been peeing on the father's things so there must have been male territorial issues. In any case they were fostered for four months in a large dog kennel in a bathroom. They were still very small physically and only slightly approachable. Leia would tolerate patting if you gave her treats and you could scratch Lucas's head with a broken feather on a stick but no hands. I will not go into the process of working with them for the last seven months. They reached their full growth amazingly fast and are both running around our 2000sq ft. house upstairs and down. Leia has learned how to meow for treats and purr. Luca will sit within a few feet of us but still resists any approach of a hand. I think he was probably hit or swatted at by the former owner. He shows all the cat signs of affection like slow blinks but no vocalizations. He does chirp at Leia.

Both cats were taken to the vet by the MC people in July. They had to be sedated. I have until next July to figure out their next visit. I know I could get Leia into her carrier with treats but not Luca. I would love to not have to sedate them. Does anyone have some ideas for how to prepare? What about vets who make house calls? Is it worth the extra expense? There would still be issues with a stranger in the house but at least they would have less trauma.

I am new so appreciate your experience.
Vicki Parrish

C

 

[Elphaba09]

I am assuming they are fixed given their ages and the fact that there are no kittens. That is good, at least! They seem to have been pretty much ignored and scared for the past four years of their lives, so, as you know, it will take time. The good thing is that you have until July to get both of them calmed down! They have already shown significant progress.

Have you tried calming spray, treats, or collars (they make breakaway ones)? Calming music? What do they do when you play with them? Just keep going slow and let them set their own pace. (You seem to be doing that already.)

My guess is that eventually, they get used to you and surprise you with a sudden cuddle. Even Luca. It might take an extra long time with him, but I have faith he will come around.

As for a vet that comes to your house, it depends on where you live. Our vet has a clinic 20 miles east of us but lives 25 miles west of us, so she drives past our village every day. She comes to our house to give our cats their vaccines. She has also dropped off medication for us a few times. She does not charge us extra for house calls. (I love our vet!)

Your Luca kind of reminds me of our Iroh, though. He is one of three that we found this past June/July. The set of them seemed to have been kept by a hoarder or a bad breeder in a small cage based on their behavior. They were likely not the only cats in the cage, considering Cassian is a couple of months older than Xanthippe and Iroh but they act like bonded siblings. When we first got them, we kept them in a pack-and-play before moving them to a room prior to letting them have the run of the house. (We have a total of 12. We are not hoarders because hoarders cannot and do not give all of their cats the attention and care they need. Ours are spoiled.) They were only a few weeks old, disgustingly dirty, and extremely underweight. They would sleep piled on top of each other in the litter box.

Iroh has been the hardest to socialize out of the three. Up until about two months ago, we could not even look at him without terrifying him. He would sit close and watch us, but as soon as he saw us looking, he would run off and hide. A door opens: Iroh is running under the couch. Someone sneezes: Iroh is running under the couch. One day, I was sitting on the daybed in our living room when Iroh suddenly jumped up and pressed his head against my leg. He let me pet him for about five seconds. Over the next few weeks, it became a multiple times-a-day event. Eventually, he started plopping down against my leg and staying there for an hour or so. He still runs and hides about 60% of the time he hears something or notices us looking at him when he does not want to be seen; however, he has slowly become affectionate towards me. Not my husband, sadly. He also is not vocal. I think I have heard him meow once outside of when he was distressed after we first found him.

 

[Vicki Parrish]

Thanks, Elphaba. I have used a pheremone diffuser and I play the cello every night. The cats often come and listen to me. Right now Luca is in the middle of the living room playing with his favorite toy. He even let me go right past him to come upstairs without flinching. I can't put a collar on him since I can't really touch him yet. I think Leia wouldn't like it either. They are both completely spoiled. They get the super premium cat food from New Zealand for breakfast followed by half a sardine (no salt or oil) each. Then they come in the kitchen and stare at me until I give them their treats in the puzzle ball or box. Dinner is similar. They always come and watch my husband and me while we eat dinner and wait for more treats. They are still a little skittish if we are moving in and out of rooms but usually only move a couple of feet away. They seem very relaxed most of the time. Between just retiring from teaching and the COVID lockdown, we have had lots of time to work with them. We play with another person in a trio and they will sometimes even stick there heads around the corner when we are playing.

 

[Vicki Parrish]

Oops! "their heads". I don't want to ruin my rep as a writing teacher!

 

[Vicki Parrish]

I forgot to post a picture of Luca and Leia. This is them this summer in the catio.

 

[EnelradSedir70]

Last yearI lost two kitties to kidney disease, both around 12 years old. They only just tolerated each other even with clicker training. So I knew I wanted a bonded pair this time. I thought I was going to get cats between one and three years old. Then I saw Leia and Luca on the Maine Coon Adoptions website. They were being presented as backyard or barn cats although they were not really feral. Since I already had a large "catio" with a cat door off of a small craft room that would provide a safe cat space I thought I would find out about them. They had been adopted 3 and a half years previously by a family with small children. Then the family returned them when they were almost 4 years old with very little explanation. They said they basically hid under the bed during the day and only came out at night. Luca had been peeing on the father's things so there must have been male territorial issues. In any case they were fostered for four months in a large dog kennel in a bathroom. They were still very small physically and only slightly approachable. Leia would tolerate patting if you gave her treats and you could scratch Lucas's head with a broken feather on a stick but no hands. I will not go into the process of working with them for the last seven months. They reached their full growth amazingly fast and are both running around our 2000sq ft. house upstairs and down. Leia has learned how to meow for treats and purr. Luca will sit within a few feet of us but still resists any approach of a hand. I think he was probably hit or swatted at by the former owner. He shows all the cat signs of affection like slow blinks but no vocalizations. He does chirp at Leia.

Both cats were taken to the vet by the MC people in July. They had to be sedated. I have until next July to figure out their next visit. I know I could get Leia into her carrier with treats but not Luca. I would love to not have to sedate them. Does anyone have some ideas for how to prepare? What about vets who make house calls? Is it worth the extra expense? There would still be issues with a stranger in the house but at least they would have less trauma.

I am new so appreciate your experience.
Vicki Parrish

C

Hi there! It sounds as if you should start over with Lucia. I recommend putting him in his own room where he cannot hide under things. From there, I would work with him daily on socializing. I just had a stray kitty for ten months who at first didn’t even use the litter box. He was very dirty and sick when first found. I started him off in a bathroom and then moved him to a spare bedroom (the cat room). There are cat trees etc., but nothing he can hide under (like a bed). He too had to be sedated at the vet for first few visits. He once got loose at vet, and when the vet tried to get him, they cornered him and when reaching in after him he crawled up her arm onto her head and bit and scratched her. She needed stitches.

after that, I kept him in a large dog kennel on top of a fold up table in the spare room. I would use a long item like the handle of a wand toy to pet him. He was usually fine with that. I think at first I could even pet top of head with hand.

this went on for awhile, and after a week or so I opened the door to cage and let him have access to whole room. He would always retreat back to back to cage when scared. He started using litter box etc.

Gradually I took the cage and table out and then he has the whole room. Daily I would spend at least an hour in with him and even had my mom come over on days I worked. She would play and try to pet with want toy.

We bought a pair of long gloves that went up over our elbows to try to start petting more with hands. Always treated him after any good experience. He played with wand toys and eventually really came out of his shell.

But he was a little aggressive in such a weird way. He would come at me staring at my shirt and the writing on it. Once he struck out at me. We bought a face shield (COVID) and even a karate vest, lol. Nearly full on riot gear to protect ourselves (we never needed it but felt better protecting our face).

Then, we began using a “social box.” This was a smaller wire kennel like 24x30 or so. I would get him in it with Bonita flakes or a toy. It had a small litter box and a blanket. We would roll it out into living area where he could get familiar with my own cats (I have 7 of my own). We played cat videos. While in the box we would pet him with gloved hand and treat. Then, back to room.

after doing this a bit I would take down the baby gates to his room and block off the hallway so he could start exploring small parts of house. Into my room (bigger than his). Into den. Eventually he was allowed out into the house for longer and longer. But always had to put him back up at night into his room (due to my other cats).

After all of this he still wasn’t “handleable.” We could pet him and brush him but not pick him up and definitely not touch his belly. So one of the best things we did was find a vet tech who was willing to come to our house (paid) and work with him in the social box and in the room. Being used to handling cats of all personalities she was able to scruff him firmly but gently and repeat this action over and over. And showed me how. Repetitive works and calming spray and treats, I had to start doing it as well tho because she wasn’t there all the time. I got brave enough and was able to start scruffing him supported by other hand to put him into social box when he wouldn’t go. I also did this in his room, scruffied him to put on a cat tree and take him down.Repetitive.

Eventually he started purring for us (yay!) and we could lift him briefly. Then we worked on holding him like a football and walking with him, etc. ten months later and although he still get squirmy when holding too long, or might still raise a paw when he doesn’t like something, he’s a different cat. He’s such a character. Still afraid of new people though but not aggressive about it and no longer needs to be sedated at vet. I love this cat (Kovy). We have been through so much together. But I have 7 others and while I wait more than anything to keep him, after all of that, and the fear he will regress with someone else - 8 is becoming too much. I feel like a failure tho for not being able to manage 8.

I hope this helps some.

 

[Vicki Parrish]

Thanks for the information. I don't think we need to start over with Luca. He is not aggressive at all and wants to be with us. He doesn't hide for more than a couple of seconds and is back in the middle of the room. He is very comfortable and relaxed in any part of the downstairs and is exploring upstairs. I think we are more at the vet tech coming in phase. I will call our vet and see if they can recommend someone.

 

[theyremine]

Honestly, I found that a vet coming to the house is not much more than an office visit, especially for two cats. We actually have a vet in the area who has a mobile practice.

 

[Vicki Parrish]

Honestly, I found that a vet coming to the house is not much more than an office visit, especially for two cats. We actually have a vet in the area who has a mobile practice.

We have a couple of vets in our area with a mobile practice. Do you know how they handle things like teeth cleaning etc.?

 

[theyremine]

Don't know about teeth cleaning but I know he had surgery privileges at one of the other local vet's offices.