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Well, he has been through a lot. At least he did eat after being hand fed. I wish he would get his pain meds though. But he did get it this morning?One step forward, 2 steps back......
Rocky wouldn’t eat yesterday morning unless I hand fed him his wet food, and he didn’t touch his wet food with his pain killer in it at all last night. This morning I tried Chicken Baby food and he did eat that, Yay, so off to the store to buy a few more jars of baby food.
Yesterday afternoon we were back to him getting over stimulated again, and same thing this morning, I went to feed him and clean up his cage and he immediately came forward, did his head butts, purring and rubbing up against my hand then turned into a hissing, slapping, biting boy. He did this same thing when he had free reign in the laundry room, I’m sure he still has pain from his procedure and I am trying to find a better way to ensure he gets his pain meds, and I’m hoping this will lessen as he recovers. He gets so excited to see me, then he turns on me, any suggestions to help him? I’m not initiating contact, I merely ignore him when I’m opening his cage and he comes forward.
He really is a sweetie. Yes, it is part of building the trust. He wants to "own" you, wants to trust, thinks he can but just wants you to know not to "try" anything. It is actually normal. Happens all the time. Just stay calm, confident, act like "whatever". Watch so you don't reach over him or stand over him, don't stare at him, etc. Make sure his has escape routes so he doesn't feel cornered. I deal with ferals all the time and see this all the time. So I kind of now all the nuance, when to be scared, when it is just a cat being a cat. He does seem like a good boy but he has gone through a lot. I am sure he is feeling vulnerable. But as long as you are careful but normal he doesn't seem to want to attack or hurt. It is hard to communicate so just observe and learn and be very cognizant of your actions and how they may affect him. You are getting a PhD in cat behavior.
Yes, don't initiate contact, let him. You can talk calm, confidently and lovingly to him and see how he responds. It usually helps de-escalate the situation. But watch how he responds. You can give eye kisses if you feel comfortable. Closing your eyes to a cat is a sign of trust.
I hope that kind of helps. It is hard online to communicate it but hopefully it helps a little.
Please ask anything and let us know how he is doing. I hope he gets back to himself soon. He has been through A LOT. But at least now there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I get a sense once he gets over his health issues he is going to be a great cat.