newly adopted 8 year old cat hissing and biting

[rosskowitz]

I recently adopted an 8 year old, female, declawed cat. When she was adopted, she was getting over a respiratory infection. She is all better now. In the shelter she was as sweet as can be. purring and jumping to be pet and loving being held. When we brought her home, she was frightened...which was expected. She has now finally settled down a bit but a problem behavior has come up which worries me a lot...she hisses at me and will go to bite

The hissing and biting are sometimes expected (we had to shave her because her fur was HORRIBLY matted down to her skin) but other times...i will be petting her while she is on my lap and all the sudden she will hiss...then try to bite if i dont move my hand.

My current cat and past cats have never hissed and showed aggression like this.

We have had her for less than a week...too soon to worry? I dont know if i can handle an unpredictable aggressive older cat.
Is it possible this is all just adjustment jitters?

 

[mani]

Hi rosskowitz ... I'm sorry your new girl is having these problems.

Have you had her thoroughly checked over by a vet?  If she has physical pain at all it would certainly make her behave like that. 

Are you doing introductions slowly or has she met your other cat/cats?

In some declawed cats, biting is the default behaviour when stressed and of course there are other issues. She hasn't recently been declawed?

It is certainly early days yet.. less than a week... and certainly could be adjustment jitters... I like to use the relevent flower essences for cats.. rescue remedy is the easiest to come by.

And welcome to TCS

 

[catwhisperer1]

A vet check would definitely be a good idea. But also remember your kitty has been through a LOT in a very short time and is very stressed out. She probably also is sore from the matted fur, mats make a cat sore because they pull and even may even tear the skin. She actually is adjusting faster than a lot of older traumatized shelter cats I've dealt with. I advise people to give an adult cat a minimum of two months to adjust to a new home and situation. It takes time for an adult cat to recover from stress, become familiar with her new home, and start gaining confidence in her new home.Let her jump up into your lap but for now, don't pet her body, only pet the top of her head and stop petting her if she starts to tense up. Some cats, especially stressed out cats, become overstimulated when petted and react the way your cat is reacting. Let your new kitty heal from her sore skin, Above all, be patient and give her time to adjust to her new home at her own pace. The biggest mistake people make when they adopt a cat from a shelter is expecting the cat to adjust within only a few days or a couple of weeks when adult cats rarely ever adjust that quickly. Again, above all, be patient and give your new kitty plenty of time to adjust to her new home at her own pace. And bless you for adopting an older cat. Older cats have such a hard time finding adoptive homes. I have adopted many older cats over the years because they were the cats who had been in the shelter the longest and needed a home the most.

 

[rosskowitz]

Mani: she was declawed already when I adopted her. Not sure when she had the procedure. She only is declawed in the front (which I take as a good sign because if cats have all 4 declawed I feel like the owner didnt know a thing about cats).

CatWhisperer: I got her checked by a vet and got the all clear. The vet is the one who told me I had to shave her because of the severe matting...so she never checked the skin underneath. I will try to only pet her head/ upper neck for a while. Of course, now that you mention that, she mainly hisses when I have been petting the spots where the severe matting was. I will give her time and space for sure...she is doing great for just being here for a week and for being pretty much tortured when we had to shave her . Hopefully the hissing and biting will decrease with time.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[mani]

The matting/petting issue makes a lot of sense. She has obviously had such a bad time and now time will hopefully heal the wounds.

Bless you for giving this girl a new life...

Keep us posted!