Hi,
I am new to this forum, so if this question has already been answered, please direct me to the appropriate thread.
I am relatively new to the world of cat rescue. I have been caring for a small colony of feral cats at the hospital I work at. All of them have been trapped and neutered. Recently, I trapped a new stray cat to get her spayed. I found out that she had been nursing which meant that she had a litter of kittens back at the hospital. We took her back, released her, and were able to follow her to her litter of 4 kittens and rescue them.
One week later, I have found homes for the kittens and was finally able to re-trap the mother. She is probably about 2 years old and seems friendly to people. She will rub against you and want to be petted. However, she exhibits aggressive behavior during petting which appears to be related to overstimulation. I have tried to watch for the signs and stop petting but sometimes it seems that she will try to bite and grab me with her claws if she wants more attention. We have had her for one week.
We can pick her up for short periods of time without difficulty and we were even able to give her a bath without any hissing or biting.
This biting behavior is disconcerting because it will make it difficult to find her a home. I am reluctant to take her to a pet fair for fear that she will bite and claw prospective adoptors. I don't think she will tolerate being in a cage in that environment either.
She seems like a semi-wild animal that hasn't been very well socialized. I know that she was a stray for at least a couple months before we got her, does anyone think this behavior may improve with time? She has been under a lot of stress during the past couple weeks (getting trapped, spayed, kittens taken away from her, then re-trapped).
I have 3 cats (2 rescues), none of which exhibit this sort of behavior, so I am sort of at a loss.
Thanks for any advice or suggestions!
Vhuang
I am new to this forum, so if this question has already been answered, please direct me to the appropriate thread.
I am relatively new to the world of cat rescue. I have been caring for a small colony of feral cats at the hospital I work at. All of them have been trapped and neutered. Recently, I trapped a new stray cat to get her spayed. I found out that she had been nursing which meant that she had a litter of kittens back at the hospital. We took her back, released her, and were able to follow her to her litter of 4 kittens and rescue them.
One week later, I have found homes for the kittens and was finally able to re-trap the mother. She is probably about 2 years old and seems friendly to people. She will rub against you and want to be petted. However, she exhibits aggressive behavior during petting which appears to be related to overstimulation. I have tried to watch for the signs and stop petting but sometimes it seems that she will try to bite and grab me with her claws if she wants more attention. We have had her for one week.
We can pick her up for short periods of time without difficulty and we were even able to give her a bath without any hissing or biting.
This biting behavior is disconcerting because it will make it difficult to find her a home. I am reluctant to take her to a pet fair for fear that she will bite and claw prospective adoptors. I don't think she will tolerate being in a cage in that environment either.
She seems like a semi-wild animal that hasn't been very well socialized. I know that she was a stray for at least a couple months before we got her, does anyone think this behavior may improve with time? She has been under a lot of stress during the past couple weeks (getting trapped, spayed, kittens taken away from her, then re-trapped).
I have 3 cats (2 rescues), none of which exhibit this sort of behavior, so I am sort of at a loss.
Thanks for any advice or suggestions!
Vhuang