Elizwithcat--how old is your cat? Is he fixed? How long have you had him? Where did you get him? I didn't quite understand the living situation. Is he the only cat in your household? How many other people live in your household? What kind of place do you live in (house, apartment, city, country)?
The answers to all of these questions would help me think of some suggestions for your cat. (What is his name?) I have had a "scaredy cat" for about four months now, and she is doing so much better, so I have some ideas if you can give me some more information.
When does your cat act scared? You say he's scared of his shadow, but can you elaborate a bit? Is he constantly hiding, or does he seem to get scared when he's surprised?
A couple of things I can say:
1. He's not being bad when he scratches at the carpets. Cats NEED to scratch, and they do it for two reasons. A. To maintain their claws; B. They have glands in their paws that release a scent when they scratch--it's a way of marking territory. That said, it's a drag to have your cat messing up the carpet, so you need to provide an alternate. There are plenty of options at the pet store: carpeted posts, posts wrapped in sisal (rope), sometimes even bare wood. It might take a few tries to figure out what your cat likes, but if you teach him right, he will scratch where it's appropriate. My cats like tall posts wrapped in sisal--another reason they scratch is to stretch, so it needs to be taller than their body length. Other people have found that their cats like cheap doormats (from T@rget or similar)--some cats like vertical scratching, some like horizontal.
2. Our cat Ziv has had to take a lot of medicine since we adopted him. At the worst times, he wouldn't let us touch him because he was afraid it meant we were going to shove another pill down his throat. Try getting a pill gun (ask your vet for one); it makes the process go a lot faster, cutting down on the discomfort for your cat. Also, when you give him his meds, make sure that you're as calm as possible. If you treat it as a cheerful, ordinary task, he won't be able to feed off your anxiety. Try too to give him his pill when he's relaxed as can be. For the duration of the time that you have to medicate him, it will be hard for your cat to trust you, but after it's done, he should start coming around.
The answers to all of these questions would help me think of some suggestions for your cat. (What is his name?) I have had a "scaredy cat" for about four months now, and she is doing so much better, so I have some ideas if you can give me some more information.
When does your cat act scared? You say he's scared of his shadow, but can you elaborate a bit? Is he constantly hiding, or does he seem to get scared when he's surprised?
A couple of things I can say:
1. He's not being bad when he scratches at the carpets. Cats NEED to scratch, and they do it for two reasons. A. To maintain their claws; B. They have glands in their paws that release a scent when they scratch--it's a way of marking territory. That said, it's a drag to have your cat messing up the carpet, so you need to provide an alternate. There are plenty of options at the pet store: carpeted posts, posts wrapped in sisal (rope), sometimes even bare wood. It might take a few tries to figure out what your cat likes, but if you teach him right, he will scratch where it's appropriate. My cats like tall posts wrapped in sisal--another reason they scratch is to stretch, so it needs to be taller than their body length. Other people have found that their cats like cheap doormats (from T@rget or similar)--some cats like vertical scratching, some like horizontal.
2. Our cat Ziv has had to take a lot of medicine since we adopted him. At the worst times, he wouldn't let us touch him because he was afraid it meant we were going to shove another pill down his throat. Try getting a pill gun (ask your vet for one); it makes the process go a lot faster, cutting down on the discomfort for your cat. Also, when you give him his meds, make sure that you're as calm as possible. If you treat it as a cheerful, ordinary task, he won't be able to feed off your anxiety. Try too to give him his pill when he's relaxed as can be. For the duration of the time that you have to medicate him, it will be hard for your cat to trust you, but after it's done, he should start coming around.
