- Joined
- Jul 22, 2016
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We have 2 cats and we recently adopted a 5 yr old cat (Murphy) from a spca affiliated place. He is a very strange kitty. He is very sweet with me for the most part but is absolutely terrified of my boyfriend. If my boyfriend is home at all, Murph will hide under the couches/cat tree/bed anywhere he can hide. If it is just me, then he comes out and walks around and meows etc and seems normal mostly. even though my boyfriend is the one that has been feeding,brushing,and giving them treats in an attempt to get Murph to like him.
He is also SUPER skittish but its at random times? He can be sitting with me perfectly fine and then will have like a Vietnam flashback and bolt off the couch, even if I haven't moved, and am quietly reading/doing homework.
Another issue is, we use tape, sticky side up, on our chairs and counters and such, to teach the cats to stay off of those and it works for my other cats, but I constantly find him in tape because he keeps trying to run and hide from whatever it is he's afraid of. It's like he never learns not to go to those places or is just too terrified to care.
I also can't tell if he is deaf or not. Sometimes he will be laying on the cat tree, I'll be the only one home, and I'll call his name or make some noise and he doesn't move or even swivel his ears like he's heard me. He can be walking on a counter and I'll tell him to get down and keep saying it or his name and he doesn't react at all, doesn't even look at me. But he can also be in a good mood and be walking around and I can call him or make noise behind him and he'll turn around or look at me? So I'm not sure if he is ignoring me or if he is deaf.
The biggest issue with him though is the random Usain Bolt style of running to places. He is a good size cat, and carries a lot of force behind him when he runs. We came home last night and he was on the cat tree, and I went over to say hi and pet him and found that the fur on top of his head was matted with blood. So I cleaned him up and inspected the cut and it looked like he must've ran under the couch for whatever reason and hit his head on one of the metal pieces(My other cats are declawed). He also bolts onto the cat tree but he won't make the jump fully, I think it has to do with him missing a toe, but he hits his chest into the cat tree with all that force and knocks himself down and it sometimes takes his breath away, depending on how much of a head start he gets. I hate watching him freak and get hurt and not knowing what he's scared of or ways to teach him that small noises like popping a knuckle or snuffling aren't dangerous.
We give him this calming treat gel and he has a calming collar, they don't seem to do anything.
Any advice is most appreciated!
He is also SUPER skittish but its at random times? He can be sitting with me perfectly fine and then will have like a Vietnam flashback and bolt off the couch, even if I haven't moved, and am quietly reading/doing homework.
Another issue is, we use tape, sticky side up, on our chairs and counters and such, to teach the cats to stay off of those and it works for my other cats, but I constantly find him in tape because he keeps trying to run and hide from whatever it is he's afraid of. It's like he never learns not to go to those places or is just too terrified to care.
I also can't tell if he is deaf or not. Sometimes he will be laying on the cat tree, I'll be the only one home, and I'll call his name or make some noise and he doesn't move or even swivel his ears like he's heard me. He can be walking on a counter and I'll tell him to get down and keep saying it or his name and he doesn't react at all, doesn't even look at me. But he can also be in a good mood and be walking around and I can call him or make noise behind him and he'll turn around or look at me? So I'm not sure if he is ignoring me or if he is deaf.
The biggest issue with him though is the random Usain Bolt style of running to places. He is a good size cat, and carries a lot of force behind him when he runs. We came home last night and he was on the cat tree, and I went over to say hi and pet him and found that the fur on top of his head was matted with blood. So I cleaned him up and inspected the cut and it looked like he must've ran under the couch for whatever reason and hit his head on one of the metal pieces(My other cats are declawed). He also bolts onto the cat tree but he won't make the jump fully, I think it has to do with him missing a toe, but he hits his chest into the cat tree with all that force and knocks himself down and it sometimes takes his breath away, depending on how much of a head start he gets. I hate watching him freak and get hurt and not knowing what he's scared of or ways to teach him that small noises like popping a knuckle or snuffling aren't dangerous.
We give him this calming treat gel and he has a calming collar, they don't seem to do anything.
Any advice is most appreciated!
