Recommendations for Anxious Behavior

[calicowhirlwind]

Hi all,

I have owned my cat Jane for her entire life, a whole 7 years as of June, and safe to say she is at both her best and her worst right now. She has always been an anxious animal, we believe due to being inbred (she is not quite behaviorally or structurally correct) however I left her in the care of an immediate family member for 2 years while I attended college and it was relayed to me that some abuse may have occurred in that time. This has led to her having a huge distrust of feet, and it is a major issue for us.

Interestingly, when she attacks my feet, there is no hissing, raised hackles, fluffed tail, or pinned ears. She is simply irritated by them, strikes, then goes on like nothing happens. We aren't quite sure how to curb this behavior, as it is a result of trauma. On top of this, as stated above, she is generally anxious, and will swipe at objects she is familiar with and hiss as though they are new and frightening. She also has an odd sleeping schedule for a cat, being awake all day with us and sleeping at night when we do. I'm worried for her health going forward with as much anxiety and stress as she is experiencing.

What are good ways to effectively address a cat with anxiety and anxious behaviors? She is cat aggressive unfortunately so the idea of a friend for her is out of the question unless it was done with the help of a behavioralist or expert. We love her very much, but some of her behaviors have become intolerable, and we don't want that to fracture our relationship with her.

 

[di and bob]

She is diplaying a from of overstimulation syndrome, which i have seen in quite a few of my cats, all females. so acting like this is not unknown to me! They strike out with no warning when they get overstimulated, and if she is fearful and anxious, that may be often! If she was kicked and learned to mistrust feet, that is horrible. But I would bet that is what happend.
First, I would try some calming treats found on Amazon, Walmart, Target, any pet med site. It may help her cope. Since they are supplements they are quite safe. I use Composure a lot for vet visits.
If the attacking feet is unbearable, you might try scruffing to break her of the habit, it works very well becaue it is in the language cats understand. But it has to be consistantly used every time. Even if she struggles and gets really mad. When she attacks, take her by the loose skin on the back of the neck, hold her to the ground and hiss very loudly at her, or say NO loudly. (better to say no when other people are present!) do this EVERY TIME, even if she comes right back, and she may. You may have to lift her front feet off the ground if she struggles, it quiets them by instinct. Make sure her back legs are still on the ground for support. I use this method to pill reluctant cats too.
If you can't bear to do this, pull back and say OWWW, or NO real loudly if she attacks to startle her. That sometimes doesn't work though. She has developed a habit. Habits are hard to break. You also might try redirecting her, which means you amy be carrying a toy around with you for a while, get a kickeroo on any website or pet store, and toss it towards her when she comes at you, or even looks like it. They are used for bunny kicking and get a lot of aggression out. All the luck, I hope you get a lot of suggestions! Believe me, you aren't the first with this problem!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How long has she been back in your care now? Just curious if we are talking weeks/months/years since her two year stay with a family member. The timeline may be important to how she is reacting now.

If you truly think her reaction to feet is due to some sort of abuse, such as being kicked as suggested above, then encouraging her to utilize cat trees, shelves, windows - anything that keeps her off the floor may help. If she is on the floor, you might want to approach her on your hands and knees it at all possible. Give her loving attention, and when you have to get up, pick her up first and set her on a perch so she is not on the ground. The object is to get her mind off of feet and find security on elevated places. You can also carry with you a wand or similar toy and distract her from your feet if she is on the floor.

You may never be able to verify anything, but how you handle her today does depend on whether or not there was abuse involved, or someone taught her to play with feet. Since she doesn't growl, hiss, or display any other signs of fear or aggression, I am wondering if her motives are really fear based or play based.

Not sure what you mean by behaviorally or structurally incorrect. Besides the anxiousness, which there are many cats that fit that description, the only other thing you mentioned is her sleeping habits. They are not all that odd, actually, I have had 3 solo cats who preferred to be awake during the hours we were awake and slept through most nights with us. Two of them could be called cat aggressive, and for some cats, I take that to mean they - possibly through their upbringing - prefer humans over other cats.

You can take the scruff approach if you don't think abuse is behind this behavior, but if you do, I would start with a more gentle and distraction based type effort first. Again, some of which way to go also depends on how long the time has been since she has been back under your care.

Calming products, as suggested above, are a good thing to try. Cat music is another. There are people who swear by David Teie's music for cats.

 

[Alldara]

Hey, since the cat is already a nervous cat, i would not suggest scruffing. A hugh pitched EEEP should let her know that shes "hurt" you (or hurt you, whatever it is).

How many people are where you live now?

Play can help to build her confidence, but some tips and tricks will depend on your current household dynamic. Id love to hear more if youre comfortable sharing.

For Ghost, who we suspect may have seen abuse or been abused, we usually say, "oh no ghostie". We've also taught him thr "leave it" command like a dog.

We use Feliway, calm music (especially with purring in it), treats and training to manage his anxiety. You could try some anxiety medications from your vet as well. There's a few different kinds available to cats at vet's.

 

[Hellenww]

Get some thick slippers and rub her bedding on them so they have her scent. When in the house only wear those. A lot of calm talking. Let her know where you are and that she's safe.

When she attacks, stop moving, talk her down. If you're able to sit down on the spot. At her level you're less threatening and she can clearly see it's you and not her abuser.

When she stops (or eventually comes near feet without attacking) give her praise and a treat.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Feliway spray has been highly effective for us in helping to calm and reassure anxious cats. Sprayed as directed in the environment, it has been very helpful!

 

[calicowhirlwind]

Hi all, I appreciate all the advice. We are actively using Feliway and have been for about two months now with some notable improvement. I'll give a little more detail in a sort of long-winded response to answer everyone's questions:

I adopted her in 2017 while living with my grandmother. I had to move out in 2018 to go to college. She lived with my grandmother for about another year, then my mother's dog was in failing health and since she was cat aggressive, my mother took my cat and my grandmother took my mother's dog (bigger house, more time to spend with it). Abuse occurred while she was under the care of my mother, and I didn't get Jane back into my care until late 2022.

As a note, she has always been cat aggressive, even with appropriate introduction when she was a kitten. She bullies gentle cats, and is fearful of cats who are more dominant. She has very "human" forms of communication and does not respond to any cat sounds, and swapping important items with our neighboring cat has not seemed to benefit her in introducing them. My current household is me, my partner, her brother and his partner- all people she loves interacting with. They have their own cat, but she never sees or interacts with it. The smell may be bothering her.

When left alone, she is fine. She is especially loving when soaking up sun in our window. At other times, she's incredibly irritable, wagging her tail when my partner and I are talking to each other. She doesn't favor me, but in the morning after breakfast she will sit in my partners lap and purr and seek attention. She responds very well to "ow!" or "hey!" when she bites, and we redirect certain behaviors with a feather pole or other toy. The only time she is ever scruffed is when we are pulling her away from something she is eating (she has pica). She is not outwardly aggressive aside from feet- and she will only attack mine, never my partners.

I think our plan will be to consult with a vet about her behavior. They were the ones who provided us with Feliway, but to help alleviate stress we may consider anxiety medications. We are going to be using Churu and other high value treats like turkey to give her a good association with shoes / feet.

I hope this answers everything!

 

[calicowhirlwind]

And here's the girl herself

 

[tarasgirl06]

Hi all, I appreciate all the advice. We are actively using Feliway and have been for about two months now with some notable improvement. I'll give a little more detail in a sort of long-winded response to answer everyone's questions:

I adopted her in 2017 while living with my grandmother. I had to move out in 2018 to go to college. She lived with my grandmother for about another year, then my mother's dog was in failing health and since she was cat aggressive, my mother took my cat and my grandmother took my mother's dog (bigger house, more time to spend with it). Abuse occurred while she was under the care of my mother, and I didn't get Jane back into my care until late 2022.

As a note, she has always been cat aggressive, even with appropriate introduction when she was a kitten. She bullies gentle cats, and is fearful of cats who are more dominant. She has very "human" forms of communication and does not respond to any cat sounds, and swapping important items with our neighboring cat has not seemed to benefit her in introducing them. My current household is me, my partner, her brother and his partner- all people she loves interacting with. They have their own cat, but she never sees or interacts with it. The smell may be bothering her.

When left alone, she is fine. She is especially loving when soaking up sun in our window. At other times, she's incredibly irritable, wagging her tail when my partner and I are talking to each other. She doesn't favor me, but in the morning after breakfast she will sit in my partners lap and purr and seek attention. She responds very well to "ow!" or "hey!" when she bites, and we redirect certain behaviors with a feather pole or other toy. The only time she is ever scruffed is when we are pulling her away from something she is eating (she has pica). She is not outwardly aggressive aside from feet- and she will only attack mine, never my partners.

I think our plan will be to consult with a vet about her behavior. They were the ones who provided us with Feliway, but to help alleviate stress we may consider anxiety medications. We are going to be using Churu and other high value treats like turkey to give her a good association with shoes / feet.

I hope this answers everything!

She's very lovely.
Bearing in mind that "abuse occurred," and that she has been away from you when it occurred, it may take time for her to learn to relax. As a person who has been in abusive relationships and who had to resort to anti-anxiety Rx as a result, IDK how it is with cats, but I would definitely ask the vet, if you are thinking of going with Rx, what, if any, short-term/long-term side effects there may be. These drugs are notorious for that. If possible, I would avoid drugs altogether and use time, love, patience, and the Feliway as well as the high value treats, lots of love when/if she will accept it, and any kind of play she is interested in.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

How is she doing with her specfic food schedule and/or diet? Could she be hungry at certain times of the day, and lashing out at feet because of it? I know my cat, when hangry, can be a bit moody and "slashy" until I realize she is ready for her next snack.

 

[calicowhirlwind]

How is she doing with her specfic food schedule and/or diet? Could she be hungry at certain times of the day, and lashing out at feet because of it? I know my cat, when hangry, can be a bit moody and "slashy" until I realize she is ready for her next snack.

She attacks feet in general- but food has a huge role to play! She eats 1 can of high calorie food 3 times a day (as in, 1 can split into 3 meals). She's eaten at the same times every day and any time we're late the foot attacking gets worse...So that's definitely relevant!

 

[tarasgirl06]

She attacks feet in general- but food has a huge role to play! She eats 1 can of high calorie food 3 times a day (as in, 1 can split into 3 meals). She's eaten at the same times every day and any time we're late the foot attacking gets worse...So that's definitely relevant!

Ah. Most cats love pattern, habit, ritual -- and it's good to feed them at the same times every day, so if you can do that, it sounds like it will definitely satisfy her and she won't feel so anxious.