Foster Cat Is Pissed

[DET_CAT_DAD]

I took in a foster cat tonight. I have three resident cats and a foster kitten who is in a separate bedroom. The couple who dropped him off stayed for about an hour and left in tears. They didn't want to give him up but he's been having litter box issues and he was not getting along with their new dog. He was with them for about a year. He was purring up a storm when they were here and initiating head butts and pets with me. Once they left however, he hid behind the couch in his room and has been hissing at me when I go in there and get too close to him. I tried to pet him and he scratched me up pretty good. His behavior has been a complete 180. The girl said he has never hissed at her or her boyfriend before. I know he is probably scared and afraid and unsure of his new situation. He is in a separate bedroom. I'm not mad at him, I just want him to be OK and start to trust me. He's a nine-year-old fixed male. Should I just give him time to decompress and leave him alone?

 

[danteshuman]

I would leave him alone for an hour or so in his room. Then come in with a plate of smelly fishy wet food, set it down in his food area, then sit down by the door (away from him/food) talking softly to him why you play on your phone for 30 minutes. You could just read Facebook posts out loud. Repeat the feed/talk excerise twice a day. (avoid eye contact.)

That poor boy! I assume he has been rehomed once before due to his age! Poor, poor kitty! Maybe something to help him with stress or Prozac? If he is peeing because of stress a mood stabilizer might be the key to getting him adopted. Then again it could have just been the dog stressing him out!

I would have tried Prozac or diapers before giving up my baby boy! *snuggling my baby closer and telling him, he will never be re-homed again because he pees out of the box a few times.*

 

[m3rma1d]

For the most part, leave him be.
But bring in yummy foods and get some interactive toys to help build up trust. Try playing a couple times a day (not too much, don't wanna overwhelm him)

I have 2 feral foster kittens, one of which was VERY upset upon arrival. She's made huge progress thanks in large part to interactive play with nice long peacock feathers. I was taught to use them with the feral cats at the shelter, they really do work miracles. (obvies your guy isn't feral, but he's definitely upset, so sort of the same treatment)
Foster Kitten Adventure (1 Sweet + 1 Feral)

 

[di and bob]

Cats are very disturbed and upset by change and he has been through too much for him to handle. To be brought to a strange place and then be abandoned is totally incomprehensible to them, and really to any creature. He accepted you while they were there because he was comforted by their presence. Now that is gone and he is so afraid he is lashing out in fera and self preservation. Do not try to touch him or engage him, let him come to you. Do not stare into his eyes, that is a sign of aggression. He is scared out of his mind and needs time to comprehend that he will not be harmed, because for now he thinks he will be. He smells the other stranger cats, and feels their presence. His eyes are dilated with fear and he is stiff with emotions, indicated by his forward pulled whiskers.
For now just sit with him as often as you can, talk softly to him and leave treats when you go. He will eventually associate good with you. Almost every cat would act like him in his situation, so this is not unusual, the unsual would be to find one trusting and at ease in this kind of situation. He WILL come around, it just takes time, and sometimes longer for some. If vet visits are needed, put tehm off for as long as you can as to not to traumatize an already traumatized cat. He needs peace, quiet, and the time to get comfortable in his new world. Take one day at a time and show him teh world is OK once more, all the luck and my prayers are with you. You will be blessed for helping this precious boy and will be rewarded for your efforts!

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

OK...so here's an update on Ziggy. He's gotten a little better this week. We've left him alone for the most part, more due to long hours at work than not wanting to interact but both my wife and I have gone into his room to try to play with him and interact. He is now allowing pets and initiates head butts and we let him out to explore with our other cats put away tonight. He was fine for about 20 minutes downstairs and then parked himself in the stairwell and was meowing and hissing at the same time when I went up there. We got him back into his room with some wet food. He continues to poop outside the litter box but pees in it. He is also VERY overweight. He hasn't been to the vet since October 2017 and his medical papers say he weighed 14 lbs. at his last check-up. He has to weigh AT LEAST 18 lbs. now, if not more. When he hears the other cats, he gets very anxious and scared. He doesn't really understand play either. I didn't realize at the time but when his previous owners dropped him off, they said they brought all his stuff, which only consisted of a sweater, the rest of his food, which he doesn't really like, his food and water dish and a cat bed. I've tried to use multiple toys with him but he doesn't get it. He has been dumped at the same shelter twice within the last year-and-a-half. Any suggestions on his behavior? I'd honestly like to keep him because turning him over to someone else at this point would probably be detrimental to him. I want him to get comfortable with being here and with our resident cats.

 

[susanm9006]

His behavior sounds pretty normal for an adult cat who has lived in multiple households in a short time period and who has only been with you for six days. Many cats would still just be hiding under the bed. It wouldn’t concern or surprise me if at this point he didn’t feel like playing due to his newness and as well as his weight.

First order of business, definitely before you try to introduce him to your cats is to get him to the vet for worms and contagious disease testing, his shots and for a medical evaluation. Be sure to bring a stool sample for the worm check.

Assuming he checks out okay at the vet, his reaction while exploring says that his introduction to your other cats needs to proceed slowly.

 

[ArchyCat]

Kind of you to take Ziggy in. He looks like a handsome cat. Is he brown with the white spots? Or is the 'brown' just an effect of the photography? Be patient. He has had a rough time. His last owners got a dog, which must have been quite a shock. Then his owners take him for a ride to a stranger's home. With has other cats! Then abandon him.

Good luck with Ziggy.

And please keep us updated.

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

He is gray and white.

Poor guy seems a little confused still. I'd love to keep him but it will totally depend on how my other cats can relate to him.

 

[di and bob]

I know it seems liek a long time with his problems, but 6 days is not long at all in a cat's world. I can tell by his dilated eyes he is stressed. Tail up is a good sign. Believe it or not I think he has made GOOD progress in the last week. iI just got to be a little overwhelming for him all at once and he wanted back to his 'safe' room. He could still be so upset he is not interested in play at all, or he could be just one of those cats that don't 'get' how to play. He may have never been interacted with much. if you take him to the vet, i would really suggest giving him a calming aide. You can get them as treats on amazon or get something from your vet. Make sure to get the vet's advise on this first.It might be a good idea anyway. I never gave the full amount, I think some said like multiple treats. I only gave one and it worked nicely. When getting him into the carrier, turn it with the door facing up, on it's end and lowere him down into it. a lot easier than trying to shove them in head first, they don't have much to grab onto. I also have one that the side folds outward, and one that is built with a top door, that is much easier too.
you might try two litter boxes and see if that helps. Some cats will not deficate in the same one they urinate in. Put a BIG one besides the other, maybe since he is big the box is too small for him to be comfortable in.
I have every hope for him, especially where he was so friendly with the people he trusted nearby. He is having a hard time with trust and I can understand that. you have a really difficult foster right now, but really that is why he is being fostered. You are also gaining valuable knowledge.
When ypou introduce your other cats it may be a good idea to keep him in a large dog pen/cage in the house at first. then put your resident cats in there and let him roam for a while. that way they all get used to how the other moves and looks. I had cats interact through a screen in the summer, and a patio door in the winter for a year. When I finally let the resident cats out, everything went fine!
I have had cats that have been under the bed and not seen for almost a MONTH, only coming out at night, so he is already doing much better than that.don't get discouraged, just take one day at a time, come here any time you need help, and you'll do fine! bless you for helping that sweet baby!

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

The kitten we are fostering will be going to her forever home soon so hopefully that will help too. He hears her making a ton of noise in the other bedroom and starts to hiss. I think he's made good progress this week too. I am picking up another litter box this weekend so we'll see if that helps. He's very vocal and friendly. It's upsetting that his previous owners gave up on him because he had really bonded with them it seemed. I don't think they wanted to put in the time to fix his litter box issues.

 

[di and bob]

I agree. With someone like you to care for him, to take the time to figure all this out is reassuring to see. You are an angel!

 

[danteshuman]

It is a slow process. My cat died and my senior 14 year old companion cat was left with me by my x-hubby. (he is a man loving cat.) I got a new apartment and brought him to my place for a week to see if he would be happier with me... he was not!!! (It was always agreed years before he would stay if I moved and my mom would keep him. He likes my mom but loves her husband.) When I brought him to my apartment to see if he would prefer to stay with me he hid and was miserable!!!! He was happier staying at his home then living with me .... so he is back at his home..... and a foster kitten came to happily live with me.

My point is older cats do NOT like change, and all things considered your poor foster cat is doing great!

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

I do hope he adapts to his environment. He is a beautiful cat.

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

He pooped ALL OVER that bedroom today. I had to work a few hours this morning and when I got home, there were at least 10 different pieces of poop scattered all over the room. All along the walls too, nothing in the center of the room. But he continues to pee in the litter box. My wife is bringing home another litter box so we'll see if that helps. Hopefully, it does. It's going to be very difficult to find someone to adopt him if he continues this behavior. I feel horrible for him. His previous owners said he has done this since they got him but the shelter says he didn't do it when he was there. I'm not mad at him. He clearly has some problems and I want to help him get better. I don't think I can take him to the vet either at this point. It would be a little too much for him right now. Poor little dude!

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

Thanks for the help too, everybody!

 

[Kflowers]

I think pooping around the edges of the room was his way of marking his territory. It's more to make him feel safe than to tell you to stay away.

When we found the dog (63 lbs of abandoned puzzled and sad. She's much better now.) Sweet Gum began stress eating. During the first three months she went from 9.5 lbs to 12 lbs. Then she seemed to go, whatever, and has now dropped to 11.5 lbs. We didn't change her food, she free feeds. This is to suggest Ziggy may have put on his extra weight in response to the new dog at his house. The extra weight probably effects his center of balance and his agility. The new dog as a threat to his territory may have had something to do with his pooping outside the box which lead him to your door. (Hell, pooping outside the box? Those folks didn't know the joys of peeing everywhere, did they?)

Anyway, I'm saying don't worry about the weight for a month or so, you've got time. Put him on high protein low carb, Sweet Gum eats Fromm dry because she slap won't touch wet food and gets fat on Orijen even when everything is to her liking. (Yes, it happened.)

 

[Kflowers]

Oh, yeah, and yet again you lucky man, you've got another glorious kit handed to you.

 

[Furballsmom]

Try some music for this boy - not 24-7 but now and then, to see how he reacts. Low volume classical harp music, there is Relax My Cat, and there's MusicForCats . com

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

Try some music for this boy - not 24-7 but now and then, to see how he reacts. Low volume classical harp music, there is Relax My Cat, and there's MusicForCats . com

I went up to his room last week and spent about an hour with him and played him some local Detroit rock 'n roll/country, the band that played at my wedding a few years back called the Orbitsuns. Does that count? I think he dug it. LOL.

 

[DET_CAT_DAD]

Oh, yeah, and yet again you lucky man, you've got another glorious kit handed to you.

I put in a foster application with a local shelter and this was what I got offered! I couldn't turn that face down!