A foster problem!

[riley1]

I had a stray hanging around for about a month. Only saw her in flight and thought she was a feral. One morning she was on my porch and came up to me so I took her in. I used to work at a no kill humane society and they took her for adoption but I am keeping her at my house. She is very affectionate. I lie on the bed and she gets up close to my face and purrs while I scratch her. Sometimes she puts her weight and back feet on my windpipe. She also likes to lie down up against my face with her back to me. If I ask her to move a bit she hisses & this is not petting over stimulation! If she is lying on the bed and I pet her she hisses and threatens to bite me. Sometimes she does bite me but not very hard. If I pick her up to put in the carrier she hisses & struggles but has not bitten me. Sometimes she grabs my arm, bunny kicks it and play bites me. Again not breaking the skin. Most of the time I think the hissing & biting is her way of saying "don't bother me right now". I speculate that she was owned by a child who played with her with his hands because she doesn't really get how to play with wand toys. I took her to the shelter for her to meet with a potential adopter. She hide and would not come out so the women didn't want her. This was fine because the women didn't seem to be at all flexible with cats. The shelter is ignoring my warnings about the biting issue. They say "it's over stimulation and play biting". Yes, the bunny kicking part is play but the hissing is not. If I were to speak sharply to her she would get very defensive. So I guess her behavior is defensive but not aggressive. Has anyone had a kitty like this? I know she really likes me but just seems to have a different outlook on domestication. Your thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I think a lot depends on a couple of things. 1.) how old she is, and 2.) how long she might have been on her own before you took her in. It's only been a month, and to be sure, she is still trying to figure things out. I take it she has been spayed? That also can be a factor in her behavior.

She sounds like she is pretty tame, knows limits as in not biting hard and/or just hissing to show displeasure. You need to pay close attention to her cues - there are things that cats do that are cues to say they are being over-stimulated or just generally being 'bothered'. Since all she does is hiss if you re-position her, that is not a really big deal. Perhaps, try to make a little warm bed for her on your bed, so that she might use that instead of being on top of you. It seems as if she wants either warmth or close human connection, and maybe you can eventually ease her into using her own little bed beside you.

I think if you spend some time understanding her limits, you can work with her to get her settle down - that along with being with one person long enough to understand feline/human interaction, both ways. It may take some time to get her to understand toys, but some cats never do. Since she likes to 'bunny kick', get her some of those kicker toys to see if she would enjoy those. You can distract her with them if she becomes obsessed with bunny kicking you.

I am sure other members will come along with more suggestions for you to try!! Hang in there, and thanks for taking her in!!

 

[CatladyJan]

Kick toys are the best.

I had a stray hanging around for about a month. Only saw her in flight and thought she was a feral. One morning she was on my porch and came up to me so I took her in. I used to work at a no kill humane society and they took her for adoption but I am keeping her at my house. She is very affectionate. I lie on the bed and she gets up close to my face and purrs while I scratch her. Sometimes she puts her weight and back feet on my windpipe. She also likes to lie down up against my face with her back to me. If I ask her to move a bit she hisses & this is not petting over stimulation! If she is lying on the bed and I pet her she hisses and threatens to bite me. Sometimes she does bite me but not very hard. If I pick her up to put in the carrier she hisses & struggles but has not bitten me. Sometimes she grabs my arm, bunny kicks it and play bites me. Again not breaking the skin. Most of the time I think the hissing & biting is her way of saying "don't bother me right now". I speculate that she was owned by a child who played with her with his hands because she doesn't really get how to play with wand toys. I took her to the shelter for her to meet with a potential adopter. She hide and would not come out so the women didn't want her. This was fine because the women didn't seem to be at all flexible with cats. The shelter is ignoring my warnings about the biting issue. They say "it's over stimulation and play biting". Yes, the bunny kicking part is play but the hissing is not. If I were to speak sharply to her she would get very defensive. So I guess her behavior is defensive but not aggressive. Has anyone had a kitty like this? I know she really likes me but just seems to have a different outlook on domestication. Your thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

I have a purrfectly 'normal' 7 y/o cat that does just the same at least to me - not so much my husband. She will come up to me all sweet and when I start to pet her sometimes I get scratched, hissed at or slightly bitten. She has chosen my husband as her best friend because she associates me with any cat other than her lol.

Has she been seen by a veterinarian to make sure she isn't in any pain?

 

[Bolts]

I fostered then adopted a 5yrish old street cat, the rescue centre at one point thought they would have to send him to a feral centre he was so viscous. He took to one girl there and he was quite happy just to follow her around and sit on her lap. His 1st weeks With me were horrible, he craved the affection but would suddenly hiss, bite and scratch..thick gloves were my best friend lol. Fast forward 6 months....He’s a total love bug BUT..he still bites, there are 3 different types, soft and gentle when I stop petting him. The I want to play grab and kick. The 3rd I just don’t know, take last night he always comes for a pet before I go to sleep and he just bit really hard , didn’t draw blood but it hurt, He ran off after he did it. He may go weeks without doing it, and I can see no pattern. I don’t know if he ever had a home and wondering if he just sees me as a big cat lol. Id like to stop it as he like to lie on my chest near my face and I’m just thinking omg don’t bite. Other than that he’s a perfect kitty apart from the food obsession.

 

[CatladyJan]

See if this article helps you: Cat Behavior Problems [What to do and what not to do] – TheCatSite Articles