Aggressive Shelter Cat

[cattyclaws]

Hi guys! New member here as well as a first time cat owner. Folks on another thread asked me to post my question here.

Some background: I was looking for a cuddly cat to keep me company as I live alone and wasn't bothered about the age. All I wanted was to give and receive lots of love and affection. The local shelter suggested that I adopt 6-year old Casper, who grew up there. They said he was really friendly with the caretakers and people who visited the shelter, however he was not social and disliked being around other cats so they had him in a two-tier cage. I thought it would be nice to get him out of the cage and into my medium sized apartment without any animals around. Plus he seemed to do well on his own which would have been a great fit for me and my lifestyle as I work 9 hours per day.

I waited 3 weeks before deciding to bring him home; had everything setup for him before his arrival.

Well its been about 4 days and he has been really aggressive towards me. I know he needs more time to adapt to his new environment but his behavior is really bothering me. I tried playing with him with DIY treat toys, small bouncy stress ball, feather toys but he doesn't seem to get the concept of "playing" so he starts to meow and get aggressive. He won't let me touch him or pet him, hasn't "rubbed his scent on me", hisses every time I come near him or am around him and has scratched me already. Eg: Yesterday as I was putting his food down his food he quickly came near me and started to hiss at me; he wants his food but doesn't want me near it! He has also taken over a certain part of the room and starts to hiss when I go within the area. Last night I tried giving him some treats to win him over but instead he became so aggressive as he wanted more treats and tried to scratch me again. To be honest he really scared me last night and I am feeling quite down about the whole situation. I want to return him back to the shelter (I know that makes me a terrible person ). I also feel part of it is my fault as I did not interact with him much at the shelter as he was in a cage and couldn't be brought out to play; he didn't "pick" me but rather I went on what the caretakers suggested.

Anyway, I really believe he has an underlying behavioral issue. I am a new owner so I would like some insight whether this is normal? Did your cats act the same way? I'd like to know some first time owner experiences. TIA Photo below of the little devil, sweetest when he is asleep

 

[cattyclaws]

The first 20 seconds of this video is exactly how my cat acts, the same meow, hissing and running away to his safe spot. I'm beginning to think he is a feral cat

 

[maggiedemi]

It's hard to say if he's a former feral or just that way because he lived in a cage. He's just scared, that's why he's acting that way. I took in two ferals and it does take some time for them to warm up to you. With Demi, petting him with a long handled duster helped. It took me 3 days to be able to pet him. It all depends on how much time you have and patience, but I would wait at least another week and see if he comes around.

 

[orange&white]

Is there a way to set up a 2-tiered "cat house" similar to the one he had at the shelter (but with the doors left open for him)? If not 2-tier, just some more closed-in boxes or cat caves around the room where he can feel like he has some safe places?

If he spent 6 years at the shelter, he's not feral, but you'd sure think he'd be more socialized than he is with lots of people coming and going there. I'd call the shelter and discuss his behavior and ask if they meant he was "very friendly" through the glass of his kennel, or if he was let out very much. I agree with Maggie that his current behavior is fear. This is a big adjustment for him.

Unless he really was acting like a calm friendly domestic cat there, the shelter shouldn't have adopted him to a first-time cat owner. I would consult with the shelter. Your very first cat ownership experience really should be with a happy "normal" cat. See what the shelter has to say. If he's a friendly cat, he should come around in a week or two after adjusting to his new environment.

 

[cattyclaws]

Thanks for your responses!

It's hard to say if he's a former feral or just that way because he lived in a cage. He's just scared, that's why he's acting that way. I took in two ferals and it does take some time for them to warm up to you. With Demi, petting him with a long handled duster helped. It took me 3 days to be able to pet him. It all depends on how much time you have and patience, but I would wait at least another week and see if he comes around.

I will try the duster thing. I'm a very patient person in general but being a first time owner, I don't really know how to handle the situation & am just so scared of him now plus I don't want to (unknowingly) do something that would further aggravate him.

Is there a way to set up a 2-tiered "cat house" similar to the one he had at the shelter (but with the doors left open for him)? If not 2-tier, just some more closed-in boxes or cat caves around the room where he can feel like he has some safe places?

If he spent 6 years at the shelter, he's not feral, but you'd sure think he'd be more socialized than he is with lots of people coming and going there. I'd call the shelter and discuss his behavior and ask if they meant he was "very friendly" through the glass of his kennel, or if he was let out very much. I agree with Maggie that his current behavior is fear. This is a big adjustment for him.

Unless he really was acting like a calm friendly domestic cat there, the shelter shouldn't have adopted him to a first-time cat owner. I would consult with the shelter. Your very first cat ownership experience really should be with a happy "normal" cat. See what the shelter has to say. If he's a friendly cat, he should come around in a week or two after adjusting to his new environment.

He has his safe spots around the room, like under the dining table, behind the sofa etc. He doesn't like to explore around the house unless he's doing it while I am not around and I am not aware.

I texted the owner of the shelter regarding his behavior and his response was that it takes time for cats to adjust so I should give it more time. Before I had adopted Casper the owner mentioned that he had tried to bring Casper home but he did not do well as there were a lot of cats and dogs around his place. He asked me to give it a try but I obviously did not expect it to be this bad considering I do not have any pets or humans.

In hindsight, I haven't seen for myself how he interacts with people, just went by what the owner and caretaker told me. But since he was in a cage, my guess is that he would have interacted only with the caretakers/volunteers he grew up with and he would have (obviously) been friendly towards them. They don't let him out either as there are other cats freely walking all around. The caretaker went as far to say that Casper was his favorite cat at the shelter.

Thank you so much for understanding, I am scared to adopt another cat should I return him because I am a bit traumatized but at the same time I really want to help him and give him a loving home. However, I also feel that maybe he was comfortable where he was as the owner and caretakers were genuinely fond of him. I was very excited to have my very first pet but now I don't look forward to going home at all and I am really sad that I haven't had a chance to even touch him yet or show him any affection.

Sorry for my long posts, I will give it a few more days.

 

[ArtNJ]

You have to wonder *why* he was in a shelter for *6 years*. (I went back and re-read your original post to make sure I had this right.) Can this possibly be *only the second try* at a placement? I've never volunteered at a shelter, so maybe I'm clueless here, but this just doesn't smell right to me. I mean, no kill shelters are great obviously, but is it possible that the desire to help this cat is causing the shelter to bend the facts a bit?

Give it a couple of days. But I am not sure this is the right pet for you. Or anyone without experience and the desire to help a troubled cat. And I'm having my doubts about the honesty of the shelter as well (6 years!).

There are plenty of adult cats waiting for adoption that will be affectionate with you, and you can adopt one of those, free up a shelter spot for another cat and save life -- without adopting a long term high difficulty project as a first time owner.

My brother adopted a troubled cat, and he lacked the skill or patience to really work with him. The cat's behavior never improved, he remains a bleeping terror that has no place in a home with anything that bleeds. It does no one and no animal any favors to inappropriately match you with a troubled cat.

Give it a couple more days I guess, but don't blame yourself if it doesn't work.

 

[orange&white]

Most cats are very cool. I had several cats from childhood through being a young adult who were "normal cats". I adopted a very shy/skittish cat in the mid-80's who lived 16.5 years and hissed at me every time I picked her up. By that time, I had enough cat experience to just love her for who she was (and wasn't). I also adopted another kitten who was very social and outgoing when she was about 2 years old so that I could have a normal, cuddly cat to meet my needs.

If shy and anxious Tess had been my first cat, I can well imagine that may have colored my view of "most cats" negatively. I'm just relating that story to let you know I can empathize with the position the shelter has put you in.

Give her a while. You may want to watch some YouTube videos on how to socialize a shy or feral cat. However, I don't think anyone would blame you if you return her and get a "normal" cat for your first ownership experience.

 

[dahli6]

It is hard to say exactly without seeing him. Especially because people often misread fear as aggression.
It really sounds to me like your cat was probably in an overcrowded home initially and probably did not get a lot of attention.
I wouldn't try to play with him and instead just try letting him be to himself. If he has no bad habits then he will eventually come around to socializing with you.

 

[misty8723]

You might try confining him to a small space like a bathroom until he gets used to his new environment, if you haven't tried that already. Also, maybe try some of the tricks they use to get two cats to warm up to each other. Maybe leave something with your scent in the bathroom with him, try putting his food next to that object, etc. What about - I can't think of the name of it - the plug to help with stress? I also remember seeing a web site once on how to deal with feral cats, for shelters. I don't have time to look for it, but if you can find it they had a lot of what seemed like good suggestions.

I am wondering if he spent his entire life in that two tiered condo, and why that would be. Did they never let him out occasionally at least? How much interaction did he have with people in the shelter? Was it just with the people who work there every day, or do volunteers come in on a regular basis to feed and love on the kitties?

The shelter where I volunteer would not adopt out a cat without being honest and upfront about what they know about the cat and his/her personality. However, I know from experience that sometimes cats will behave one way in the shelter and another way when you get them home.

Does your shelter have a return policy? I know there are some shelters that don't, or that won't adopt another cat to you if you bring one back. The one I volunteer at believes that it needs to be the right fit for both person and cat, and will weigh the circumstances as to whether they will give you another cat or not. If nothing else, I would go back to the shelter and explain to them what is going on, see what they have to say.

Good luck with this. I really hope he can settle down and be the love bug you want. Any kitty who spends their entire life in a condo in a shelter is bound to need time to adjust to a new situation.

 

[Opi-the-furry-conductor]

Well I'm no professional but I have grown up with cats my whole life. I also volunteered at an animal shelter for a few months when I was younger. IMO you should just be very patient with this little guy. It's like they say cats arent evil or mean just misunderstood. My mom once had an aggressive female cat before. She would growl and hiss if I got near her and at one point she attacked me. That wasn't cause she was mean or bad it was more my fault. She was scared timid kitty and I was impatient and ignorant. I was maybe 13 or younger (so long ago I feel old Lol) she would let my mom, grandma a and aunt pet her and she would sit on there lap and be affectionate toward them. So being the impatient kid I was. I tried to pick her up and didn't realize where we were headed which was a closet. She thought I was cornering her and she was in danger so she when on defense mode and gave me a couple bites and scratches then ran away. My point of this story is she was sweet, friendly and affectionate but only to those she trusted and wasn't afraid of. She tolerated me a lot Lol I would always pick her up or try to get her. Just that one day she had enough and got to scared to be nice. Now that I'm grown I know a great deal more about cats and how to handle them. Your kitty sounds fearful and not trustful towards you. His story actually made me laugh a little sorry xD but he sounds like an adorable furrball bully. I love cats so much it's hard for me to look or hear about one and not see a beautiful furry soul. Try keeping him for as long as you can IMO you should try a month before you decide he's not right for you. If you can't handle a month try 2 weeks or at least a week in a half as long as you can. Now here's what you can do o try and get him to calm down ad warm up to you. Try to recreate his house in the shelter, create hiding places for him around the house, leave toys round where you see him hang out and let him play by himself, when you feed him make sure there is distance between you and him. Try getting a cat tower and making high places for him to jump on. In the shelter the aggressive cats always loved to stay in high places cause that was where they felt safe. Play hard to get don't mess with him until he comes to you. Don't try to play with him or try to pet him just let him do his own thing. If you feel like you want to try and pet him cause you miss him then be careful and softly aproach then at a distance carefully hold out your hand and let him sniff it. Then just wait if he doesn't hiss or anything carefully try to lightly pet him once or twice then go about your business. Also when your playing hard to get and he comes near you and is not hissing gently hold out your hand for him to sniff then go about your business like usual. Don't act afraid of him or he might take advantage of that. I know that will all be hard given your story but try your best. Also your not a horrible person if you end up taking him back if you tried your hardest to bond with him. What makes you a horrible person is if you don't try hard to bond with him and just dump him back in that shelter. IMO if you can say in your heart I tried my best but he still hasn't bonded with me then you'll be doing the right thing in taking him back. The reason IMO is a cat should not stay where it is unhappy and scared when someone else can do that for them. I know putting a cat back in a shelter is bad but if you have no choice then you got to. Just try your best to bond with him. If you do end up returning him make sure to do research on your next cat and try to bond with them before you adopt them so you won't end up like before. Sorry for the book but it's a serious matter so it took a lot of explaining. Good luck praying for you

 

[elliesvictim]

Cats don't speak English. Until the cat feels comfortable everything you do or say will be viewed as a threat.
If you cat is behaving like that cat at the start of that video then that's a scared cat. Leave him be let him come to you. Also appears confused or unsure.
Also if this cats been "placed" a couple of times it going to be wary of attaching to you. It may be thinking "I can't like you because you're just gonna send me back to that horrible cage".
4 days is nothing, give it time.
Stop engaging the cat. Once it's left alone he may calm. The attacking you may be a symptom of that. If it's attacking you when you feed it give it a clear "no" and remove the food and yourself.
Remember every "language" each cat and human share is unique to that individual cat-human pairing. You're try to speak English it's trying to speak Cat. What you think is "I hate you" may be "I'm scared and this house smells weird". Don't do what the person in the video did. Don't follow and force an interaction the cat in that video was a cat that was upset or cranky with its owner. When she began patting the cat you can see they had a bond. With a new cat that is scared that patting would not go over well. Be patient it'll work out.
My cat was a feral kitten so she's not the most affectionate but when she is she can be quite lovely. But every cat is different so please be patient.
Good luck.