Hi there, I hope someone can give us a clue about our schizo, skittish kitten, Wendy.
We adopted a Wendy, a calico kitten, from a feral foster home about six weeks ago. She's now 4 months old. She was terrified of people when we met her, but was civilized about it: never any hissing, growling, biting, or scratching. Just big scared eyes, cringing, and trying to bolt. We brought her home and kept her in a big crate for a week or so to help her acclimate. She settled down nicely. I helped her learn to play and even got her purring by purring at her myself. We handled her gently and she would lie in our laps on her back, purring as we'd pet her. Great, we thought, she likes us.
When she wanted to explore, we let her out of the crate and she discovered hiding. She would bolt from us and we'd try to catch her without freaking her out — she needed medication and she also needed more handling. Every time we hold and stroke her, she melts in our arms and purrs loudly. But 10 seconds after we put her down, she looks at us like we're evil predators and races away. If we get within 6 feet of her, she runs.
It's making us doubt her intelligence. We adopted another feral kitten 2 weeks after Wendy and he's a snugglepuss. He and Wendy are pals. He's already a lap cat. We also have two elderly cats who are in full command of us.
We'll find all four cats dozing on our bed, and only Wendy notices we're in the doorway and goes diving under the bed. At mealtimes, she keeps her distance from us, too. What can we do to help her get over this?
We don't handle her a whole lot because she has ringworm. But we make a point of holding her at least once a day (besides the times she gets her meds) to get her purring and relaxed. She can leave us whenever she wants. She always sticks around for more stroking.
It's true that she's letting us get a little closer — mere inches — day by day, and sometimes she doesn't take off if I get near her. But this business of dashing off in terror mere seconds after purring herself into a happy stupor has us stumped. What's going on here?
A friend suggested that she dashes off when we get close enough for her to smell us, and that when we hold her, she's overwhelmed by our scent and doesn't freak out. It's an interesting theory, but it doesn't help us much.
Thanks for your insights!
We adopted a Wendy, a calico kitten, from a feral foster home about six weeks ago. She's now 4 months old. She was terrified of people when we met her, but was civilized about it: never any hissing, growling, biting, or scratching. Just big scared eyes, cringing, and trying to bolt. We brought her home and kept her in a big crate for a week or so to help her acclimate. She settled down nicely. I helped her learn to play and even got her purring by purring at her myself. We handled her gently and she would lie in our laps on her back, purring as we'd pet her. Great, we thought, she likes us.
When she wanted to explore, we let her out of the crate and she discovered hiding. She would bolt from us and we'd try to catch her without freaking her out — she needed medication and she also needed more handling. Every time we hold and stroke her, she melts in our arms and purrs loudly. But 10 seconds after we put her down, she looks at us like we're evil predators and races away. If we get within 6 feet of her, she runs.
It's making us doubt her intelligence. We adopted another feral kitten 2 weeks after Wendy and he's a snugglepuss. He and Wendy are pals. He's already a lap cat. We also have two elderly cats who are in full command of us.
We'll find all four cats dozing on our bed, and only Wendy notices we're in the doorway and goes diving under the bed. At mealtimes, she keeps her distance from us, too. What can we do to help her get over this?
We don't handle her a whole lot because she has ringworm. But we make a point of holding her at least once a day (besides the times she gets her meds) to get her purring and relaxed. She can leave us whenever she wants. She always sticks around for more stroking.
It's true that she's letting us get a little closer — mere inches — day by day, and sometimes she doesn't take off if I get near her. But this business of dashing off in terror mere seconds after purring herself into a happy stupor has us stumped. What's going on here?
A friend suggested that she dashes off when we get close enough for her to smell us, and that when we hold her, she's overwhelmed by our scent and doesn't freak out. It's an interesting theory, but it doesn't help us much.
Thanks for your insights!
