Cat freaking out on walks - advice needed

James&Taki

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Taki was born feral, switched to a house kitty at 2 months old. Taki's always loved the outdoors, so I've been working with them on harness/leash walking. Taki loves it and is usually pretty good about it - when we're out and I pick them up, they usually growl at me a little (they know that usually means going back inside), but they don't seem scared and definitely not aggressive at all.

But last time (we've gone out dozens of times before, and they've seen stray cats before - that's where they came from), Taki saw one of the stray cats in our backyard at the start of our outdoor time. Taki seemed slightly scared, but not enough that I was concerned, especially since the other cat was at a distance and scared of humans. They stared at each other for a short while, then the stray cat left. Taki and I remained in the backyard as we usually do for our outdoor time.

A few minutes into the outdoor time, Taki tried (and suceeded) at eating a feather off the ground, but as they were eating it I crouched down and tried to get them to stop (I do this often with no issue, and I've messed with their face many times before while out on the harness/leash with no problem). As soon as my hand touched Taki's face, Taki freaked out and flipped onto their back, thrashing and scratching every part of me that was in range (even managing my face somehow). This continued for at least a full minute.

I managed to pick Taki up (they were still thrashing, but they're only like 5lbs) and bring them back inside. Damage to myself was minimal - I was wearing long sleeves. But this experience was a little scary and I'm not sure what exactly to do about it. I don't want to stop bringing them outside altogether since they love it so much, but there have been one or two times so far that bringing them out made them a little scratchy (nothing as bad as this though, and as mentioned earlier they are very small so it's easy for me to contain them even when they're scratching like mad) or they've been a little tense from stray encounters (though mostly it has been peaceful and the one or two times Taki seemed scared I simply took them back inside with no issue or aggression) and I don't want to bring them out if it's going to scare them or stress them out.

My main concern is more for Taki's wellbeing and emotional status than for the possibility of myself getting scratched. What should I do? Does this mean I have to stop taking them out? Is there any way to help them feel more secure outdoors, and/or reduce emotional strain from stray meetings?

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Jcatbird

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Taki is beautiful!
I have several thoughts on what happened but first, every cat is different and feral instincts are strong. That is what helps them to survive. Take reacted after seeing another cat AND while eating something she would consider as possible prey. Her instincts were to keep her prey and also to keep another cat from attacking her. During eating prey outside, she would feel more vulnerable to attack. When you touched her, she simply reacted on instinct. You are bigger than she is and are above her. That makes her feel vulnerable too. Even crouching down could be seen as an aggressive move to a cat. Like another cat would do before pouncing. She is still little now but if you cannot keep her from this kind of reaction, when she is larger you may get hurt. You may be able to work through this but watch your body language with her. Be careful of anything she may see as threatening, especially if she knows other cats are around anywhere. You might try carrying some little treats with you. I just went through something similar and was able to lead the cat back by shaking the treat container instead of trying to pick her up. She followed the sound she knew led to something yummy to eat. Growling is a warning to you. Anxiety and possible aggression coming! If this behavior does not subside as she gets bigger, you may need to find another way to let her enjoy outside. A window can be screened with wire mesh hardware cloth so she cannot scratch or push her way out. A porch or patio can be enclosed with wire screening as well. Cations can be built off of doors or even windows for her. That way she can get more accustomed to seeing what is outside but know she is not at risk for other cats or predators. I have a lot of ferals here and , depending on the individual personality, some do very well being walked and others become terrified and act with redirected aggression or just try to flee in terror. Enjoying outside should not mean fear for her. Try carrying the treats, wear heavy protective sleeves for now, carry thick leather gloves in case you need them and be very careful until you are sure she no longer fears others. If the reaction continues, look for a way for her to enjoy the fresh air without going into that instinctive fear. You don’t want her to break lose and get lost or cause you greater injury later. You can also try walking her within just a limited area. Maybe plant some shrubs to surround a small area that will feel more secure to her and act as a barrier between her and any outside cats. I have one cat that will only walk inside a small garden area that has a high fence. Outside that area, she reverts to her feral instincts and cannot be walked. If any creature comes inside that garden, she cannot and will not go out then either. Normally my Lady loves being walked but a few days ago, she smelled some other animal and let me know that she was scared by sniffing at the door and peeking around it rather than just walking out. This told me she was fearful and it was not a good time for a walk. If she were to spot a dog or some other thing that scared her, I would have a feral on my hands rather than my sweet Lady. I have had her for many years and still have to be very careful. Observe Taki and make the choice based on her reactions before she is large enough to hurt you or break away. A catio may be the best solution for her. We can give you more information about that if you are interested. Please do keep us updated and I hope your scratches heal quickly.
 
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James&Taki

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Taki reacted after seeing another cat AND while eating something she would consider as possible prey. Her instincts were to keep her prey and also to keep another cat from attacking her.
Thank you so much for responding, this is extremely helpful in understanding why Taki responded like they did.

She is still little now but if you cannot keep her from this kind of reaction, when she is larger you may get hurt.
Taki is actually fully-grown; I am feeding wet food daily in addition to free-feeding dry food, as the vet wants to get Taki to a little higher weight, but it's unlikely they have much growth left at this point.

You may be able to work through this but watch your body language with her. Be careful of anything she may see as threatening, especially if she knows other cats are around anywhere. You might try carrying some little treats with you. I just went through something similar and was able to lead the cat back by shaking the treat container instead of trying to pick her up. She followed the sound she knew led to something yummy to eat. Growling is a warning to you. Anxiety and possible aggression coming! If this behavior does not subside as she gets bigger, you may need to find another way to let her enjoy outside... If the reaction continues, look for a way for her to enjoy the fresh air without going into that instinctive fear. You don’t want her to break lose and get lost or cause you greater injury later. You can also try walking her within just a limited area. Maybe plant some shrubs to surround a small area that will feel more secure to her and act as a barrier between her and any outside cats.... Observe Taki and make the choice based on her reactions before she is large enough to hurt you or break away.
Taki does growl pretty much every time I pick them up while we are out, which I never worried much about since they have generally been otherwise confident and nonviolent, but they might be experiencing more anxiety than I have realized.

So far we have only walked around the backyard, which is fenced in... but there are enough stray cats around that there's usually 0-2 out there. I have something to wall off the lower portion of the door so Taki can't run out when the door opens, but before that they were doordashing multiple times a day. Funnily enough they'd run around the backyard for a while, then eventually lay down and let me pick them up and bring them back in. Kind of like playing tag (they'd never leave the backyard). They never growled then, so maybe they need help and practice feeling more secure outdoors specifically while having the harness and leash on.

A catio is likely not an option here, but Taki does have a long window that opens from the floor to the ceiling, with a screen. I leave it open when the weather allows, and Taki loves it (they don't even seem to have much issue with stray cats coming to hang out on the other side of the screen, and I watch them very closely when that happens... Taki is generally very relaxed, actually).

Right now I'm thinking I'll take them out again when I can, and make sure to wear long sleeves and bring treats. They love the outdoors so much, I'd be sad to stop taking them out... but if it's too scary, they might have to just enjoy the window. We'll see how it goes.

Thank you so much for the advice!
 

ArtNJ

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Cats that are stressed will often attack their human if touched. Its called redirected aggression and its not personal, its just a normal thing that happens. Sometimes merely being close will trigger it, but touching a very stressed cat can be a trigger.

There is a huge difference to them in being free to react to stress the way they like and having you coral their walk. When my cat was indoor/outdoor, he would stay roughly beside me when I went for a jog, darting from lawn to lawn and hiding when he felt like it. I had to turn around after a bit and bring him home, because he was willing to continue further than I was comfortable with him being. So I assumed he would take to leash walking fine. I was wrong. Cars, a crow taking flight 50 feet away, the neighbor's indoor/outdoor, dog barking, any random thing stressed him out far more given that he could not hide like he wanted. I gave up, it just wasn't working, despite him loving being an indoor cat and loving going on walks with me when not leashed.
 
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