Cat howling and hiding

[chrissyr]

Welcome Kerry!

Hopefully you can give me some insight on my boy Jake. He and his brother were both hand raised by me from birth. Worm is fearless. Jake, on the other hand, is the total opposite. He hates change of any kind. If one of our other kitties go around him, he hisses then hides in the litter box until the cat leaves. He never ventures past the bedroom door and when he does, he darts out then back real fast then shakes like crazy. Also, he loves to "sing" loudly in the middle of the night. He does it during the day but it's mostly when we're asleep. He also hates any person that's not me or my husband. Even then, he has issues with my husband. LOL He will act nice to people but then out of the blue he'll start growling. There have been times there's no warning and he's out and out attacked someone. Everyone is warned before they come in the house and Jake is put in a kennel so he doesn't hurt anyone.

Is there anything we can do to help Jake get over his fears and his human aggresion?

Thanks,
Chrissy

 

[catpsych]

Hi there Chrissy,
Mmmmmm, let's see. Well, as a rule any animal that is hand raised and does not receive their mother's milk for at least the full 8 weeks that they should, tends to not get the nutrients they need, like the colostrum. If they do not get the needed nutrients, their brains tend not to develop as well as if they could have. I have seen many rescued feral kittens turn out the way you are describing. Perhaps that is what it is, perhaps he just need to experience some more socialization with a positive twist??? I would advise scheduling a consultation with a behaviorist, because human aggression is something that can easily get out of hand and escalate before you know it. Tell me how old is Jake? Is he neutered? When did this start or has he always done this? Once I get some more info from you, I'll try to give a more detailed resolution and hopefully you won't need to schedule a consultation with a behaviorist

. I look forward to hearing from you, take care!
Kerry

Originally Posted by ChrissyR

Welcome Kerry!

Hopefully you can give me some insight on my boy Jake. He and his brother were both hand raised by me from birth. Worm is fearless. Jake, on the other hand, is the total opposite. He hates change of any kind. If one of our other kitties go around him, he hisses then hides in the litter box until the cat leaves. He never ventures past the bedroom door and when he does, he darts out then back real fast then shakes like crazy. Also, he loves to "sing" loudly in the middle of the night. He does it during the day but it's mostly when we're asleep. He also hates any person that's not me or my husband. Even then, he has issues with my husband. LOL He will act nice to people but then out of the blue he'll start growling. There have been times there's no warning and he's out and out attacked someone. Everyone is warned before they come in the house and Jake is put in a kennel so he doesn't hurt anyone.

Is there anything we can do to help Jake get over his fears and his human aggresion?

Thanks,
Chrissy

 

[chrissyr]

Thank you for taking the time to help Jake. He's going to be 3 years old in November and he isn't neutered yet. I can't even take him to the vets without him going crazy as soon as he leaves the room. As soon as he's caged and walked out the bedroom door, he yells, throws himself all over the carrier, inflicts wounds on himself. He becomes a total mess. I was able to get him his shots, once, and he gave the vet such a fit. The vet recommended neutering but told me that he doesn't think that will help Jake.

He's basically been this way but the human aggresion started towards my mother. He and Worm were perfectly fine with her and one day she came to visit and the boys were eating in their "den". Jake hissed at Mom cause she got too close to him and she "hissed" back. From then on out, every time Mom came to visit I had to kennel Jake and they would hiss at each other. I told her time and again about hissing at him and she wouldn't listen. The final straw came when Worm hissed at her, she hissed back and he, litterally, launched himself at her. I caught him as he came across my back after her face. Needless to say, she doesn't visit anymore. Jake attacked my Brother once. My brother did nothing except pet Jake and he was ok with the petting. Next thing we both know (and I was praising Jake for being good) Jake was biting holes into my brothers arm. Needless to say, he doesn't visit either. LOL

I do wonder if it has anything to do with how he started life? Basically, Mom gave birth to Worm in my house 3 days early. My husband let her out and we found the kittens a few days later in the snow by a large tree. Jake was on the bottom of the pile and the others were frozen but he was just barely alive. I brought him back around and now he's a healthy (If slightly mental) big boy. Could him being almost froze to death have anything to do with his issues?

Thanks a ton for helping. My husband is talking about putting Jake down if he keeps going the way he is. Jake hasn't become violent towards my hubby but will hiss at him from time to time for no reason. I do know Jake is jealous of my husband and any attention I give him. Jake has pee'd on me on several occasions when I am with Mike and ignoring him or he'll pee on Mikes clothing or personal items if I pay attention to Mike and not him.

 

[catpsych]

I think Jake almost freezing might have something to so with it, definitely a good hunch. Since he hisses at your husband and pees on his stuff occasionally I would suggest having your husband feed Jake and be the one to give him all the treats, that will help lessen the incidences. It's a territorial thing and once he figures out your husband is not so bad and he serves all the food, Jake will chill out a little bit. Also avoid any direct staring at Jake, that is a dominace threat that your husband may be doing without even realizing it and it will instigate aggression.

Hope this helps. Take care!
Kerry

Originally Posted by ChrissyR

Thank you for taking the time to help Jake. He's going to be 3 years old in November and he isn't neutered yet. I can't even take him to the vets without him going crazy as soon as he leaves the room. As soon as he's caged and walked out the bedroom door, he yells, throws himself all over the carrier, inflicts wounds on himself. He becomes a total mess. I was able to get him his shots, once, and he gave the vet such a fit. The vet recommended neutering but told me that he doesn't think that will help Jake.

He's basically been this way but the human aggresion started towards my mother. He and Worm were perfectly fine with her and one day she came to visit and the boys were eating in their "den". Jake hissed at Mom cause she got too close to him and she "hissed" back. From then on out, every time Mom came to visit I had to kennel Jake and they would hiss at each other. I told her time and again about hissing at him and she wouldn't listen. The final straw came when Worm hissed at her, she hissed back and he, litterally, launched himself at her. I caught him as he came across my back after her face. Needless to say, she doesn't visit anymore. Jake attacked my Brother once. My brother did nothing except pet Jake and he was ok with the petting. Next thing we both know (and I was praising Jake for being good) Jake was biting holes into my brothers arm. Needless to say, he doesn't visit either. LOL

I do wonder if it has anything to do with how he started life? Basically, Mom gave birth to Worm in my house 3 days early. My husband let her out and we found the kittens a few days later in the snow by a large tree. Jake was on the bottom of the pile and the others were frozen but he was just barely alive. I brought him back around and now he's a healthy (If slightly mental) big boy. Could him being almost froze to death have anything to do with his issues?

Thanks a ton for helping. My husband is talking about putting Jake down if he keeps going the way he is. Jake hasn't become violent towards my hubby but will hiss at him from time to time for no reason. I do know Jake is jealous of my husband and any attention I give him. Jake has pee'd on me on several occasions when I am with Mike and ignoring him or he'll pee on Mikes clothing or personal items if I pay attention to Mike and not him.

 

[chrissyr]

Thank you very very much! We'll give that a try although Mike does feed Jake but no treats. (Jake hates treats. LOL) But I have noticed Mike tries to stare Jake down. I'll inform him that's a bad idea and get Mike to change that.

Thank you again,
Chrissy