Does Anyone Else Have A Hard To Handle Cat?

smosmosmo

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Smo has always been hard to handle, likely to due a number of reasons. Her irresponsible breeder sold her to her first owner when she was less than a month old, so she had to be bottle fed and was never socialized with other cats. She was then dumped at her owner's mother's house at a year old, and spent a few years mostly roaming outdoors or locked inside without being touched - the only affection she used to get was from random neighbors.

On top of this her caretaker made a habit of paying random people to crate Smo to have her vetted and groomed at a clinic where they basically held her down to treat and clean her. The crating involved strange men coming into the house to throw towels over Smo, grab her and stuff her into her carrier.

This means Smo really, really doesn't like being handled in a way she's not comfortable with. She doesn't like to be held and can only be picked up for short periods of time to be moved. She has to be scruffed to be put in her carrier, as this is the only way to get her in it.

This didn't used to be a huge problem, but Smo has been developing random health problems after having been dumped outdoors for a couple months. I know we could get her out of the house in an emergency, but I worry about things like administering medication to her. She's the type of cat who will immediately know when we've put medicine into her food and refuse to eat it, and the kind who can't be held down to be pilled or syringe-fed. On top of all that she's terrified of being toweled because of how she used to be taken to the vet.

Smo has skin lesions on her stomach right now which could be any number of things, and I know our vet will probably prescribe some sort of cream for her. I'm very apprehensive about how we're going to get medication on her stomach because she will definitely fight back - in summer she would attack us when we tried to dab Laxatone on her paw during a bout of constipation.

I know we need to figure out how to handle her in the future, but she gets very aggressive when she's touched in a way she doesn't like. It's to the point where she bent the vet's syringe needle the first time he tried to sedate her during her visit - it took two grown men to hold her down when she was there to inject her. She's not aggressive with us during normal circumstances though - just when she's feeling threatened.

Does anyone else have a cat like this? And what do you do when you need to handle them in a way they're afraid of?
 

HPeters

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There are some pheremone based products designed to help calm cats, the most common brand that I know of is Feliway, they have an assortment of products including diffusers, sprays and collars (not available in canada) there is also a brand called Sentry which carries similar products (available in canada) that may help make handling more comfortable for smo. There is another product that is used to help animals with anxiety called Zylkene make by Vetoquinol that I suggest you ask your vet about though you dont need a prescription for it, it may only be available through a vet clinic.

As for the kenneling, you can take the top off your carrier and place the bottom half in a common room in your house that smo spends a fair amount of time in, you can place a towel or blanket in and spray it with Feliway (if you decide to get it or another spray product) and feed smo near or inside the carrier. when smo is comfortable eating in there, you can add the top (without the door) and continue feeding near or in the carrier. this will create a positive association of food with the carrier and should help with kenneling her for vet trips.

There is a lot more you can do to help smo in terms of training and getting her more comfortable around people and for the vets, if you have any questions or want any more advice feel free to message me, I am an AHT student as well as taking a feline behaviour program so I have plenty of resources I'd be willing to share with you
 

happilyretired

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I have a similar cat--except that my Molly (a rescue) will not allow me to pick her up at all. She will cuddle in my arms, but I can't pick her up--ever.

I keep my carrier (top of a kitty stroller) on the kitchen table and will feed her treats in it every few days. I have a mobile vet who comes to the house, and that's how I confined her for the last visit. I dread the time when I may have to bring her to the vet for a procedure because it won't be easy. I have not use a towel with her because I'm 'saving' that for when there's some urgency.

She's just about 5 (been with me just over a year), so no meds yet, and when the time comes, I plan to discuss everything with my vet.

She's s sweetheart, and my vet thinks she was abused (was thrown from a car when she was 3 and rescued), and that's why I don't push her to allow me to pick her up. Even after over a year with me, she's still fearful.
 

duncanmac

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Sounds rough for poor Smo. Have you tried any of the calming treats?

My former feral Barry does not like being picked up at all. I knew we were going to move, so for months I worked with him - picking him up just barely off the floor, putting him right down; picking him up and moving him a couple of inches; picking up up a foot, 2 feet, and putting him right down; picking him up and putting him on the bed. The hardest part - getting him to come near me after picking him up at first - he would avoid all contact.

On moving day, I knew I had once chance, set the carrier on end by the bed, picked him up and dropped him in. I was awful - he sprayed and peed, his buddy moaned like a death rattle. My wife freaked and I kicked into high gear to move him.

Its been 8 months or so, and I just started the whole process again. Barry is not happy about it. Odd thing is when I had to get him to the vet for an emergency, he went into the carrier fairly easily.
 

happilyretired

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In any emergency, you can wrap the cat quickly in a large towel (getting all four paws inside) and shove the cat into a carrier. That's why I don't use a towel now; once I use it, she'd be too alert if I HAD to use it. So that 'technique' is reserved for an emergency (which I hope never occurs).

As you did, I'm trying to get her used to being picked up--slowly. She often rests on my lap, and I try exerting just slightly more pressure each time my arms are around her, hoping to eventually be able to lift her into my arms from my lap.

We've been at this for a few months, and so far--no dice. She 'erupts' at any sense that she will be held. But it's her call; I won't force anything.
 
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smosmosmo

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Furballsmom Furballsmom I haven't tried gapapentin - I'm assuming it comes in pill form? This is the kind of thing that worries me - Smo is both very smart and very picky about her food, and refuses to touch anything that's been tampered with. She is picky to the point where she will reject food we've mixed with a little oil (which we've done when she's gotten constipated), and wouldn't drink water mixed with a little bit of d-mannose (which is just a sugar - we thought cats couldn't taste sweet?). I do plan on asking for gabapentin at her next vet visit just so she's floppier and easier for the vet to examine, but our main issue is that we're unable to pill her or rub cream on her. She starts biting and scratching us if we mishandle her, even though I know she's holding back - at the vet's she went pretty wild, and she's not even a feral.

HPeters HPeters Do you have suggestions on how we could pill her or get cream on her? I'm sure the vet will prescribe cream for the lesions on her belly but we can't even flip her over to get to it. We've never had to pill her so I plan on trying pill pockets if it comes down to that, but she can smell that something is "off" very quickly and won't touch food that's been tampered with. She's also a quick learner and will not eat a certain type of food again if we've put something in it. So far we've tried mixing oil and d-mannose into her food and water (back when she was constipated and not peeing normally), and she wasn't having it. She's also refused to eat wet food for constipation because she can taste the pumpkin in it. Very frustrating...

H happilyretired Poor Molly, I'm so sorry she went through so much. There's a special place in hell for people who could do that to an animal, and I'm really glad she found you. I'm sure she'll continue to make progress with a parent like you and hope she stays as healthy as possible. With Smo we hate to scruff her, but it seems like the least traumatic option for her - my boyfriend grabs her by the scruff for a couple seconds, supports her bottom, then drops her into her carrier. We found out this incapacitates her back when we were trying to trap her outdoors - she absolutely refused to enter the trap we'd brought and couldn't be toweled, so the scruffing was a last resort. Thank goodness we did that because it worked, and she seemed less terrified being scruffed than when we were trying to towel her.

D duncanmac We haven't tried calming treats yet, but I'm thinking of putting some in my next Chewy order - the ones I came across weren't well reviewed so I'd like to do some more research. I did order some Rescue Remedy for her, which we're going to have to drop into her ear when she's sleeping...pray for us, lol. She will not be pleased. I do suspect the lesions on her stomach could be due to stress grooming, so I'm hoping the Rescue Remedy helps with that a bit. And yeah, poor Smo...her former caretaker was afraid of cats and I found out the other day she used to get herded around with a stick. Just awful. I hope you're able to find a solution for Barry that won't make him so fearful so you're able to get him out in an emergency.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi --take a look at that link I gave you in my post #2 above and read through the threads' posts. They talk about how to give it to a cat as well inciuding a tomlyn pill masker, chicken etc.
 
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smosmosmo

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Hi --take a look at that link I gave you in my post #2 above and read through the threads' posts. They talk about how to give it to a cat as well inciuding a tomlyn pill masker, chicken etc.
Oh, I just read the first post! I've never tried ham before - we'll see if she likes that. Also I figure it wouldn't hurt to see if she'll eat an empty pill pocket - she is quite the piggy so maybe I could trick her by feeding her a couple empty ones before administering the pill, lol.
 

daftcat75

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My Krista is 14 with IBD and went through a bout of pancreatitis. She has monthly B-12 shots which I decided is just better left done by the vet or I don’t do it. I stopped giving them myself when she was perky enough to squirm away and make it a miserably stressful experience for the both of us. But anyway. Since we see the vet a lot, I do desensitization training with her to reprogram her associations with her carrier and the vet office. I describe it all in this post in this other thread here.

Carrier Suggestions For Cats Who Hate Them?

Cornell has a video series about brushing your cat’s teeth. But it’s also another example of desensitization training that you might be able to adapt for smo and her cream.

Brushing Your Cat's Teeth | Partners in Animal Health

For medicine, I hide her medicine or supplements in a glob of nutritional gel like Cat Cal or Nutri Cal. I used to pill her every other day with mirtazapine, an appetite stimulant which I would put in a glob of Cat Cal. One time she did detect it and spit it out. So after that, I would put the pill within the glob on my finger and stick my finger in her mouth. She sort of protested but at the same time, it was still her Cat Crack. Sometimes she’d detect it but man, that Cat Crack is powerfully addictive stuff. I keep putting medicine in it and she keeps coming back for it. I call it our devil’s bargain because I’m not sure how I feel about giving her corn syrup but it’s got other good stuff in it and she doesn’t take her medicine otherwise.
 

HPeters

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smosmosmo smosmosmo honestly there are a 100 different ways to pill a cat but heres how i learned. With the cat sitting if shes relaxed or burrito-wrapped if shes not, run your hand from muzzle back, thumb on one side and middle and ring fingers on the other and index on top, go back until you can feel the jaw just in front of your fingers. push forward slightly and rotate the head so her nose is toward the ceiling. with the pill in your other hand between the thumb and index finger, use the middle finger of the pill hand to apply pressure to her lower incisors to get her to open her mouth and place the pill at the back of the throat. hold her mouth closed and let her head relax if she licks her nose or you see her tongue you should be good to go if not gently blow on her nose and stroke her throat until she does.

heres a link to a youtube video that is similar to what i wrote hope this helps!
 

happilyretired

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I have done this method with a 'difficult' cat, first wrapping her in a towel. I also found it helpful to put her in the sink so that she could not get traction--and the closeness helped her feel secure. It wasn't easy, and you usually only get one shot at it.

For the next dose, you need to be careful to hide the towel and approach 'naturally' because the cat will be hyperaware.

Fortunately, I haven't had to 'pill' for the past 20 years because my meds have been liquids and not only easier to administer but my cats were more compliant than that one--or my current girl.

Be sure to check with your vet about meds because many of them can be compounded to a cream to rub in the ear--more expensive but totally worth it, in my opinion.
 

daftcat75

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I forgot about this.

I recently had to give Krista ear drops. This was a little easier in my situation because she eats on the countertop nearest the sink. (I feed her raw and she flings food. I'd rather clean it off a counter than a floor or the carpet. But anyway.) Since she's already on one counter. I put a laundry basket and have the fish flakes and ear drops ready on the other counter. When she comes up to the meal spot, I'd quickly lift her from that counter into the laundry basket with some fish flakes. I still had to scruff her sometimes but the basket kept her from running forward or backing away. It was much less stressful than this giant ape crowding in all around her into submission. That's how prey get eaten and that's not the message I want to send to her. Everything is going to be easier and less stressful done at your level than hers. She still shot out of the basket when the drops were done so I'd put fish flakes back in her carrier for her to smooth out the experience for her. Then I finished plating her meal and she'd come around to it in a minute after she was done shaking her head and eating her flakes.

If you need to make a medicine spot for smo like a counter or a cat tree, do that. She's going to learn anyway so you might as well make it predictable in a positive way. If you can use my fish flake method to give her a positive association with that spot, all the better. She may never like the cream or getting pilled but treats and positive associations can go a long way to make the bad stuff more bearable.
 
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