First time Fostering Cat- growling when we leave

[ameliashuman]

Due to my state going to a stay at home order our shelter was trying to get all their cats and dogs into foster homes. My husband and I agreed to take a cat, I'm hoping this can be a forever home (husband is reluctant, our other cat Neil passed away in October and we've been experiencing our grief in different ways, I've been wanting another cat, he has not) . We got Trinity who is very curious, not at all anxious, and very affectionate. The only issue we have is she'll dart towards the door when we try to leave and will growl a little as we try to shuffle around her. I can't tell if she's growling at us leaving, at not being able to leave herself, or if being so close to our feet is upsetting her (she's practically right under foot). We have two other cats so we didn't want to just jump into introductions, but we haven't had a cat be so insistent about getting out. We've set up the baby gate further away from the door to try to give us some time between us leaving her and her getting under our feet but she figured out she can easily jump over it. So my questions 1) Any other people come up with creative ways to keep a cat confined to a room? 2) If she is scared of our feet being so close is there any suggestions for helping her get comfortable (short of putting wet food on our shoes)?

 

[Hannah518]

Ah! So cute! I just took in a foster too because of all the shelters needing homes. My dear sweet cat passed in January from cancer and I didn’t think I was ready for a new cat yet but what a world we live in right now. Sheesh!!!

I also have to confine my new kiddo to a room because of my other cat. She doesn’t try to get out much, but my cat that passed used to dart out ALL the time. Are you leaving the house or just the room? I kept some treats by the door to toss or used the laser to get him distracted to the other side of the room since I didn’t want to keep bribing him with food. He also liked to play fetch with the mice so I could throw one of those. Trinity probably wants to get out and doesn’t want to be confined or do you to leave I’m guessing where the growling is coming from? I’m not sure. She just wants to explore everywhere! Especially if she is curious. My foster kitty definitely wants to see the rest of the place rn.
Good luck and good on you for fostering!!

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, theres really only two ways if a cat is really and truly gung ho about it. Either pick the cat up and lock her in a room, or scare the cat a tiny bit, usually by stomping the feet a little. If the cat is less insistent about it, there are other options, but foot stomping has been my go to for most cats showing interest. My current cat used to be indoor/outdoor and is at a whole nother level, foot stomping just makes him put his game face on, but for most cats it works. If you are only doing it at the door, it should not make a cat that likes you and has adjusted suddenly scared of you generally.

 

[ameliashuman]

We haven't tried a laser with her yet, she's seemed uninterested in the wand toy and toy mouse we got her. Will have to swap out toys to find something she likes. But if she responds like our other cats to the laser that may work.

 

[Hannah518]

Good luck!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would set up a remote controlled feeder and put yummy treats in it for her. Show it to her, and open it up when you leave to distract her. Then, when you return you can remotely control it to open up so that she goes for the food instead of the door. It will have to have a noise on it so that she recognizes what it means to her. Scaring her at the door before she is comfortable with your home might not work so well.

 

[ameliashuman]

The behavior is escalating. Last night Trinity had a constipated BM that was half in/half out of the litter box. My husband and I were opening the door/going in and out to clean up the BM. She ran after me and attacked my hand (bite graze, there was blood but not deep). She looked scared when she attacked. She calmed down quickly and was back to head butts and purrs. This morning as I was getting ready for the morning she attacked my leg (tried to bite, but was not successful). I gave her a few minutes and then played with her for a little bit. About an hour later I came back into the room to give my husband something (he was hanging out with her). She got off the bed, was growling, grabbed my pants leg with her mouth, and shook her head. I moved away and sat down quietly and she was once again quick to leg rub and purr.

I'm not sure what's going on, she doesn't do this to my husband. She's pooping now (after almost 48 hours) but it does look like she's still straining a bit. She came into the facility on 3/13, was pregnant and was spayed. I don't know much else about her since things were so chaotic the day I picked her up. I put a feliaway defuser in the room and put in hide-away bed that I think she would like (she seems to like the small darker cave like areas).

Suggestions? Help? I'm worried for her.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Could it be from sudden moves that scare her and cause her to become defensive? You might try calling to her and talking to her before you get near her/approach her. See what your husband does before he approaches her in case you could replicate it.

I am not sure I understand your set up - is she being confined to a single room? Most cats do better when being placed in a new home if they are allowed to get used to a small area first before being allowed to roam the entire house. This could cause some additional stress on her which could help to explain the defensiveness. And, when being confined, she needs a lot of company, so someone should spend time with her frequently - if doing nothing else but sitting on the floor nearby and reading a book out loud.

I re-read that you can't use a baby gate since she jumps it. So, what about doing what others have done and make it two-tiered, or even 3-tiered if need be? It makes it hard to get in and out of, so there are other options if that doesn't work for you.

Can you at least call the facility that you got her from and find out about the constipation and if it was a constant issue? If you changed her food, and she is not eating what she was used to eat, that might have some impact on it as well. If she continues to have constipation, you can try giving her 1/8 tsp of Miralax for a couple of days in a row and see if that helps.

I think she is just overwhelmed, confused, and lacks confidence - which should all change over time.

 

[ameliashuman]

She's in a single room (guest bedroom). We're trying some tuna as a special treat when we enter (giving it to her on a spoon, slowly with slow movements) and as a distraction when we leave. This has worked the two times we've tried it. We've created a second barrier in the hallway that will keep her from getting to the rest of the house if she does escape. We're going to put in an order for another gate, I like the idea of stacking them.

We called the shelter and they recommended pumpkin, which I had forgotten about as a solution, she's sniffing at it now.

We've been lucky in the past that all our cats were easy to interact with when we brought them home (rough play has been the hardest), so I appreciate these suggestions!

 

[ameliashuman]

Our solution to give her small food treats when we enter the room and when we exit (positive reinforcment and distraction) is no longer working. It seems to rev her up and she's figured out that its a distraction from us leaving and she'll dart towards the door, biting at our feet. I'm having trouble cleaning her litter, filling her food bowl, or changing out her water as it seems to get her overexcited/upset. She growls, but whiskers are forward, tail is up, and she tries to head butt/rub on his. We're trying to exhaust her with play but she only minimally engages. We don't have a laser toy, but I'm thinking that this will become an essential item and worthy of breaking our stay-in-place.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She is still so new to your house, and I just think she is still figuring out what is going on around her. The growling might just be one of her ways of communicating, since she doesn't appear to be unhappy otherwise. I think she lack confidence and just needs more time to adjust. Take as many work breaks as you can just to spend some time with her - it doesn't have to be about play, just the company. I think the more comfortable she gets the less 'needy' she will feel. Just takes time, and the older the cat is the longer the time frame usually is.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

... She came into the facility on 3/13, was pregnant and was spayed. I don't know much else about her since things were so chaotic the day I picked her up. I put a feliaway defuser in the room and put in hide-away bed that I think she would like (she seems to like the small darker cave like areas).

Suggestions? Help? I'm worried for her.

How long ago was she spayed? Around March 13th/14th, or later? Either way, it could be some hormones are still affecting her and possibly causing a few of her behaviors. Maybe that will get better with time, and also with more time in your house and in your company.

The behavior is escalating. .... I put a feliaway defuser in the room and put in hide-away bed that I think she would like (she seems to like the small darker cave like areas).

Suggestions? Help? I'm worried for her.

You could try making a few more hidey places for her, boxes and draped blankets and the like. A few more toys, especially stuffed animal toys, since she was pregnant recently. Get safe stuffed animals (like safe ones you would buy for a human baby), not ones filled rice or beans or plastic pellets that could be swallowed if the cat got overly aggressive with the stuffed animal, like if the cat uses it for a kicky toy. My cat has a stuffed animal she's had for years, she carries it around the house in her mouth when we are not around, lol -- almost a 'security blanket toy' for her. Toys like this can be comforting for cats... plus they are fun to play with! Your cat Trinity might just be feeling a lot of extra energy and need to play more. Do you have a DaBird toy in your house?

 

[DreamerRose]

Mingo is like this. He doesn't want me to leave and will flop down in front of the door so I can't open it. I use the treat method to distract him, and it works for me. Try throwing the treats away so she has to go look for them. The other suggestions you've gotten might help, too.

 

[DreamerRose]

Duplicate.

 

[ameliashuman]

I think she was spayed close to the 13th/14th. We gave her a mouse toy that she's been increasing her interactions with and she was more playful with the Da Bird wand toy. We also just got a new gate that we'll stack. we're also going to take her to the vet. Although I suspect I'm being overly paranoid, she's been peeing a lot and the pee has a similar consistency that our cat Neil would have when he had a UTI. I may be hyper-vigilant after Neil passed away in October, but I would hate for her to be suffering from anything. Thank you everyone for the advice, we're going to keep plugging away at this.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Keep us posted!

 

[ameliashuman]

Vet visit with off with no biting, but which was a relief (the vet techs also cat sit for us, would hate to lose that!) She had a suture that had come out and a bit of an infection. So antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory med, hopefully that will help. During the vet visit, I also took the time to rearrange things so there were more hiding spots. Glad I listened to my anxiety even if it wasn't a UTI.

 

[ameliashuman]

Trinity is a licker, poor thing the incision site is bothering her. We've tried the cone with our other female cat back when she was spayed and that was less than successful. What is everyone's opinion on cone vs t-shirt/onesie, which one has potential to be less distressing.

Here's a picture of her so pretty when she's not biting

 

[FeebysOwner]

Rather than the old style cones, have you considered the e-collars? There are soft ones as well as those that are inflatable. Some of the pets stores carry them, but you would have to check what they have in those locations nearest to you. Something like these - see below. I don't know if local pet stores carry onesies, but they might.

 

[ameliashuman]

Brief update, we tried e-collars, oneies, and homemade onesies, and she managed to either rip, pop, or get out of everything. We ended up just trying to monitor her and the incision site since restricting the licking was becoming distressing for her and not effective. So far everything is looking good!

We get little nips now when she gets over excited, glad the biting appears to be resolved. She still growls when we leave, feed, or play with her but the other body language suggest she's content, who knows.

We started line of sight intros yesterday, so far she could care less. Our other girl cat could care less and our boy cat (who is a bully) is too scared to stick around long. He's the one I'm most concerned with since he likes to play hard with other cats. We'll see how it goes