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- Apr 29, 2017
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Hey folks. Last October I adopted a cat from an individual on Pets4homes who needed to rehome their 1 year old British Longhair. The reason he gave was that she was causing his asthma to get a lot worse; he claimed she was very friendly and loving but this has been quite far from the truth. When I brought her home she hid, which I was expecting, but she soon came out to explore while I quietly sat in the room with her. However, it soon became apparent that she absolutely hated being touched. I'd wait for her to come to me and she began to let me stroke her but within a couple of strokes she would suddenly switch to full on aggressive and attack me. She's very nervous; if anyone comes to the house she will hide. It's very difficult to get her to play with anything. I've made slow progress - it's taken six months but she now lets me stroke her without attacking me and actually stood on my lap for three minutes the other day while I scratched her head.
She seems so on edge most of the time and I don't know what to do to make her more relaxed - she often has a really nervous look on her face. I've got feliway plug-ins all over the house and I don't touch her unless she comes to me asking for attention, but I've had a lot of cats and this is the first one I've had with obvious anxiety problems. It'd be a little bit less of a concern if it wasn't for the fact that as a BLH she really needs regular brushing sessions. I've been trying to get her used to brushing while giving her treats at the same time as going over with a brush and keeping the sessions short as possible, but she still gets really stressed out quite quickly. I don't want to put her through the additional stress of having to get shaved if she does end up with any serious mats.
I sometimes get quite angry towards the previous owner because I feel that in her last home there must have been some contributing factor to her nervousness. They had her from a kitten; I was provided with the original purchase papers and pedigree. There's not much I can do about that but I'm frustrated that they weren't honest with me, or perhaps even mistreated her in some way.
Regardless, if anyone has any suggestions about how I can make her feel happier I'd be really grateful.
She seems so on edge most of the time and I don't know what to do to make her more relaxed - she often has a really nervous look on her face. I've got feliway plug-ins all over the house and I don't touch her unless she comes to me asking for attention, but I've had a lot of cats and this is the first one I've had with obvious anxiety problems. It'd be a little bit less of a concern if it wasn't for the fact that as a BLH she really needs regular brushing sessions. I've been trying to get her used to brushing while giving her treats at the same time as going over with a brush and keeping the sessions short as possible, but she still gets really stressed out quite quickly. I don't want to put her through the additional stress of having to get shaved if she does end up with any serious mats.
I sometimes get quite angry towards the previous owner because I feel that in her last home there must have been some contributing factor to her nervousness. They had her from a kitten; I was provided with the original purchase papers and pedigree. There's not much I can do about that but I'm frustrated that they weren't honest with me, or perhaps even mistreated her in some way.
Regardless, if anyone has any suggestions about how I can make her feel happier I'd be really grateful.