Hissing - advice needed

[MinnieTortie]

We’ve had our new rescue for three weeks. She came from a multi cat unneutered household. Three 1yr old cats, of which she was one. Mum who was 2yrs and Dad.

11th floor flat, Dad jumped out of the window and didn’t survive and think then owners decided they couldn’t cope and rehomed to a charity.

So ours was in flat 10 months and then at rescue for 2 months in a pen with Mum, and two siblings.

No information given really as to what it was like in flat. But all very nervous cats with humans, ours and one other more so.

First four days we had her home we didn’t see her at all. She came out very late at night to eat etc. Since then she’s got more and more confident and is out much of the day now and happy to come over for a sniff of hands and a very brief head rub.

We can walk around her at times and she’s fine but she will hiss especially if we are walking towards her. She’s got hiding spots around house and we never bother her when she’s in them.

We play with her which she loves and we’ve got pheromone diffusers plugged in, plus she’s on Yumove calming cat.

She’s very food motivated and she is now on one pouch of good quality wet food and 28g of good quality dry food. She is fed four times a day.

She has now started guarding the empty food bowls, so if we go to pick them up to put food in them she’ll hiss, growl and swipe. So now the food bowls are in the cupboard until it’s food time.

She sits in the kitchen door hissing while we prepare her food and the whole time we are moving towards her to put bowl down she’s hissing and growling.

We know there were issues at rescue re food, the limit on wet food there was one pouch, per cat per day and ad lib dry food but this didn’t get eaten so the cats were very hungry, anxious re food. It did then get upped to two pouches per day, per cat.

Any further advice re how we can help reduce her anxiety re meal times. I’m not sure if she’s still hungry? She has put on weight since we’ve had her and is now 3.25kg but is a small cat and vet was happy with her weight.

We don’t want her getting fat obviously but I suspect even if we upped food she’d still be anxious.

Many Thanks

 

[di and bob]

3 weeks is not long at all in a cat's world. They thrive on routine and quietness. It sounds to me you are doing everything right, don't push her, let her come to you, and it will get better in the months to come. Don't worry about her getting fat, if you do see her gaining weight too much, there are MANY grainfree dry foods out there for weight control. i give it to my cats, I get it online and at Tractor Supply. You could try that so she could eat more and not gain so much weight.
hissing is a sign of uncertainty and fear. She is scared what is happening because her routine has been reall upset. The shelter is so crowded and noisey, I am sure she is terrified and will be for a while, possibly months. Her mother and siblings are gone too, so she misses them tremendously.Keep things as quiet as possible, sit near where she hides and read your phone out loud, everything you describe is very normal for a cat that has been through so much. she will come around!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS! I couldn't agree more with the advice given above. Patience, patience, patience - and don't push things with her, she will come around in due time - 'her' time.

 

[Meowmee]

I thought maybe this link may help on food aggression. I found it very interesting to read because my cat Merlin who recently passed away may have had food aggression due to being a former outdoor cat and the stress of worrying about eating all of the time. Although when I discussed it with my DVM, they denied the whole thing.

He was not aggressive at all, but he used to meow and screech at me to feed him and would always run in the kitchen to get food whenever I went there. Of course my other cats do that too, but they aren’t as vocal as he was and they weren’t so stressed out about it. I would never have called it food aggression, but apparently that is one of the symptoms of it.

They mention treating it with tryptophan. I don’t know if that’s safe or not, but you could research it, they call it a food supplement.
Another thing mentioned was that you should feed her and the other cats in separate areas if possible. I’m guessing a lot of what’s going on with her has to do with the whole ordeal she has been through, missing her family and being in this new environment with new cats. Also, it sounds like the shelter wasn’t feeding them enough maybe, I’m not sure.

Usually, when you bring a new cat into the house, it’s recommended to put them in a room by themselves so that the resident cat or cats will not get distressed, and they can slowly get to know each other. That way that cat can be fed in their own room by themselves and they won’t feel stressed out about eating if they’re feeling competitive with the other cats.

it also says to feed them several times a day, smaller meals, which I think you are doing from what you said.

I’m sure she’s going to be OK. She just needs to get adjusted at her own pace and she certainly has been through a lot of trauma.

Why Is My Cat Food Aggressive? - The Comforted Kitty

Food aggression in cats can be displayed for many reasons. How do you know if your furball is obsessed with food? Check out this article!

www.comfortedkitty.com