My cat is broken...

Jay lo

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Harvard is a 5 year old rescue, Egyptian mau. Eats only turkey, no chicken no fish, nada. Has no idea how to play, no interest in any cat toy (and I've bought them all) except he does love the box the $200 wheel came in.. tried the cardboard "accordian" he's scared silly of it. Scared of the hallway, lives on the kitchen table, tried the mechanical mice, just stares. Will watch mice on my phone. Afraid of most things. Loves to fight with me. Fights fiercely but never bites hard, learning to keep the claws in. Has started to lie on the chair next to me. Getting there.

Ps, been about 3 months since adoption.
 

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FeebysOwner

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Hi. Harvard is very handsome!! Do you know anything about his background? This all sounds about right for a 5yo rescue who you've only had for 3 months. If he was a stray and/or neglected for much of his life before you, it would stand to reason he doesn't do things that another cat who was nurtured from kittenhood might do. Some things, as you seem to know, will come with more time with you; other things may not. He may even eventually eat other foods besides turkey!

I had a 20yo cat, who found me as a 2ish yo stray; she was pretty independent and also never really got into playing much at all. Just some things that might have been influenced by what went on with her in her early years, and/or part of her individual personality. She was who she was! Harvard will be who he is, but he is not broken!!
 

kouie

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Have you tried leaving a safe toy out for him to get used to? If you have wool balls or small stuffed toys, have you tried batting them between your hands in front of him like a demonstration? My cat was feral and had no idea what a toy and scratch post was and I had to demonstrate it in order to get her to use it. Other factors might be the size, texture, and smell. My cat won't touch a toy larger than a tennis ball and is scared of anything that makes noise. Catnip also doesn't work on her, so catnip infused toys are useless and only good for an occasional pounce. You can try hiding treats in toilet rolls around the house as a DIY puzzle toy.
 

Caspers Human

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Did i tell you he licks plastic bags? For hours...grin
There's a reason for this. Your cat likes the taste.

Many plastic bags are coated in stearic acid as a "slipping agent" which keeps them from sticking together. Stearic acid is a fatty acid, derived from tallow, essentially, processed beef fat.

Your cat licks plastic bags in order to taste the stearic acid, AKA: beef fat.

Stearic acid is not harmful in small quantities, even if ingested. It shouldn't hurt your cat unless he eats some of the plastic, itself.

Unfortunately, that IS something you'll have to watch out for. If he does start chewing plastic, take it away, immediately.

If this is a regular occurrence, you'll have start taking care to keep all things plastic out of the cat's reach.
 

Kwik

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Harvard is a 5 year old rescue, Egyptian mau. Eats only turkey, no chicken no fish, nada. Has no idea how to play, no interest in any cat toy (and I've bought them all) except he does love the box the $200 wheel came in.. tried the cardboard "accordian" he's scared silly of it. Scared of the hallway, lives on the kitchen table, tried the mechanical mice, just stares. Will watch mice on my phone. Afraid of most things. Loves to fight with me. Fights fiercely but never bites hard, learning to keep the claws in. Has started to lie on the chair next to me. Getting there.

Ps, been about 3 months since adoption.
Harvard is a beautiful boy- he sounds perfect and certainly not broken( I see you said you were only kidding though,phew)

Turkey is good ,nice to have a cat that is not finicky and you know what he likes- 3months later and he's interested in watching mice on your phone tells me you have a lot to work with - many cats don't have the focus or attention span for a small phone screen but for 2 seconds... my Bengal does so I take advantage of things like that for training- he taps the screen to play his favorite videos( of himself) over n over n over.... He quickly associated words because of this attraction which is very beneficial(eg: " Look" and " You Do") and my favorite " no more"

If I point at something & say " you do" he will tap it..... if I say: "look" he comes to see whatever I have to show him...... cat toys are too boring for Sami unless I play too-his intelligent,inquisitive little brain craves learning and stimulation..... Sami responds well to an extensive list of voice commands and he's always interested to learn more...... with a name like Harvard you might have a little genius to work with!!!❤

He even looks like he pays attention..... beautiful face
 

Kwik

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Jay lo

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No.... that's my dining room table. He used the tube once. He just lives on the corner laughing at me, the bottle of catnip only works on his scratch box. Otherwise nada. He wakes me up between 4 and 5am for a can, next around 8, 11 and 2pm for deli turkey, 5pm for another can and treats till midnight next to me. After eating a quick fight, some biting, then arm licking. He really is a great cat.
 

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Kwik

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No.... that's my dining room table. He used the tube once. He just lives on the corner laughing at me, the bottle of catnip only works on his scratch box. Otherwise nada. He wakes me up between 4 and 5am for a can, next around 8, 11 and 2pm for deli turkey, 5pm for another can and treats till midnight next to me. After eating a quick fight, some biting, then arm licking. He really is a great cat.
A quick fight? With who?
Eating every 3 hrs is not ideal,thats why he's not motivated or very interested in playing....it's the hunter instinct that motivates and drives cats to seek out prey( toys)...it can be beneficial for very high energy,"spicy" cats to suppress that drive but for the average even tempered kitty it's better to keep them more active since they sleep 75% of the time- especially for a singlet

Harvard is certainly not overweight but since you msntion how inactive he is thats likely the reason 🩷
 
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Jay lo

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He fights with me. This cat has no hunter instinct. He's afraid of most toys, petrified of the cardboard rolls poly doughnut. Scared of my hallway, feathers, people he doesn't know. Likes his boxes, for 5 minutes then needs a new one. God help you if something he wasn't expecting goes by, he panics. Loves to lick my arm, tolerates 15 seconds of holding tight. The trick now is to clip his nails. That ain't happenin soon, he weighs about 20 lbs and is a great cat.
 

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Jay lo

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Ps, he rarely sleeps. Needs to be part of or supervise any activity. He Union. AFL/CAT
 

Kwik

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20lbs? I think your scale must be broken.....

Wishing you the best,he looks like a darling cat
 
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Jay lo

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1000001181.jpg
he doesn't look it in pictures but he's a big boy. 3ft + nose to tail. That's an extra large scratch box he's cramed himself into.
 

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Is he a talker? He looks as if he could be a quiet one. Do you guys have “conversations?” Sometimes I think kitties like hearing us talk to them, even if they don’t meow back…it lets them know they’re important. Do you know anything about his back story? Does he like windows or heights? Cat grass?
 
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Jay lo

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Oh yeh, very vocal. Will direct, talk back and forth. Never looks out a window. Will watch TV for hours. Pretty sure he was abused, very skittish at first. Hand feeding turkey 3 times a day brought out the social. He's about 4 months in and coming along nicely. No heights, greens of anytype, just turkey. No chicken beef fish pork spareribs wings etc. How he tells the difference between chicken roll and turkey roll is beyond me.
 
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