New Cat Behavior

[boellp]

So i recently just got a cat from a fellow member on the site who had to give him away, so far things are good but he is very scared of males and it almost makes me wonder if maybe he wasnt treated great but anyways i could use some help, so Vader i got on last saturday and he was a little scared from the drive by i tired to introduce him to us slowly. he was very scared and wary of us, he was a feral at one point so that might explain alot as well but anyways, for the past week i have been trying to bond with him but he runs under our bed to the deepest darkest corner and sits there, the only way to get him out is by removing the bed and box springs to get to him but he freaks out and hisses all crazy. so i decided to just put him in a mesh cat tent that way he could be exposed to the other cats and see that we dont harm any cats around here. He has seemed to calm a little but he still is very wary, i let him out to wonder a little but he trys to get under the couch and hide and i dont want that again. i need some advise please. I am not willing to take him to the pound either i am a cat lover and i want him to love us no matter how long that takes. Thanks

 

[talkingpeanut]

I would let him out of the tent and let him come to you. Can you put him in one safe room where he has everything he needs? Then you would go in there with delicious treats and sit and read to him, talk to him, etc. This sounds like way, way too much stimulation for him right now.

 

[jcat]

A week isn't much time for an adult cat, especially a former feral, to adjust to a new home and strangers. As talkingpeanut suggested, he needs a "safe room" with food, water, a litter box, etc., until he calms down. You can visit him there a couple of times a day and get him used to your presence by talking or reading to him, offering treats and/or an irresistible toy and just showing him that you don't pose a danger.

 

[fornana]

It will take awhile for the cat to settle down

Besides utilizing a "safe room" ensure it's not too noisey. If you have children or other family members ensure they are not accidentally scaring it (ex. Talking really loud to it, making sudden movements, cornering it, etc.). It helps to get down to their level. Make sure you have toys. It might not be used to toys so it might be afraid of them. So I would be wary of anything with bells, anything that makes sounds, or anything that looks really strange. My cat Flavia loves to actually plays with the handle end of all her wands. She was use to playing with sticks.

Some cats are play-oreiented while some (all) cats are food- oriented . Flavia loves to play and I feel that it really helps us bond. When you put the cat in the safe room, if you can, buy it some cat furniture. That way it will have its own space and it's own stuff.

It takes a lot of patience. I adopted two ex. Ferals. Both of them had been past a year old and had never been inside of a house. It took them a few months to get comfortable, but note I live in a small house (quiet) with just my husband. In your situation it may take longer.

Some behaviors may never go away. My one cat, Abraham, does not like to be held. He will bury his head and starts to breath heavy so I don't pick him up because it stresses him out. He also has interesting behaviors around food. He will literally eat anything besides fruit. And sit right next to you, paw at you, and beg you to share whatever your eating with him. I think he must have been used to eating all sorts of stuff.

Both of them are fearful of strangers, but that's okay because I did not get them to entertain my guests.

Some behaviors you will just need to accept. Don't give up on your pursuits and make note of every little progress =)

 

[boellp]

Well yesterday i left vader out to hang out with us, and i dont really have a quiet house or a safe room for him to go, if he is in my room there is alot of traffic and he just hides under the bed, and the only other room is my sons and he is a baby and vader meows at night so i cant leave him in there. but anyways we left him out and he was checking everything out, sniffing around and seeing all the new things, he was still wary but he doesnt hiss and run into the coner any more so i decided to let him stay out in the living room with my other two cats, everything has been good so far, i work nights so when i got up yesterday afternoon for work he was still hanging out just relaxing. I actually have a cat house that can hold two cats and i was gonna get rid of it becuase my other two cares are too spioled to us it but good thing i didnt becuase he loves that thing. i got a text from my wife last night saying how he is doing great and just hanging out in his cat house. So we will see how things went last night when i get homw in the morning, i hope he didnt meow all night now that he is out of his tent. Thanks for all the advise guys.

 

[fornana]

That's great OP! =)

He sounds like he's exploring. I'm glad he was able to go into the cat house. 

Having a safe room isn't essential. I didn't use a safe room with my cats since we live in a 1 BR apartment, and simply just don't have the space (in the beginning my husband was very against letting the cats in our bedroom---so that left just our bathroom & that was just not going to work).

They both managed. Flavia we had first, and she spent the first two months hiding under the sofa. After awhile, from watching us and from us socializing with her, she began to trust us and now leisurely explores. If Vader hides just let him be. Don't force him out, but do encourage him to come out. Give him treats and urge him on with toys.

You will see progress; trust me. My cats I've had for only about 8 months, and they have progressed so much!

Flavia only hides now when we have guests. Otherwise she sits with us on the couch. She likes to be held and played with. The other cat though, despite his beginnings, seems to like human companionship more. At night he'll cry outside our bedroom door and paw at the handle to be let in. He likes to follow me around the house too. He comes much more quickly too when I call for him. He actually has one of his ears snipped. The rescue I got him from had originally planned to release him back into the wild, but took a chance. 

At first the poor guy was so frighten. At the shelter he was frozen in his caged stunned and overwhelmed. The other cats actually would beat him up too =( He had a bunch of booboos all over his face. Now he is much happier!

Regarding toys/furniture----I actually got a 7ft cat tree from Ollie's for only like $90- brand new!  The cats love it, and it's relatively sturdy. I also like to use boxes. Boxes are a cheap way to entertain your kitties. There's a ton of neat ideas and DIY's for cats on a website called pinterest. 

I actually make some of my cat toys too. All you need is felt (like $0.30), some string, dried cat nip, and a little bit of creativity =D

Hope Vader continues to do okay! Please keep us updated! 

 

[boellp]

Yes! Vader is doing alot beter than i thought he still hangs on his own but since this is my last day at work i can go and give him some love and spend a little time letting him know i care, but he has been good, the other two have been little punks but they will come around sometime. Ill look into the stuff on pintrest so i can get some nice stuff for him, he already suprised me by using the cat house so he might actually be a livly cat rather than my other two who are just coucj leechs lol but thank you for all the help guys i appreciate it  

 

[boellp]

Well i had to give him up, he was way to vicious of a cat, he tired to attack me multiple times so i had to give him up. i could tell he was abused really bad and hates humans now that explain why he would always be so tense but anyways that's that.. 

 

[talkingpeanut]

Well i had to give him up, he was way to vicious of a cat, he tired to attack me multiple times so i had to give him up. i could tell he was abused really bad and hates humans now that explain why he would always be so tense but anyways that's that.. 

Who did you give him to?

 

[fornana]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out with Vader! I know it must have been hard to give him up.  I hope in his new home he feels more comfortable. Some cats need a home w/o other cats and w/o children/infants.