new cat coming out of neglectful situation

[oscarthegrump]

Hi,

i'm new to this site and thought that maybe someone here could be of help with the predicament i'm having with Oscar, our newly adopted three-year old Siberian male. we found Oscar through a rescue. He was a siring male for a breeder who had had a stroke and could no longer care for her cattery, so she surrendered all of them to the rescue. the breeder had not socialized any of the cats, and many of them had fur that was badly matted. Oscar was full of dreadlocks when he was removed from the home had to be partially shaved for this reason (just to give you some idea of the level of neglect that he was coming from).

the first few days, he was very shy but did enjoy being around people and would let himself be groomed, although remained extremely fearful and cautious, would not approach humans, etc. we've given him a lot fo space, have a special room set up for him with a litterbox and food, etc. fast forward to the end of the second week, he's started biting, he's stopped letting me groom him (which is a problem since he's a giant Siberian with a long white coat that matts in a matter of days). he hisses when i walk by and yowls in the middle of the night. i can't even approach him long enough to do any training. he hides most of the time, terrified. i don't understand how a kitty that had started to gain a lot more confidence suddenly is terrified all the time.

(he's eating well and had regular stools)

could anyone advise me on how to coax a very fearful cat out of hiding? or how to get him to stop hissing at me every time he sees me?

Laura

 

[Willowy]

How long has he been neutered? The only thing I can think of is that it's getting to be mating season and his thoughts have turned to procreation. But if it's been at least a couple months I would think the hormones would have gone out by now.

For now I think I'd just go sit in his room for an hour or so at a time, maybe just read or something, with some yummy treats close by. If he approaches, toss a treat out but don't try to touch him, just totally low-pressure for a while. I think you're going to have to treat it like socializing a full feral.

 

[singlittleone]

We had the same problem when we took in a neglected cat. The cat in question was constantly aggresive towards us, and no one could get near, which was a paticular problem as like you, we had a certain room for the cat to stay in, and the cat wouldn't let us in close enough to get toher food and water bowls. After a few days, we came up with a solution. We gotspare food and water bowls and put them in a room we didnt use that often, but would walk through enough so that the cat woukd get used to us. We filled the food and left all the doors in the house open, so the cat would always be aware od where we were. The cat eventually twinged we werent coming to that room anymore, and came searxhing for food. We completely ignored the cat and went about as if it wasnt there, which not being neglectful. One day, while sitting in my room watching tv, the cat came to see me, having bec8me rather curious about this strange being that paid him no heed. I didnt give him any attentiom, qnd eventuakly i just became apart of the room to the cat, they curled up near me, and fell asleep. We never entered the cats original room, it was it's safe place for if she became to anxious. Pwtience here may be the key.

 

[oscarthegrump]

i'm actually not sure how long he's been neutered, but i know that he was surrendered within the last two months (max) and neutered shortly thereafter, so maybe the neutering IS a factor here....