Hello everyone,
I adopted an 8 month old cat about a month ago. I had two 14 year old siamese cats and one passed away last summer so I decided to get another kitty for my grieving senior cat. He was miserable.
Since I've gotten the kitten he's back to his old self, which is great!
But.. my problem is with the kittens behavior towards people.
Let me tell you what I know about his past from the shelter I got him from...
When he was born his parents and his litter were found in the basement of a church. His parents were feral cats. One a siamese, the other a maine coon.
The church called a shelter to pick up the litter.
He's been locked in cages for 6 months of his life with his brother.
His brother seemed a lot more aggressive when I met them. The kitty I adopted showed no signs of aggression which is why I chose him.
When I brought him home the cat immediately became friendly towards my other 14 year old cat and my dog. He gets along great with them.
But he's extremely afraid of people. I've tried everything to gain his trust. I keep my distance.. I give him chicken treats.. I talk cat talk to him.. but he always runs away from me. If I sit on the couch he will jump up and purr but any sudden movement and he jumps down and hides. If he looks at me in the eye for just a second he will jump and run away from me.
Lately at night I've noticed he's been acting wild by running around making hissing and strange noises. I've witnessed him spin in circles and noticed his pupils are very dilated when he gets like this.
I'm asking for some advice... has anyone else been in a situation like this before? is one month too soon? I'm just worried about my other pets when he acts crazy at night. Or is this just him getting carried away because he's been locked in a cage all his life?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Susan
I adopted an 8 month old cat about a month ago. I had two 14 year old siamese cats and one passed away last summer so I decided to get another kitty for my grieving senior cat. He was miserable.
Since I've gotten the kitten he's back to his old self, which is great!
But.. my problem is with the kittens behavior towards people.
Let me tell you what I know about his past from the shelter I got him from...
When he was born his parents and his litter were found in the basement of a church. His parents were feral cats. One a siamese, the other a maine coon.
The church called a shelter to pick up the litter.
He's been locked in cages for 6 months of his life with his brother.
His brother seemed a lot more aggressive when I met them. The kitty I adopted showed no signs of aggression which is why I chose him.
When I brought him home the cat immediately became friendly towards my other 14 year old cat and my dog. He gets along great with them.
But he's extremely afraid of people. I've tried everything to gain his trust. I keep my distance.. I give him chicken treats.. I talk cat talk to him.. but he always runs away from me. If I sit on the couch he will jump up and purr but any sudden movement and he jumps down and hides. If he looks at me in the eye for just a second he will jump and run away from me.
Lately at night I've noticed he's been acting wild by running around making hissing and strange noises. I've witnessed him spin in circles and noticed his pupils are very dilated when he gets like this.
I'm asking for some advice... has anyone else been in a situation like this before? is one month too soon? I'm just worried about my other pets when he acts crazy at night. Or is this just him getting carried away because he's been locked in a cage all his life?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Susan
