Question About Behavior

[susan denning]

HI,

I'm having a 1 year old cat that I'm struggling with right now. And part of the reason is that I'm not sure if he's doing well or poorly. I've never had a cat quite like him, so don't know what to think. I would like an opinion from those of you who have dealt with semi-feral/feral cats before.

I got him from a shelter. My best guess at his background is that he was socialized late in a foster home, so semi-feral. When we got him as a kitten, he seemed to be doing pretty well. He would greet me at the door, jump in my lap, and play with my stuffed toys. He changed to where he will now do none of these things. I can guess at some of the reasons. I've been a little grabby with him in trying to get him to cuddle. And I think my Dad was a little rough with him in getting him to come in from outside and to go in the garage for the night (shouting, handclapping, shaking branches).

We've taken a much more hands off approach after he had a urinary blockage, which forced us to think about things that might be stressing him out. Here is where we are with him now.
Good -
He voluntarily spends most of his day in the house instead of in our garage.
He will allow my Dad and me to stroke him especially if it's on the back, or under the chin

Eh, maybe a problem -
He is a bit hand shy, can get overstimulated when being petted (mouthing hand or moving away), and will move away if I sit next to him for too long
He's very timid - For example, if he comes upstairs and I say "hi, cat" to him, he will run down the stairs. Or when I said "Mom, the cat" to warn my mother that he was heading for the door, he took off in the other direction. My Dad can control him with voice only now (telling him "out" for example) which might be a problem if it's a fear issue.
He is starting to act restless (meowing, leaving the room and coming back) in the evenings. I'm not sure if this is because he is bored and needs outside time and/or play time (we haven't let him outside since the blockage) or something else. I did try playing with him the past couple of evenings, which helped, but he still seemed to have a hard time settling.

My motive for keeping him at this time is to try to do the cat some good and to not give up on him too quickly. If he's not doing well with me, then I will certainly have to rethink that.

 

[jpatootie]

Is your little guy neutered? Why is he sent to the garage at night?

 

[susan denning]

Yes, he's neutered. We put him (and my older cat) in the garage, because I would not want someone accidentally tripping over them at night, and because my parents would be nervous with them running around.

 

[Shane Kent]

"My motive for keeping him at this time is to try to do the cat some good and to not give up on him too quickly. If he's not doing well with me, then I will certainly have to rethink that."

That's an awesome motive. Don't give up there are some really helpful articles on this site that helped me out immensely. I will put links to some good article at the end of my post.

How long have you had him in the house? It can take several months for them to adjust to indoor living.

Do you have a safe space for him in the house? Preferably a space in a quiet part of the house where their is very little activity.

Where do you have the litter box? I keep mine in areas of the house my wife and I very rarely go to so their litters are in low human-traffic areas giving them lots of privacy. So many things can stress a cat out even the litter box can stress a cat out.

You shouldn't yell at cats, do not make loud noises because some cats don't like loud noises. Some could care less where some are extremely bothered by it. Cats can get easily stressed out by noises, smells, etc and when they are stressed out they are difficult to deal with.

You need to be calm and patient with cats and allow them to adapt at their own pace. A good example for staying calm is when I have to put our cats in carriers my wife leaves the room. She gets stressed out and the cats pick up on her anxiety and they get stressed out and it is a nightmare. She cannot get them into their carriers. I put them in their carriers and I am very calm and quick about it and I don't have nearly the problems she does.

I socialized two feral kittens at my work. The owner let me setup a safe room in an empty office and I kept them in the building for about a year before I took them home in early May this year. They are a sister and a brother, Kitty and Rusty. A big part of the reason I took them home was because Kitty was not doing well at my work. It is very loud here during the day and she hid most of the day. Her brother would lay on my desk and lay out in the lobby watching people. Rusty did not seem bother by the loud environment at all. Kitty is very timid compared to Rusty. I live in a very quiet neighborhood and since taking her home Kitty is a completely different cat now. No more hiding all day, she lays out in the open. She used to get aggressive when I would pet her but that has completely gone now, I think she was aggressive because she was high strung from being stressed out living in an noisy building. I talk very softly to Kitty compared to the other three cats I have. And I handle her like a new born, very slowly and gentle. She is a beautiful little Calico and she talks back to me very softly, she is so adorable.

Kitty at my house.

Kitty In Taz's Chair Bed

• Shane Kent
• Aug 8, 2017
• 1

I am truly amazed that Taz did not make a big issue out of this.

Kitty in the noisy office building. The cat on the wall cabinet is Rusty above him in the ceiling is his sister. She spent most of the day in the ceiling.

kittyintheceiling.JPG

• Shane Kent
• Mar 6, 2017

It's OK to say a stern "No" when they do things like bite you but in general you do not want to yell at them.

You can click / touch the article titles to take you to the articles.

You, Your Cat And Stress

Cats And Discipline Don't Mix

Is Your Cat Stressed Out?

 

[Shane Kent]

P.S. You can go to the Article part of the site and search for all sorts of stuff like tips for playtime. Lots of really good articles on this site.

 

[jpatootie]

Yes, he's neutered. We put him (and my older cat) in the garage, because I would not want someone accidentally tripping over them at night, and because my parents would be nervous with them running around.

I agree with Shane. It would be best to keep him in at night, as well, maybe in your room, using a covered/private litter box (many love having their reg litterbox inside a larger cardbaord box with just a cat-sized opening--intriguing and private--and you can decorate the box) and be sure to have a bowl of water in your room, too. I think he'll feel much safer, no ome trips, and he won't get the mixed indoor, then outside garage message. Best of luck. I'll bet you'll make him a sweet, loving friend and roommate.

 

[maggiedemi]

Does he get along well with your other cat, do they play together?

 

[susan denning]

Thanks all

To answer your questions:

How long have you had him in the house? We've had him for a year, during which time he's been indoor outdoor. We've been keeping him in the house since he had his blockage. Except my parents recently started letting him out for a short time (about 10 to 15 minutes).

Do you have a safe space for him in the house? Yes, he has a cat box he can go to, or he can go to the garage.

Where do you have the litter box? We have two litter boxes in our garage.

Does he get along well with your other cat, do they play together? I'm not sure. I have seen them sleeping together and some mutual grooming. But I've also seen the older cat get a little testy with the younger one when he tries to play with her. Nothing major, just letting him know that he's in her space.

The big issues with having him in my room is the litterbox (our litterboxes are rather gross, in fact, that's my next question is how to do better). Also, he's not a sleep on the bed with you type cat, so might keep me awake.

I agree we need to try something different though. I felt super bad tonight. We put both cats out in the garage for the night. My Dad told them out, which seemed to go ok (they both went, and didn't act too scared). However, when my Mom opened the door, the little cat ran back in and got in his cat box. I pulled him out as gently as I could after I found that I couldn't coax him out with toys. He went limp like he was scared (not a good kind of relaxation). When I put him down, he went and hid under our car (which he hasn't done in a while). If we can't do better than that, then I'm not sure that we are doing him good.

 

[maggiedemi]

If the litter boxes are gross, that could be part of the problem. For non-clumping litter, I would dump and scrub the boxes once a week. With clumping litter, the litter will stay clean for a whole month if you keep it really deep, 3 inches deep. What you do is add back like an 8oz cup of litter once a day to keep it deep and smelling fresh. I would scoop out the clumps twice a day at least. What is his diet like, is he on a special urinary food for the blockage? Is he getting any canned food?

 

[Shane Kent]

Do you have a comfy spot for them in the garage. Maybe you could spend some time during the day in the garage with the little cat and help him feel more comfortable in there. So when your father puts him in at night he will have a spot in there to go to. Like how it went to it's safe space inside the house when your mom opened the door. Make sure it isn't too close to the kitty litter because cats don't like to poop near where the eat and sleep. Actually I guess you need two spots if he is putting both cats in there. Use some old towels, blankets for bedding and if you don't have any old ones you can always go to a Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc and get some used ones. I managed to get a nice blanket in good shape that has two kittens on it at a thrift store, very befitting. I have several blankets at home for the cats most of which I got at thrift stores. I also get stuffed toys at thrift stores. Stuffed toys with no plastic nose, eyes, mouth and with stuffing not the ones with beans in them. My two boy cats love their stuffed toys, especially Taz.

There is nothing wrong with your father putting them in the garage at night. I am guessing it is his house so I am not about to tell you anything different. At least he isn't making them go outside at night. Don't get stressed by it and when dealing with the cats try to always be in a positive mood. Be patient and don't let things stress you out or get you down.

 

[Willowy]

Heh, yeah, if the litterboxes are gross I can see why your parents wouldn't want them inside! But there's no reason for them to be gross. It takes less than 5 minutes a day to keep them fresh. Having one in your bedroom isn't a problem if you keep it clean---scoop at least once a day, and change it whenever it needs it (depending on type of litter). That's a very easy thing to fix, fortunately.

 

[susan denning]

Thanks all. To answer your questions -
What is his diet like, is he on a special urinary food for the blockage? Is he getting any canned food?
Both my cats are on Royal Canin Urinary SO kibble. I did think about trying to add some regular canned food (Felix is not a fan of the canned Royal Canin SO). When I asked about it at the vet's office, I was told that would risk the crystals coming back? So, I think I need to have a talk with them about what there reasons are for recommending that food, and what my other options are. Without knowing there reason for saying no normal canned food, I'm not sure what to think. I do have some concerns with the Royal Canin - One is my senior cat. She had good kidney function last time it was measured and would be a shame to ruin that. Also, my little cat seems to be having rather stinky poops so I want to ask about a possible allergy to one of the fillers (corn?). That may have to wait until I can afford to have them looked at again though.

Do you have a comfy spot for them in the garage? Yes, they have a swing they can lay on and a cat tree.