scared kitty

[krazy kat2]

I have a beautiful white 15 month old female that is afraid of almost everything but the other cats. My daughter forcibly removed her from a home where she was horribly abused. She was kept in a cage and only let out to be abused. She was fed only the scraps from the "good" cat's food. When I got her she was 6 months old and weighed only 2.5 lbs. She was doing well bonding with us until we got the baby, George. She plays and acts normally with the other cats, but seems to be afraid of me and my husband. She was at one point sleeping on his pillow at night. If I go to her spot that she usually stays in to pet her, she allows it, but seldom seems to enjoy it. She will occasionally come to the couch to be petted, and will purr and cuddle. I hope I did not slow her progress by bringing another cat in. I had no choice but to get George, because someone threw him out of a car right in front of me and I would never have left him to fend for himself on that busy street. I am trying to be patient with her, but it is sad to see her looking like she is so constantly afraid. It seems she would have figured that we won't hurt her. I would love for her to become a lap kitty like the boys. She will always have a home here, but I wish she were less aloof. Any advice or opinions?

 

[my3boys]

I really don't have any advice. But I would think that patience, patience, & more patience will be required of you, sounds like you have already made some progress. I just wanted to commend you on taking in these abused cats. Most people would have left both of these cats to there fates. You have given them a new chance at a life they deserved to have from day one.

 

[iriskitty]

I have a very scared kitty, also. She was 12 weeks old when we adopted her from the local shelter. I would say that she lives in fear 90% of the time. Her brothers that were with her in the pound were very outgoing and friendly. We got Sparkle about 5 weeks after we got Iris and that didn't help. Sparkle initimidates Iris (the scared kitty). I spoke to the vet about Iris the other day and he was of the opinion that it's just the way she is. It breaks my heart to see her so scared but I try and comfort her every chance I get (when she'll let me) - mabye she'll come around one of these days.

 

[dawnt91]

Krazy Kat2 - I've moved your question into the bahavior forum where I think you'll get more responses.

 

[debra myers]

I am dealing with the same thing here at my ouse. Little Smudgie
is very fearful of humans - hope you get some good answers, cause I could use them too!
PS - you are a saint for rescuing these little fur children - may God bless your efforts.

 

[jugen]

Krazy cat:
I have a cat that was a feral when we brought her inside and she was tearing at the windows and the door on the porch trying to get out, and after she came inside, she was fine with all the cats except the other cat we brought inside after her( Luna was always eating with her when I was putting out food and she needed a home too). now isis will tolerate Luna, plays somewhat with the boys(not too much) and is finicky as heck!
She also LOVED my boyfriend when she was outside and now she(only occasionally) runs from him whenever he gets to close to her, which bothers him since he loves all the cats!
She is very skittish around people. she won't come out if someone other then us are in the house. but her LOVES to be on the bed with us and loves to be petted when she is there. she will run to it whenever we come home and wait for us there sometimes too.
Just be patient, your cat will get better, it just takes ALOT of time and ALOT of patience..I know trust me, I know!!!:tounge2:

 

[studio224]

KrazyKat, a lot of patience and love is all it's needed. Until you adopted her, she only knew abuse. She has to learn another way of life, that's not easy. She has to learn to trust, she has to learn to love (remember she doesn't know what's love!), she has to learn a lot of things.

So... respect her space, if she doesn't want to be petted, let it be. Maybe slowly, she will get there. Try to entice her with some treats. Oh, and probably she doesn't know how to play either? Try to find some game that she will like: probably something very simple, a little paper ball, a paper butterfly tied to a string, a simple string, a wool ball, very simple things. Try to find a spot where she may like to be scratched etc... Brush her slowly, 2 or 3 times a week to get her used to being touched...

Good luck, let us know how she does...

Anne-Claire

 

[gemini]

I am also having the same problem with 2 of the 3 kittens we recently brought into the house. Tiger is getting to be very affectionate, but his sisters are still very fearfull. I am hoping they will soon begin to trust us and let us give them loving too. I think it just takes a lot of time and patience. Good luck to you and your kitty.

 

[lotsocats]

I too have a scaredy cat. He is afraid of everything...even his own tail. But, I have had some success helping him calm down and helping him become more comfortable with me. The first thing I tried, which helped tremendously, was a type of therapeutic massage that calms frightened animals. It is called TTouch and it works wonders. Learn about TTouch and how to do it at the web site below.

http://www.pawsnlearn.freeserve.co.uk/basic.htm

Then, the next thing that worked wonders is a bit more dramatic. I gave my poor guy his own space for a while. I locked him in a bedroom for a month (with food, water, litter box) and would visit him each morning and evening. But no other cat or person went into the room. During the month he became more and more comfortable with his very safe surroundings and as he started feeling safe in his little room he started feeling more comfortable with me. After a month I let him stay out with the other cats but made sure he could always escape to his safe room if needed. Although he is still timid, he no longer runs in terror from me or my husband and he spends more time sitting with us at night.

Good luck with your scaredy cat!