Trouble With Making A Semi-feral Cat Comfortable And Concerns With Introducing Her To Our Kitten

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
You just let Tygra come out on her own, right?

She hasn't eaten?!?

I would suggest keeping her separated again for a couple of days to see if she starts eating again. You may need to take her to the vet... EDIT - Tygra needs to start eating today. To ease her stress you should consider keeping her separated for a couple more days.

Here are some suggestions of enticements;

Consider some music for Tygra - classical harp music, there's an app called Relax My Cat, and there's MusicForCats . com.

This might help as well;
18 Awesome Cat Feeding Tips By Thecatsite Staff Members

Try feeding in different locations - really, completely different, and utilize different heights. For example put a couple of books underneath the dish, next time use two thick phone books, or a small-ish box so the heights are varied....

If Tygra will let you, try sitting with her and scoop some food on your finger or a spoon and hopefully your kitty will lick it. Or gently tuck some food inside the cheek.

Try some raw egg yolk. Egg white must always be cooked, and some people cook the white and make a slurry of sorts by adding in the raw yolk.

Also you could try some Nutri-cal or similar product.

Try making these recipes - they're just as viable for an adult cat as for kittens;
Kitten-Rescue.com

These below can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave.

Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored (pureed) baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up, lettuce, applesauce, mashed chickpeas, black olives
• whipped topping such as reddiwhip
• dry pasta

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables, Only Natural Pet, Primal

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese, string cheese

 

[FeebysOwner]

Please try as many of the foods Furballsmom suggested ASAP. Tygra NEEDS to be eating like NOW! I don't care if it means you have to give her filet mignon, please work hard to find something that she will eat.

 

[Furballsmom]

FeebysOwner is right, and I need to clarify - I didn't mean to sound like it's ok to wait another couple of days regarding the not-eating situation, but rather that with Tygra hiding like that combined with not eating - you really need to consider getting her to a vet if she doesn't eat today.


Keeping her separated for a little while longer would help to ease her stress.

 

[danteshuman]

Her stress may be quieter but there (hiding.) One kitten just drools in the car and hides .... but that is still stress. I would look for happy confident behavior/body language from Tygra before you assume she is getting along with your resident cat.

I agree with everyone that if she does not eat for 24 hours take her to vet immediately.

 

[AMBRIER]

So, Tygra has eaten a bit of food. We took the advice and left her alone in her room for a long time and she seems to eat a little bit of food every night. Not much, but there's noticably less than when I put it down for her (i take pictures for before and after purposes)

I also put a few freeze-dried meat treats in there too which she ate a few of. I put some of the same treats down twice earlier near to where she was laying and left the room and she ate them both times. There is also more poop in her litterbox now so she is at least functioning.

Now however, instead of sitting there and not reacting to anything, she hisses at us when we get too close. Feels like a bit of a backwards step but maybe in the long run it's progress of some sort? Perhaps she's stopped sulking and just doesn't like us now? I'm not sure.

So progress in some areas, but also not so much in others.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It is possible that the hissing is progress - Tygra is feeling better because she is eating more and therefore feels more like putting up a protest to you. Or, she has built a little confidence so that instead of just plain being frightened to death when you came in the room, she feels a bit more secure with herself to let you know she wants you to 'back-off'.

 

[AMBRIER]

It is possible that the hissing is progress - Tygra is feeling better because she is eating more and therefore feels more like putting up a protest to you. Or, she has built a little confidence so that instead of just plain being frightened to death when you came in the room, she feels a bit more secure with herself to let you know she wants you to 'back-off'.

Yes, I think that is where I was trying to get at with my answer. I think we might have made the error of mistaking her lack of reaction and tolerance for her actually being so fearful she was literally scared stiff. I'm not sure, but it certainly seems like her behaviour is changing just a little which I'd say is definitely progress in some way.

 

[danteshuman]

Just accept her backnoff hiss and take one step back and look away from her ...... then I would talk softly to her and toss her some treats ....... then walk away.

I would highly suggest you sit down and read out loud to her ..... while being far enough away from her that she doesn’t hiss at you. So eventually she learns you respect her boundaries and mean her no harm. I’m glad she is eating.

Also she may have been bullied by other cats so that could help explain her stress over the resident cat.

 

[AMBRIER]

She has continued to eat a little bit of canned food and her healthy treats. We've established that she doesn't like fish product and is hesitant for white meats, so we're wondering if red meats are her favourites like Daisy.

That aside, my partner told me that she heard Tygra mowing this morning in her room. Said it sounded like a sad puppy whining. What do you think she could be mowing for? Old owner? The other cats she used to live with? Just wants out? She has been known to scratch at the door while mowing before, but she wasn't scratching this time.

Her old owner told (who is a cat rescuer and probably has 10 or more cats) told us to try letting Daisy in again to see her. Wondering if she'll hiss at Daisy too. That advice contradicts other advice I've read about keeping Tygra in her own space, so a little unsure which direction to take.

Thanks

 

[FeebysOwner]

I did not go back and re-read this entire thread, so forgive me if I am repeating things.

A couple of things come to mind in reading your post above.

1.) Are you still going in that room and spending time with Tygra - talking to her, reading to her, just being with her? If not, that would probably help with the meowing - it could be that she is lonely.

2.) If you used one of the introduction tactics such as the double tiered baby gates in a doorway, you could allow them to see each other through the gates - and place their food bowls a few feet on each side of the gate, or even feed them treats while they can eye each other, but not actually get to each other.

I am sure other members will come along soon with some ideas about her meowing and what could be done to help.

 

[AMBRIER]

Sorry I've been away for a while, it's been pretty busy lately.

So I guess some things have progressed, others haven't. We now let the cats have full access to the apartment at night or while we're at work (unless Tygra hasn't eaten her food because Daisy will not hesitate to claim it. In which case we keep Tygra in her room while we're asleep or away).

When we sit in the room we've watched Daisy walk up to Tygra multiple times and start licking her without Tygra reacting. She just lets her do it, so it isn't introducing them that's the issue to us now. I caught Tygra moving between hiding places a few times while Daisy was sat there watching her slink about.

The issue is still that she will not come to us at all. We've had her about a month now I think, and she still will not eat if we are in the room with her, and she only hisses when I bring her food dish in. (She eats fine now too. We're mixing a little bit of raw food in with the healthiest canned food we can find and she eats it)

I've reduced her number of hiding places because she spends her entire day in an enclosed space i.e. deep boxes or in the bookcase that has a flag drapd over the front which closes it off. I've caught her in the cat tree a few times and acts scared, so when I leave the room she jumps down and goes into hiding. If I try and put my hand near her, even with food on or in it, she starts getting uncomfortable and tries to huddle into the back of wherever she is hiding.

The other day I was sat with her for ages baby talking her and she seemed comforted a little. She actually fell asleep while staring at me, until Daisy thought I was talking to her ans started beating on the door, thus waking Tygra back up.

So yeah I mean it might be progressing at a very slow pace, but we're looking for options to stop her hiding so much. We don't want to take away her safe places because we want her to feel safe, but it gets to the point where she will sit in a box for 24 hours and not come out and it's gets annoying sometimes. I saw her walking the other day and her back legs look a little skinny, probably because she doesn't run around as much as she should.

What would be your guys' advice?

Thanks

 

[duncanmac]

You're doing fine. As much as I like to brag about how well trained my cats are, they only come when called about half the time. Right now just work on getting Tygra comfortable with you in the room with her partly by ignoring her and partly by just greeting her then ignoring her.

Try not to reach into her boxes. It is so hard to resist and frustrating as anything but try to entice her to come to you: Use a wand toy to peek into the box or appear and hide around the entrance to her box. Try to get her interested (she may only turn her head or follow it with her eyes, but that's a start) and the "play" at this point might only be her swatting at it. The goal of this is to eventually draw her out with play.

Don't worry that it is going slow - I know the feeling when you want to pick them up and snuggle the stuffing out of them, you'll get there (or close at least). Trust me on this though: once she learns to trust you, that will create a special bond that she likely will not form with anyone else.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the update! So, am I to understand that Tygra is eating enough to sustain her properly? I wasn't sure because before, she wasn't eating a lot, and now you are talking about her back legs looking skinny. So, I am little concerned for her health, especially with the behavior you are describing that might have more to do with health than with anything else.

But, aside from health possibly playing a role in this, just because Daisy and Tygra aren't in knock-down drag out fights doesn't mean the introduction as it stands right now can be considered a complete success. Tygra is being very timid toward both Daisy and you - even though she won't let you as close to her as she does Daisy.

One month is not a whole lot of time, so it isn't surprising that more time and more effort will be needed to continue to see improvements in Tygra. She lacks confidence, is not comfortable in her surroundings, and needs to be worked with more to help those things along.

So, I do think for now your best bet is to work on getting a closer relationship between you and Tygra. If her confidence and level of comfort can be increased with you, that might be enough to help with Daisy and her getting along better as well.

See if there are any tips in these articles that you might be interested in considering.

14 Cat Experts Reveal: How To Get A Cat To Like Me

10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat

16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats

 

[Talien]

It sounds like you're actually doing really well with her, and I would say her starting to hiss at you is a good sign. It's true that some Cats can literally be scared stiff and that sounds like it may be what she was going through early on, but now that she hisses at you it seems to me like she has graduated from scared stiff of you to uncomfortable with you.

Something that may help acclimate her to you is sitting down as close as you can without her hissing at you and giving her a few of the slow blinks, then laying down on your back and taking a nap. I've had good luck with this.

 

[danteshuman]

Things are getting better! Think of it as a long term plan. This month your plan is to get her to not hiss at you. Next month your goal is to get a little closer without her hissing at you. It may take a year, so just take it slow and hang in there.

Lastly I would strongly recommend you try the slow blinks/ kitty kisses so you speak ‘cat’ that you are not a threat to her.