Was my cat abused?

[samj732]

Buckle in, this is a long one.
My previous cat died in January. She was perfect, and I was so sad without her. We decided to get another cat, and brought home Michigan from the shelter on 2/6/21. We also brought home one of the cat beds from the shelter, thinking that having a familiar scent would help her adjust. I cleaned and re-set up all the cat essentials - litter box, food dish, water fountain, etc. I bought new toys as well.
When Michigan came home, she was very quiet. Sat in her carrier for the 2 hour ride and didn't make a sound. We even opened the door, and she didn't move. (I'm sure she was stressed) When we got home, I left her in the carrier so my dogs could sniff her for about 60 seconds, and then brought her downstairs. Unfortunately, we do not have an extra room or bathroom to keep the cat in, so she had free reign of our basement, which is approximately 400 sq feet. Not ideal, I know, but it's the best option we have. The dogs do not come in the basement.
I left Michigan alone for about 3 weeks. I cleaned the litter box daily, made sure she had fresh water and food. She immediately started using the litter box and began eating quite well on day 2 or 3. I know it can take a long time for cats to adjust, so I was patient. I bought a few different kinds of catnip and different treats. I leave treats on her bed 1-2 times a day, and she eats them during the night while we were sleeping but still does not come out during the day. She prefers to hide under our bed. Then I bought her a cat tree (my old cat was never interested in climbing), but she doesn't use it. There is even a 'hidey hole' in the bottom, but she hasn't shown any interest in that either. She also yowls most of the night, despite having her basic needs met.
At week 4, I knew I needed to at least try to brush her and trim her nails. My husband helped me pull her out of hiding and she was MAD. She peed on the floor, a sure sign that we were stressing her out and she wanted us to leave her alone. I wasn't really all that surprised the first time it happened. She did calm down and let me hold her for a while that first time, and I thought we were finally getting somewhere.
Now it has been almost 6 weeks, and Michigan still will not approach us. Occasionally, she will let me pet her for about 5 seconds before pulling away if she is sitting on a certain chair in the basement. She continues to pee whenever we try to approach her.
I'm wondering if she was abused at one point in time? I honestly have no clue how to socialize this cat. Do I just keep waiting? What do I do with basic cat care such as brushing and trimming of the nails? What happens when I have to bring her to the vet?

 

[samj732]

Buckle in, this is a long one.
My previous cat died in January. She was perfect, and I was so sad without her. We decided to get another cat, and brought home Michigan from the shelter on 2/6/21. We also brought home one of the cat beds from the shelter, thinking that having a familiar scent would help her adjust. I cleaned and re-set up all the cat essentials - litter box, food dish, water fountain, etc. I bought new toys as well.
When Michigan came home, she was very quiet. Sat in her carrier for the 2 hour ride and didn't make a sound. We even opened the door, and she didn't move. (I'm sure she was stressed) When we got home, I left her in the carrier so my dogs could sniff her for about 60 seconds, and then brought her downstairs. Unfortunately, we do not have an extra room or bathroom to keep the cat in, so she had free reign of our basement, which is approximately 400 sq feet. Not ideal, I know, but it's the best option we have. The dogs do not come in the basement.
I left Michigan alone for about 3 weeks. I cleaned the litter box daily, made sure she had fresh water and food. She immediately started using the litter box and began eating quite well on day 2 or 3. I know it can take a long time for cats to adjust, so I was patient. I bought a few different kinds of catnip and different treats. I leave treats on her bed 1-2 times a day, and she eats them during the night while we were sleeping but still does not come out during the day. She prefers to hide under our bed. Then I bought her a cat tree (my old cat was never interested in climbing), but she doesn't use it. There is even a 'hidey hole' in the bottom, but she hasn't shown any interest in that either. She also yowls most of the night, despite having her basic needs met.
At week 4, I knew I needed to at least try to brush her and trim her nails. My husband helped me pull her out of hiding and she was MAD. She peed on the floor, a sure sign that we were stressing her out and she wanted us to leave her alone. I wasn't really all that surprised the first time it happened. She did calm down and let me hold her for a while that first time, and I thought we were finally getting somewhere.
Now it has been almost 6 weeks, and Michigan still will not approach us. Occasionally, she will let me pet her for about 5 seconds before pulling away if she is sitting on a certain chair in the basement. She continues to pee whenever we try to approach her.
I'm wondering if she was abused at one point in time? I honestly have no clue how to socialize this cat. Do I just keep waiting? What do I do with basic cat care such as brushing and trimming of the nails? What happens when I have to bring her to the vet?

I should have added that Michigan was brought in as a stray, but had been fixed so I do believe she was somebody's pet at one point in time.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How old is she? Anything beyond kittenhood and cats take longer to acclimate to a new environment - the older the longer, usually. There is no way to know if she was abused, but her behavior may not mean anything other than she is still scared and feeling insecure. She could also just be a timid cat personality-wise.

Do you spend time in the basement with her throughout the day - besides just when you are there to feed her and clean her litterbox? A lot of folks will simply sit on the floor (to be more on the cat's level) and read a book softly out loud multiple times a day, just to let the cat get used to being around their new caretakers and learn that they can trust them. And, initially this doesn't involve looking directly at her, much less trying to touch her.

Trying to take care of her nails and brushing her might have been a bit premature at that time. So, now she anticipates similar things will happen when you try to approach her, making her even more leery. I know these things need to be done, but usually they can wait until the cat shows more signs of accepting their new home. Hopefully, as she acclimates, the inappropriate peeing will stop.

Make sure you spend some time around her right before you go to bed to see if that might help with the howling. It would seem she might be too afraid yet to want to approach you, but that she likes the idea of knowing there is someone around. You could also consider getting her a heartbeat toy, or a ticking clock - introduce it to her when you are with her, and then leave it on or near where she hides at bedtime. There is also music for cats that you could try as well. There's Cat In My Arms on spotify and elsewhere, youtube has hours-long compilations of relaxing cat music, and there's also RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats. Again, you would need to play it when you are around her at first.

There are many types of cat calming products that might help her to relax a bit - Feliway diffusers are one of them, but you can do an internet search for 'cat calming products' for other options.

Maybe there are some tips you can use from these TCS articles -
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats – TheCatSite Articles
How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding? – TheCatSite Articles

 

[di and bob]

I have never trimmed my cat's nails, so I would suggest waiting on that one, they are not like dogs, and need them trimmed regularly. This is very stressful for a cat. Brush only if she appears to like it. Peeing is a sure sign of extreme stress so don't keep approaching her if she does this. That is aggressive to a cat. Staring directly at them is also. I would follow the advice above and sit reading softly to her several times a day for a few minutes. Let her approach you, it WILL happen eventually. She may have been a stray out on her own for a long time and was scared by people, or even a feral, which someone spayed at some point. Or just a very timid cat. I know this is frustrating but cats are not social like dogs, and I'm sure smelling your dogs is scaring her too. That is instinct. The good news is that this WILL happen, it may take months, not days or weeks, but in time she will learn to trust you. you earn a cat's love and it is a treasure.

 

[samj732]

Hi. How old is she? Anything beyond kittenhood and cats take longer to acclimate to a new environment - the older the longer, usually. There is no way to know if she was abused, but her behavior may not mean anything other than she is still scared and feeling insecure. She could also just be a timid cat personality-wise.

Do you spend time in the basement with her throughout the day - besides just when you are there to feed her and clean her litterbox? A lot of folks will simply sit on the floor (to be more on the cat's level) and read a book softly out loud multiple times a day, just to let the cat get used to being around their new caretakers and learn that they can trust them. And, initially this doesn't involve looking directly at her, much less trying to touch her.

Trying to take care of her nails and brushing her might have been a bit premature at that time. So, now she anticipates similar things will happen when you try to approach her, making her even more leery. I know these things need to be done, but usually they can wait until the cat shows more signs of accepting their new home. Hopefully, as she acclimates, the inappropriate peeing will stop.

Make sure you spend some time around her right before you go to bed to see if that might help with the howling. It would seem she might be too afraid yet to want to approach you, but that she likes the idea of knowing there is someone around. You could also consider getting her a heartbeat toy, or a ticking clock - introduce it to her when you are with her, and then leave it on or near where she hides at bedtime. There is also music for cats that you could try as well. There's Cat In My Arms on spotify and elsewhere, youtube has hours-long compilations of relaxing cat music, and there's also RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats. Again, you would need to play it when you are around her at first.

There are many types of cat calming products that might help her to relax a bit - Feliway diffusers are one of them, but you can do an internet search for 'cat calming products' for other options.

Maybe there are some tips you can use from these TCS articles -
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats – TheCatSite Articles
How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding? – TheCatSite Articles

The shelter estimated her to be about 3-4 years old. We actually sleep in the basement, and I do my crafting down there so I'd like to think we are around her quite often. I work days and my husband works nights, so we also sleep opposite of each other most of the time.
I honestly never even thought about the fact that she might think we are approaching her to complete grooming tasks. I guess I'll just continue with the few seconds of petting I do get, and let her decide if she wants more? Honestly, the inappropriate peeing is the worst thing. We have an unfinished basement floor so it gets in the cracks of the cement and we'll never be able to get the smell out completely.
I do have Feliway spray, I used it for about 2 weeks but it didn't seem to have any improvement in her behavior.

 

[samj732]

I have never trimmed my cat's nails, so I would suggest waiting on that one, they are not like dogs, and need them trimmed regularly. This is very stressful for a cat. Brush only if she appears to like it. Peeing is a sure sign of extreme stress so don't keep approaching her if she does this. That is aggressive to a cat. Staring directly at them is also. I would follow the advice above and sit reading softly to her several times a day for a few minutes. Let her approach you, it WILL happen eventually. She may have been a stray out on her own for a long time and was scared by people, or even a feral, which someone spayed at some point. Or just a very timid cat. I know this is frustrating but cats are not social like dogs, and I'm sure smelling your dogs is scaring her too. That is instinct. The good news is that this WILL happen, it may take months, not days or weeks, but in time she will learn to trust you. you earn a cat's love and it is a treasure.

I probably wouldn't have tried to trim her nails but I found a broken nail on one of the chairs we have in the basement and that worried me. She does have a scratching post down there but I'm not sure that she ever uses it.
I usually lay in bed or sit in a chair downstairs and just talk random thoughts for a few minutes before I go to sleep. I also talk to myself when I craft, so hopefully she's at least hearing my voice enough to start getting used to me.

 

[susanm9006]

Don’t worry about the nail. When they sharpen their claws they can pull off the outer covering of their nail when it is ready to be shed. You will find them periodically around the house.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I honestly never even thought about the fact that she might think we are approaching her to complete grooming tasks. I guess I'll just continue with the few seconds of petting I do get, and let her decide if she wants more? Honestly, the inappropriate peeing is the worst thing. We have an unfinished basement floor so it gets in the cracks of the cement and we'll never be able to get the smell out completely. I do have Feliway spray, I used it for about 2 weeks but it didn't seem to have any improvement in her behavior.

Yep, if you can get a pet or two, go for it. But, otherwise, let her do the approaching.

The concrete cleaning may have to wait until you can have time to work on it without her being right there. But, there are solutions and ways to remove urine from concrete, I just wouldn't recommend them until a time when she can be elsewhere in the house. You can try the basic step one which is white vinegar, but it needs to be able to air dry, and it will most certainly smell like vinegar until it does dry. Kitty litter is another option, but again, not the best approach while she is solely in the basement. Hydrogen peroxide or baking soda are other options, but they also need to be left in place for 24-48 hours.

 

[susanm9006]

Get a bottle of enzyme based cleaner designed for pet urine, Nature’s Miracle, is my reccomendation, and pour it over the urine spots and down into the cracks. It will permanently remove any urine odors.

 

[Sean35]

Hi. How old is she? Anything beyond kittenhood and cats take longer to acclimate to a new environment - the older the longer, usually. There is no way to know if she was abused, but her behavior may not mean anything other than she is still scared and feeling insecure. She could also just be a timid cat personality-wise.

Do you spend time in the basement with her throughout the day - besides just when you are there to feed her and clean her litterbox? A lot of folks will simply sit on the floor (to be more on the cat's level) and read a book softly out loud multiple times a day, just to let the cat get used to being around their new caretakers and learn that they can trust them. And, initially this doesn't involve looking directly at her, much less trying to touch her.

Trying to take care of her nails and brushing her might have been a bit premature at that time. So, now she anticipates similar things will happen when you try to approach her, making her even more leery. I know these things need to be done, but usually they can wait until the cat shows more signs of accepting their new home. Hopefully, as she acclimates, the inappropriate peeing will stop.

Make sure you spend some time around her right before you go to bed to see if that might help with the howling. It would seem she might be too afraid yet to want to approach you, but that she likes the idea of knowing there is someone around. You could also consider getting her a heartbeat toy, or a ticking clock - introduce it to her when you are with her, and then leave it on or near where she hides at bedtime. There is also music for cats that you could try as well. There's Cat In My Arms on spotify and elsewhere, youtube has hours-long compilations of relaxing cat music, and there's also RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats. Again, you would need to play it when you are around her at first.

There are many types of cat calming products that might help her to relax a bit - Feliway diffusers are one of them, but you can do an internet search for 'cat calming products' for other options.

Maybe there are some tips you can use from these TCS articles -
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats – TheCatSite Articles
How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding? – TheCatSite Articles

Props for making it through that post without referring to the cat as That Cat Up North.

 

[Bolts]

I adopted a street cat Len about 8 months ago, he made his home behind the washing machine..the only thing that coaxed him out in the end was a trail of cat treats to me as I sat on the floor. I completely ignored him until he was ready, even then it usually ended with him swiping or biting me. How honest was the shelter about her personality? They warned me he’d never be a lap cat, he was just about to be moved to a feral centre then lockdown hit. So depending on your girls history you might have to be patient for a while.
It’s took 8 months for me to groom him...well for him to enjoy it. Still can’t get near his claws, which is a shame cos boy does he play rough lol. The best thing he has turned into a total lap cat.
All it took was patience and cat treats