My new kitty is wild wild.

R

rlinger

Joined
Mar 29, 2002
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Well, it seems a couple days now and Linda still won't let me bring her here. It makes litte difference, as no one can get a-hold of the little bitch anyhow! She sure is a little doll baby but the damn thing is wild. This kitty came from street smart. She ain't but a few weeks old and acts like she's fought all of those few weeks. She hides during the day and comes within almost arm's reach during the after dark hours but streaks away as soon as you make a move toward her. She'll play but if you invade her space she'll hiss. I mean a mean hiss. I don't know whether to just go all out and grab her or let her bide her time with us. I really think if I had her here with me she would better come around because I wouldn't worry so much, as Linda!!! does. I just think alittle time and a little attention will pay off. Linda, a women, has not patience for these things and worries because after a few days the little fur ball won't snuggle with her. I too am worried that should too much time pass a setting of her current way may persist. This little kitten came from street smart. All I know is the litter was caught by trapping them from under a house. That is all I know except that the mother was missing.

Are there any of us that can advise me on this. I want it tammed and happy without her being a biter and scracther. I won't have that.

Roger
 
The little cat I've had for about a year now used to be like that, then after having it get used to being around us, it came to recognize us as its family. We just left it alone, with food nearby. For some reason, them pissing on sandy stuff comes natural, so we put a litter box closeby.

It took almost about two months of avoiding us, hiding behind the dryer, until it came out and did the usual cat stuff. Hell, now, if I don't close my bedroom door the thing jumps on me in the middle of the night and sleeps there.

In the meantime just don't try and touch it, they leave some weird nasty little scratches.

Oh by the way, ignore the avatar....:D
 
I have had several cats in my life time, one of which was a stray that was found digging in the garbage of my apartment building. It was the meanest sounding and roughest looking cat I have ever seen. I picked it up from the vet after getting it vaccinated, and having a leukemia test done on it. I had to keep it away from my other cat in case it had any diseases, or wanted to fight. I kept it in our bathroom for a while, and I would go in and sit in there. I just left him alone, and after about 15 minutes he would start rubbing himself allover me, and sitting on my lap. The bathroom was small enough that the cat didn't have anywhere to go, I didn't move towards it, and eventually it excepted me. It took a while for it to trust anyone else. I have also heard that you should withold food from the kitten, and only feed it by hand to start, once it is hungry enough it will eat out of you hand, and will begin to trust you.
Kyle Fuglesten
 
We had a black cat adopt us a few years ago. it showed up for dinner one Friday, and stayed. I thought it was a 6-9 month old kitten, but it turned out he was stunted from starvation, and was about two years old. He had scars ALL over his body. One scar wrapped around his back, behind the shoulders, and down both sides. The vet said it looked like a coyote, or dog had almost bitten him in half. The vet theorized that he had been a training animal for some peckerwood with a fighting pit bull. There's a lot of that around here. Anyway, they throw a cat to the dog and let them tear it apart. They discard the cat into the bushes for disposal by wildlife.
He was very mean, in fact the meanest cat I ever saw. he was loving, but you could not put anything in front of his face. If you forgot and petted him from the front, he would sink his fangs in you up to the gums, and wouldn't let go. He could bite like a dog.
I never beat him for doing this, just grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and he would release. He opened veins on the underside of my wrists three times(I'm a slow learner). One day it dawned on him, I guess, that I wasn't going to mistreat him, and he just stopped biting. My wife was afraid of him, but I loved the heck out of him.
After we had him for about 5 years, our oldest cat came home sick. Over the next two weeks he withered away till I had him put to sleep. Two weeks later, almost a year ago to this day, Friday (the black cat)disappeared, after we let him out. I suspect one of the neighbors. I have never missed an animal like I miss him. It still bothers me.

Sorry for the side track, but you might try Gerbers Baby food, Turkey or ham. just put it on you finger and let her lick it off. You might get bit a few times till the cat figures it out, but they love the stuff.
Good luck to you, and long life to your cat.:D
 
The only advice I can offer is patience. Don't try to rush things, it will just make the process more painful for both of you.

We've had a couple of cats and dogs, and some of the animals were mistreated. One german sheperd we had was trained as an attack dog, but it just wasn't in his nature, so he was malnourished and beaten a lot by his previous owner. Got him when he was a year old. Poor fellow didn't dare touch other food than bread and water for weeks, untill he finaly figured out that it was OK for him to eat the meat and dogfood we bought for it. He shied away for you when you held a stick for over a year, untill he figured you were not gonna beat him with it. After a while he became more of a normal dog; he would go fetch the stick you threw away, play with old rubber tires (make sure you remove the metal rings on the inner diameter of the tires though; they're nasty to the teeth), got his confidence back to the point where he would growl at people making sudden moves at me. A changed dog indeed. Hurt as hell when he died; still brings tears to my eyes thinking back of him.

His mate was an abandoned dog we picked up in Spain, she's quite old now, but still the friggin' rebel she was when we first got her.

As for cats, we had our share of cats as well. At first they're real intimidated by their new surroundings and the unfamiliar people around them, but you just need to leave them alone. After a while they'll get it and accept you as part of their environment. A little longer and they start to see you as family and most will allow you to pick them up and stroke them (although our current cats don't like to be picked up; it's a pride thing I guess).

When we first got our two little kittens they were scared beyond all reason; tried to escape, ran into windows and bang their noses till they bled. They would jump on the furniture and not get off for hours untill you left. Then they would cautiously come off and chart their territory, eating the food we left for them etc... I think it's real important in the process of gaining their trust that you show them that you're providing for them. If they see you laying out the food for them, it makes it easier for them to grasp that you're a provider and no threat. Well, at least, that's my theory.

But I can't emphasise this enough: don't try to rush things. Do your normal chores etc... while the cat is hiding away somewhere, don't try to approach it. When it has seen you around long enough it will figure out you're one of the good guys and start to trust you. Trying to approach the cat too soon will only scare her off and make the process of earning her trust longer than needed. Yes, you could just grab the cat, hold it tight so it won't escape and stroke it and try to feed it etc... but the cat will feel trapped and will panic to much to think straight. This does not help the trust-earning process at all, rather set it back.
 
We have a bunch of feral cats in the woods behind where I work. All will now come when called and some like to be petted.

It's a time consuming process but it works. put out a water pan in a location near their shelter. Grab a hand full of hamburger and go out Slowly and gently toss SMALL bits of burger to the cats. They'll see it and associated it with you. Talk softly. They'll get used to your voice. No quick moves.
After a while sit down, get comfey this might take some time. Start tossing the meat just short of the kittens. They'll have to get closer for the treat. closer...closer. Don't always make eye contact with them, be relaxed. Eventually you'll be dropping the food at your feet. Slowly stick out your hand with a bit of burger. Don't move much. Some will reach out and snag it with their claws others will sniff it, but all will eventually eat it. Drop a larger bit of food on the ground. While the kitten is eating it reach out and stroke it at the base of the neck. If it jumps away and it probably will just sit there and drop another small bit of food in front of it. Try to do this at the same times every day. It might take a week or so but they will come around.
None of the cats will cuddle or even like to be held but they love to be stroked and scratched. Remember these are feral cats that I don't have the time or inclination to tame down any farther than this.
The cat I have at home is from this bunch of feral kittens. She's currently sitting in my lap. I got her when she was really young.
Taming them down is possible, it just takes a little patience that most people now days seem to lack.
 
When I was a kid we had a housecat from a shelter, but I also tamed a young stray, a grey tom we named Dusty. He took a while to tame but eventually became inseparable from us. He lived outside, and just came by for food and to visit, or to bring us the occasional dead squirrel :) Yeah, he never brought mice. Too small.
He grew big for a cat, was a mean fighter, but never once bit or scratched us kids. When you earn the trust of an animal it is very rewarding. I always remember how he'd just stalk up to us silently, never beg, never meow. We'd be out catching fireflies and he'd appear on the porch, waiting for us.
 
Mike,

I sympathize for your loss. My cat died in a simple surgery last year. A great big-black cat who was mean as hell to other cats and some people too, but the coolest, nicest thing to me. Cat's are a love 'em hate, 'em breed. I've known at least a couple guys who have had a cat adopt them dispite their dislike for the animal. They both reluctantly (sp?) came to like the cat very much. Sad the way they are treated like vermin and target practice. Especially in dog fighting circles. What they do to cats is unspeakable, and the trainers deserve to get their ass kicked. At least have their dog turn on them.
 
I used to hate cats, now I live with two that've grown on me. I used to hate dogs too, until I had a couple.

After owning both for a while, yes, they're only animals, but mistreating them or abandoning them is low, since they have little and no chance of living beyond a couple more years.

Mike, sorry about your cat. I have this neighbor who's threatened to kill my cats, told it in a roundabout way to my mom, about 2 years ago now. They don't go into his yard, they lay on the concrete on our yard, and catch the occasional lizard or two. My little sis or my mom is out there with them when they go out, and they actually come back inside when you call them. I had a nice talk with the neighbor, he won't do anything as far as I'm concerned.
 
Originally posted by Don Rac


Mike, sorry about your cat. I have this neighbor who's threatened to kill my cats, told it in a roundabout way to my mom, about 2 years ago now. They don't go into his yard, they lay on the concrete on our yard, and catch the occasional lizard or two. My little sis or my mom is out there with them when they go out, and they actually come back inside when you call them. I had a nice talk with the neighbor, he won't do anything as far as I'm concerned.
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Thanks Don. I'm glad you had a good "talk" with the neighbor. ;) :D

A few months ago, I had one of my neighbors come over and threaten the same for one of our remaining cats, because he said it put a footprint on his friggin windshield. Not ever finding out who was responsible for our other two, I lost it, and went through the screen, literally, and got ahold of him. My wife was screaming etc., and I quickly regained control, but told him that he better pray my cats live a long life, as he would be the one I came looking for if anything happened to them.;)

He has been really nice for months. :D
 
Cool, Mike. We've got 6 cats, soon to be seven (barn cats are a must) and a dog. It took that much for us to work our way up to Danny.
 
My cat got out yesterday and hasn't come back. My girlfriend has been crying off an on all day. We have let him out a few times, and a couple other times like this one he just sneaks out the door, but he has always come back in a couple hours and pawed at the door or window so he can be let back in. We haven't seen him for 24 hours. Any body got a suggestion?
Kyle Fuglesten
 
If its any comfort to your girlfriend, my old cat would stretch his adventures longer and longer. Eventually, a couple days became common. Always came back. :cool:
 
Kyle,

The little one has been out overnight, twice, without us knowing where the hell it ran off to. It'll come back, I'd only really wonder what happened after a couple of days.

Mike,

Oh yea, that old neighbor guy of mine pissed me off. He thought our cats dug holes to get under the fence....and he has a little dog....and we have a Racoon population out here....and our cats can't dig, simple fact is that they can't, for sure.

So he manages to get ahold of my mom while she's out gardening, and said something like, "If I see those two diggin patches out through the fence I'm gonna be having me some special stew." All mean and nasty. So she got paranoid for the cats, then wondered if he'd go do something to HER. So I said, enough, and talked to him. I was a good 2 times thicker than he was, and I showed up with my Marine cousin, who was just dying to know what the deal was too. We were tired from work, and from our understanding, we thought my mom was threatened, so we asked him point blank what he said. Hasn't said much after that, or come out much. We didn't even threaten him, just asked him a few questions.

I guess that shows how much man it takes to confront and give a veiled threat to a little 46 year old lady about her two cats.:eek:

I'm glad mine aren't pests, they've got this weird thing about flies though...
 
Don, you have to wonder about some people.:confused: . I mean what type of person threatens a lady like that? Sounds like a cowardly bully. I'm glad you made him see the light. :D
 
I agree with you guys wholeheartedly. When it comes to my dog buddy, it's not a matter of "beware of dog", it becomes "beware of owner". :mad:

Anyone ever hurt that dog......

Pets are precious. Though dogs and cats have so very different a personality profile, these are dear friends, either species. The bond is for life, if you love them and treat them well.

That little kitty will come around eventually, Roger. It is a test of your patience, but perhaps it will show you a special side of yourself you don't ordinarily think about. You've already shown that special side by taking in a creature who you recognized needed your help.

Bravo! And God Bless ya!
 
J, 6, soon to be 7...........??:eek: ;)

Kyle, I hope your cat shows up. let us know, OK?

You might want to look into getting it "fixed" they don't have the urge to roam so much after.
 
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