Re: Help please---Question for Cat Adopters

lynne6was7 · ‎03-15-2010

You would hope so but if the vet was focused only on certain symptoms such as her eye and bladder issues, they may have missed another problem. It just seems odd to me that in addition to being crabby and bitey, she also isn't interested in the screened area you have provided and she doesn't purr (a sign of contentment). If you do take her back to the vet to check her glands, don't let them do just an exterior check. Make them express the glands. Sometimes they appear OK from the outside, but what's inside is very thick and chunky - yuk!

I hope things improve. She's lovely.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@highmaintenancejan wrote:
Thank you everyone!! We talked about it and we will give her some more time!!!

OMG!!! She's a tortie! One of my rescues is a tortie and she's the most affectionate, purring cat I've ever had with a wonderful, calm temperament. I'd never had a tortie before, so she was a terrific surprise. She's the "peacekeeper" of my group of four.

Truly, she may just need time and I hope you find that she'll settle in well given the space to "heal" from whatever has happened to her in the past.

Someone suggested Comfort Zone diffusers. I've used those this past year; they emit pheremones that calm stressed cats. They've worked to keep the peace between two of my cats.

Please let us know how she does. My (former feral) Siamese is now the official "greeter" of the household to anyone who shows up, but for the first couple of years, she'd have bolted for a hiding space.

Best of luck!

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope

NickNack · ‎03-10-2010

@highmaintenancejan wrote:
@lynne6was7--We've had her to the vet twice for an eye infection and a bladder infection. I would think they would have check that for my $350 !!!!

Not necessarily. I adopted a cat one time, and I took her to the Vet several times before they finally figured out the problem was her ****** glands. The Vet expressed them and said there was an awfully lot of stuff. Then she put a gel in there, and my cat felt so much better.

The Bluebird Carries The Sky On His Back"
-Henry David Thoreau

lynne6was7 · ‎03-15-2010

@Nicknack wrote:
@highmaintenancejan wrote:
@lynne6was7--We've had her to the vet twice for an eye infection and a bladder infection. I would think they would have check that for my $350 !!!!

Not necessarily. I adopted a cat one time, and I took her to the Vet several times before they finally figured out the problem was her ****** glands. The Vet expressed them and said there was an awfully lot of stuff. Then she put a gel in there, and my cat felt so much better.

Yes, putting the gel in the glands really is the ticket. When they're really bad, expressing them alone doesn't seem to help the problem for very long.

A60_Chevy · ‎06-06-2016

That makes you feel all fuzzy inside when they just soo purrrrfect!

ANewHue · ‎11-21-2011

You say you love her but you're thinking of taking her back? I'm sorry but I come from the school when you get a fur baby, they become a part of thefamily. I have 3 cats right now which I rescued as infants and bottle fed. Before them I had my first cat for 17 years who I also rescued. They all have different personalities. My boy thinks he's a dog, everyday he runs around here like a rabbit with his favorite ball in his mouth for an hour at a time. The other two could be sound asleep in the other room and they hear him and want to join in. Every other night or so I sit on the floor and they come running because I givthem catnip. I'm not claiming to be a cat expert but did you ever think that you want to play with her when she doesn't want to be bothered. I would suggest you learn how to cut her nails, I cut mine very other week. Please learn to know your cats personality. Cats are not very affectionate to begin with so when they come to you you need to accept that little bit they extend.

Spoiler

libbyannE · ‎10-27-2010

Everyone else has given you great responses and I will not take the space here to repeat them. We have adopted many cats. It takes time for some to settle in. And our wildest cat – she was truly feral when we brought her in a year ago – is never going to be a lap kitty and we knew it then. But she continues to warm to us, to get closer, to talk back to me when I talk to her and to respond in other ways and we can now pet her when she's walking around although I have not tried to pick her up. I accept them for who they are and know, as other people have written here, that your kitty has probably had a difficult background or one without humans. She may never have had a human before. Or she may have had humans who abused her. You don't know her experience. Please keep loving her, and do not force her by picking her up. Play with her, feed her, give her love in that way and let her find her way to you over time. Please do not turn her out of the only home she has known. Btw, our feral kitty is warm and affectionate to our other cats, whom she grooms and with whom she plays and sleeps. In her way, she is a joy to us, even if I cannot pick her up. A small kitten who is socialuzed to humans might be great for you and fir your wild one! Really.

GCR18 · ‎07-03-2013

@Brinklii wrote:
@highmaintenancejan ... Just wondering...Have you tried playing with the cat? You know...a long string with something attached to the end of it, etc.? Maybe some direct interaction with the cat like that would help her to warm up to people.

Also, try giving her some catnip. My cat loves to eat a little loose catnip. Then she tears around the house and becomes super funny. Mine was a shelter cat also that I adopted in January. She wasn't real cuddly at first. Now she allows us to pick her up, pet her, and she crawls up the bed next to me at night. She isn't as cuddly as my last two cats were. I adopted them as kittens, but she isn't scratching or biting either.

Also, try rewarding her with a treat when she allows you to pet her. Good luck!

This is similar to what I was thinking. Get a mouse on a stick or a laser light. Play with her as often as you can. It sounds like she's scared.

xmasbabe · ‎08-22-2010

My husband and I adopted two cats who are sisters from our local shelter. One cat immediately attached to us. The other, much more timid cat, took a full 8 months before she ever came near me. She sat on a dining room chair within sight and sound of us but never came to us. Until one night, 8 months into the adoption, she walked over and jumped onto my lap. She is still timid and skittish, but over the course of 7 years, she has become trusting of me and very loving. It may take time for your cat to feel at home. Maybe it would help to discuss the biting issue with your vet? I hope this situation works out happily. We had decided to accept that the shy cat might never be the loving kitty we had envisioned when we adopted her, but if that is just not an option for you, then definitely discuss things with the shelter. You and the cat just might not be a good match. It happens. I wish you all the best, and whatever decision you make will be the right one because you clearly have a loving heart.

highmaintenancejan · ‎03-09-2010

Thank you all for all of your kind answers and suggestions. We are senior citizens. We had a cat for 16 years .... 16 years ago. I couldn't bear to experience that loss again. Anyway...I braved it.

You gave us such courage....we are trying much patience with her and all of your stories gave us much hope. I sobbed and cried for 2 days. She is here forever!! Thanks to all of you!! She really is a good cat. Never goes outside her litter box. Her only other bad habit is not using her scratching post!! Rather the furniture. She does LOVE us....she follows us around. (I think we give her too much love and attention)

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU KIND FRIENDS!!!