Adopted world's most frightened cat

[xenon]

This is a bit more than a cat that gets a bit scared from time to time though. It's a cat that's genuinely terrified to the detriment of his well-being, so as a responsible pet owner i'mnotsofast does have a duty to do something more than let him be.

Like what, Give it councilling?

 

[lizzieloo]

I'VE GOT THE CAT INSIDE!!!

yey!!

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Okay so what happened was, I was in the kitchen on the phone when I saw the cat had returned to the lounge window. I retreated back into the conservatory, from where I was able to see the cat had come back into the lounge and was eating again.

Then an idea hit me!! I opened the door to the garden. I could see the cat looking up from its food, quite suspicious. But not suspicious enough!!

I went outside and crept along the path side of the house, keeping my head down so the cat couldn't see me through the other bay windows. And then when I got to the open window I pulled it down to shut it from the outside before the cat knew what was going on!

 

[lizzieloo]

Now read up

http://www.stanford.edu/group/CATNET/articles/infosheet_socialization.pdf

 

[i'mnotsofast]

So the cat is now in the conservatory with his food bowl which still has food and water in it; a clean litter tray, and a few toys. He was hiding behind the sofa, and then hiding behind the mattress, just the places he was in when we first got him here.

I will leave him alone in there for the night now! Then will top up his food and water tomorrow,and start leaving the door open so he can wander around the flat.

How long before we can let him outside again? A few weeks? Months?

 

[lizzieloo]

So the cat is now in the conservatory with his food bowl which still has food and water in it; a clean litter tray, and a few toys. He was hiding behind the sofa, and then hiding behind the mattress, just the places he was in when we first got him here.

I will leave him alone in there for the night now! Then will top up his food and water tomorrow,and start leaving the door open so he can wander around the flat.

How long before we can let him outside again? A few weeks? Months?

Read up!

 

[temper_tantrum]

Genius.
The cat will now proceed to outsmart you for the next decade. But at least you'll have that one glowing triumph to look back on. Most cat owners don't even have that.

Now, learn to love each other. And re-read all the good advice on this thread.

 

[Greebo]

Real prawns are something they both go nuts for! <snip>

The semi-feral marmalade tabby adopted my mum after she was silly enough to leave a bag of cooked & shelled prawns near an open window.

I'VE GOT THE CAT INSIDE!!!

Hooray!

Well done. Now try not to traumatise it too much by treating it like a dog.

This. I know it's difficult for you, but it's also very difficult for the cat. If you think about some of the things done to roaming cats (even when obviously not strays) any wariness from the cat is just self-preservation... for now.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I went outside and crept along the path side of the house, keeping my head down so the cat couldn't see me through the other bay windows. And then when I got to the open window I pulled it down to shut it from the outside before the cat knew what was going on!

I was going to suggest you do that but thought it was so obvious you'd have already thought of it

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

So the cat is now in the conservatory with his food bowl which still has food and water in it; a clean litter tray, and a few toys. He was hiding behind the sofa, and then hiding behind the mattress, just the places he was in when we first got him here.

I will leave him alone in there for the night now! Then will top up his food and water tomorrow,and start leaving the door open so he can wander around the flat.

How long before we can let him outside again? A few weeks? Months?

I'd keep him in the conservatory a bit longer to let him get used to it before you go opening other doors and risk him escaping - AGAIN!

 

[smmudge]

Like what, Give it councilling?

Well in a sense, actually, yes. Letting him be in this case wasn't the best option, but you would have to read the thread to realise what letting him be actually entailed in this case.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

How long before we can let him outside again? A few weeks? Months?

A couple of weeks or so is recommended to re-set the internal cat-nav (TM) to recognise that this location is 'home'

and a few toys.

This illustrates the average cat's reaction to cat toys

And have you provided kitteh a selection of things to sleep on? (a box with a blanket in is possibly the best thing, although again, whatever you provide will probably get ignored like so -

 

[i'mnotsofast]

I was going to suggest you do that but thought it was so obvious you'd have already thought of it

I'm not so smart....

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I'm not so smart....

 

[sim667]

So the cat is now in the conservatory with his food bowl which still has food and water in it; a clean litter tray, and a few toys. He was hiding behind the sofa, and then hiding behind the mattress, just the places he was in when we first got him here.

I will leave him alone in there for the night now! Then will top up his food and water tomorrow,and start leaving the door open so he can wander around the flat.

How long before we can let him outside again? A few weeks? Months?

If its really as shy as you say it is then probably upto 5 or 6 weeks. It will start approaching you and sitting on you, when it's sitting comfortably next to or on to you that will probably be a good indicator, but don't fold and let it go. Get some feliway, it's cat hormones that indicate your place as home.

Try and get some toys on string that you can play with it with, think of it as fishing for cat.

Remember to keep it flead etc when it starts going out until you work out whether it's an indoor or outdoor cat.

I too have rehomed an extremely nervy cat, 4 years an she's lovely but a little bitey

 

[i'mnotsofast]

And have you provided kitteh a selection of things to sleep on? (a box with a blanket in is possibly the best thing, although again, whatever you provide will probably get ignored like so -

The conservatory floor has a thin carpet on it, so it's not so cold. There's also an old sofa in there.
The carry-cage is in there too. I could go in and put some blankets on the floor as well. However I reckon the cat will spend the night where it is now, squashed up in the corner behind the sofa!

 

[i'mnotsofast]

Here's what the previous owners said about this cat the other day:

It sounds like things are improving at least. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually you do get him coming to sit on your lap, but it will probably take a while. Maybe you can try moving the food further inside little by little each day. With us it did take a while, but eventually he would sit on the bed with us and loved being petted. My boyfriend did have to push it a bit though, picking him up out of his hiding place against his will for a few minutes each day until he got used to it and would seek out attention himself. Maybe if you do get a chance to shut the window it might be a good idea. You could always let him out again a little while later. It would just be a good way to force him to recognize that you aren't going to do anything bad to him and that your place is his home. Try to be as quiet as possible while he's around and even avoid looking at him so that he doesn't feel too scared and can have a look around.

 

[temper_tantrum]

Ok, so now ... cats like things to hide under and in and on. They like to be up high (so they can look down on you). They like hidey holes, particularly cosy ones involving blankets etc. create an interesting and secure-feeling indoor environment for the cat. Boxes and furniture and blankets and stuff. And yes, get a Feliway plug in and let it explore the house at night while it's quiet.
Also don't force your company upon it - give it some space and time to start to feel secure. A good month I reckon.
Explain all this to your flatmate so you're not sending mixed messages by being inconsistent with each other.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Ok, so now ... cats like things to hide under and in and on. They like to be up high (so they can look down on you). They like hidey holes, particularly cosy ones involving blankets etc. create an interesting and secure-feeling indoor environment for the cat. Boxes and furniture and blankets and stuff. And yes, get a Feliway plug in and let it explore the house at night while it's quiet.
Also don't force your company upon it - give it some space and time to start to feel secure. A good month I reckon.
Explain all this to your flatmate so you're not sending mixed messages by being inconsistent with each other.

and give it a newspaper

Cats love newspapers

 

[temper_tantrum]

They like to do the cryptic crossword, you see ...

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

They like to do the cryptic crossword, you see ...

They're clever like that. If OP's got a tv in the conservatory, he might enjoy a bit of snooker/football or a nature programme

 

[Corax]

Has a dart gun been suggested yet?

Yes, I know it's inside now. So?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

and give it a newspaper

Cats love newspapers

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Stupid cat's got the paper the wrong way round

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Stupid cat's got the paper the wrong way round

he could be reading the football results in the 'stop press' column

 

[i'mnotsofast]

The way the cat leaped up from the desk to the ceiling was amazing, I wish I had it on film. He was trying to fly up the curtains. He knocked a few candles over towards them, and if I'd been a bit unluckier it could have started a fire. Then we both would have been out in the cold tonight!

 

[sim667]

Within the first week mine tried to climb the curtains and got her claws stuck so she was just stuck there. One of the funniest things I've seen her do.

I've never had a cat before and I've had her nearly four years I think, I'm still learning about the way they behave even now. I discovered that they sneeze the other day

 

[pogofish]

Within the first week mine tried to climb the curtains and got her claws stuck so she was just stuck there. One of the funniest things I've seen her do.

One of the funniest sights my tabby provided was when she was first adjusting to going outdoors. She wanted back-in and with great effort, climbed, paw over paw up the harling to beside the open window. Then she looked at the open window, then back at her claws clinging-on to the harling, then looked at me and with an indignant look and loud "meoarrrrrrow", let go and fell right back to the ground.

It took her about three days to work out she needed to jump on to the window ledge, then jump in the open window. Now she can open the window!

 

[i'mnotsofast]

I'd go with semi feral. I didn't expect to come back to 7 pages!! So not gonna read it all but glad you seem to have had some advice and you're gonna persevere with him I think he'll come round. Mala(our cat) did. It does take time though Oh, if you are looking for treats Mala loves the sticks of meat stuff you get from Aldi. BIG purrs for them!

It's his absolute terror of human-beings that makes me think of this cat as being semi-feral. In the week we had him inside when we first got him, and then in the fortnight he was coming in through the window, I coudn't get anywhere near him without him running away as fast as he could in mortal terror. Though I do appreciate that this is too short a period of time to be able to judge. And his previous owners told me they got to a point that, although he was still scared/hiding most of the time, they were at least able to pick him up.

There's some interesting / realistic reading here: http://www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.aspx#strayferal

E.g.:

Can I Tame a Feral Cat?

We do not recommend it. While a feral cat might look exactly the same as a pet cat, they're actually very different. Feral cats survive by avoiding close human interaction. When properly cared for, feral cats are happier outdoors in their own territory—they have their own hierarchies and are able to exhibit their natural behaviors. There is very little success in adopting a truly feral cat. “When I first started doing TNR,” Oldham recalls, “I, like many first-time rescuers, tried to socialize a feral cat. He remained under my bed for over a year before I could even touch him. With so many adoptable domestic cats and kittens who are truly happy being indoors, socializing a feral cat should not be the goal.”

Can I Tame a Semi-Feral Cat?

Some semi-feral cats are actually stray cats who don't exhibit quite the same shy behavior as the majority of feral cats. Many semi-ferals are stray cats who were lost or abandoned. Occasionally they were born feral but for no particular reason are less fearful of humans than is typical. Many semi-ferals lack the knowledge to survive on their own, and are often rejected by established colonies.
It is possible for some of these cats to be socialized, but it depends on their trust of humans. “Many people wonder how they can tell if a cat is feral or an afraid domestic—that's a hard judgment call,” Oldham states. “My advice in these situations is to trap and neuter the cat and see how he responds when you are holding him for recovery in a quiet space. If he vocalizes to you, affectionately rubs his cheeks on you, he's likely been socialized by people at some point in the past.”
It is very important to take caution, especially with cats who seem to straddle the fence between feral and friendly. Getting them to trust people again might be hard, and it's possible they might imprint on you only, making them extremely difficult to adopt out. The Urban Cat League is a great resource for information on socializing semi-feral cats.

 

[Corax]

Given the cat's history that you've posted, I doubt that semi-feral is an accurate description tbh. It's just nervous.