It's Caturday- Post some cats (vol 3)
Discussion
Meet Caine, our second rescue cat. We decided we needed another cat in our life, after our last met an unfortunate end whilst crossing the road outside our house last October. We had originally started looking at cute kittens on Gumtree, but I didn't like the idea of plucking a happy kitten away from its siblings, so we decided the better thing to do was to get another rescue cat.
He's 13 years old, and had been at the cat rescue centre - we think - since at least August. We went to see him the week before Christmas, and in all honesty, they warned us that they'd been working with him, trying to make him comfortable with human contact - but not much progress had been made. But we felt sorry for him, and wondered whether his behaviour was largely because of the environment he'd found himself in - a belief we're still desperately clinging to
So far, we seem to have made only a little progress with him. We've not actually been able to touch him yet - if you come within a foot of him, he swipes and hisses. But he has started to explore the house, and we often come downstairs in the morning to find him asleep on the sofa. Not even thought about letting him outdoors yet - as I'm not confident he'd come back.
We know there's a long road ahead, and he's presumably been like this for most of his life. If anyone has any tips, we'd be pleased to hear...
Time. He needs to learn to trust you.
Our ginger turned up and would sneak in and eat our cat’s food. Clearly homeless, he’d sit under my Land Rover, just enough out of reach to be fussed, with no interest to interact. We’d keep the door open and after a few days, he’d wander in and sit closer and closer. He’s now been with us 6 years.
At first.
Now.
He loved our first cat that moved in with us, her first family over the road had a dog, so she moved into our shed, then we took her in, sadly passed away a few months back.
Our ginger turned up and would sneak in and eat our cat’s food. Clearly homeless, he’d sit under my Land Rover, just enough out of reach to be fussed, with no interest to interact. We’d keep the door open and after a few days, he’d wander in and sit closer and closer. He’s now been with us 6 years.
At first.
Now.
He loved our first cat that moved in with us, her first family over the road had a dog, so she moved into our shed, then we took her in, sadly passed away a few months back.
stevesuk said:
Meet Caine, our second rescue cat. We decided we needed another cat in our life, after our last met an unfortunate end whilst crossing the road outside our house last October. We had originally started looking at cute kittens on Gumtree, but I didn't like the idea of plucking a happy kitten away from its siblings, so we decided the better thing to do was to get another rescue cat.
He's 13 years old, and had been at the cat rescue centre - we think - since at least August. We went to see him the week before Christmas, and in all honesty, they warned us that they'd been working with him, trying to make him comfortable with human contact - but not much progress had been made. But we felt sorry for him, and wondered whether his behaviour was largely because of the environment he'd found himself in - a belief we're still desperately clinging to
So far, we seem to have made only a little progress with him. We've not actually been able to touch him yet - if you come within a foot of him, he swipes and hisses. But he has started to explore the house, and we often come downstairs in the morning to find him asleep on the sofa. Not even thought about letting him outdoors yet - as I'm not confident he'd come back.
We know there's a long road ahead, and he's presumably been like this for most of his life. If anyone has any tips, we'd be pleased to hear...
She loves duvets…
Good luck with it, they are usually worth it.
stevesuk said:
Meet Caine, our second rescue cat. We decided we needed another cat in our life, after our last met an unfortunate end whilst crossing the road outside our house last October. We had originally started looking at cute kittens on Gumtree, but I didn't like the idea of plucking a happy kitten away from its siblings, so we decided the better thing to do was to get another rescue cat.
He's 13 years old, and had been at the cat rescue centre - we think - since at least August. We went to see him the week before Christmas, and in all honesty, they warned us that they'd been working with him, trying to make him comfortable with human contact - but not much progress had been made. But we felt sorry for him, and wondered whether his behaviour was largely because of the environment he'd found himself in - a belief we're still desperately clinging to
So far, we seem to have made only a little progress with him. We've not actually been able to touch him yet - if you come within a foot of him, he swipes and hisses. But he has started to explore the house, and we often come downstairs in the morning to find him asleep on the sofa. Not even thought about letting him outdoors yet - as I'm not confident he'd come back.
We know there's a long road ahead, and he's presumably been like this for most of his life. If anyone has any tips, we'd be pleased to hear...
stevesuk said:
If anyone has any tips, we'd be pleased to hear...
As others have said... time. When Cookie was adopted ten years ago he was wary of any contact - let alone settling on/near anyone - and never purred. Now he he seeks out laps with a recognisable NEED LAP! face and once aboard purrs himself drooly.
Thanks all. Yes, I thought it probably was just a case of keeping him fed, warm and comfortable - and waiting (hoping) in time that he starts to trust us.
Our last cat was also a rescue - but much younger (he was just over one year old when we got him). He actively avoided us for 3 or 4 weeks - did the same thing of hiding under the bed etc., but eventually decided he'd settle with us. By the time we lost him, he had become a proper member of the family.
I guess with an older cat, you've got no control of how they spent the 13 years of their life before you gave them a home. We definitely feel we've done the right thing for him though - I do wonder what cat rescue shelters end up doing with cats that they simply can't rehome after months and months of trying?
Our last cat was also a rescue - but much younger (he was just over one year old when we got him). He actively avoided us for 3 or 4 weeks - did the same thing of hiding under the bed etc., but eventually decided he'd settle with us. By the time we lost him, he had become a proper member of the family.
I guess with an older cat, you've got no control of how they spent the 13 years of their life before you gave them a home. We definitely feel we've done the right thing for him though - I do wonder what cat rescue shelters end up doing with cats that they simply can't rehome after months and months of trying?
Good luck with it, but sometimes you just can't get past an inherent nature. We got our cat as a rescue kitten, she hated being picked up, would avoid contact, if you tried to stroke her she would drop her haunches to avoid it. Get too close and hissing and claws out. Nine years later she's mellowed slightly, you can pick her up without getting clawed but she tolerates about 10 seconds before wriggling out, we can get a couple of strokes in before she removes herself. She has never sat on anyone's lap, and picks a spot in the house to nap in during the day where she's unlikely to be disturbed. She does at least sleep on one of the kid's beds at night on a rota system, though she waits until they're asleep before joining them. She does usually act happy to see us when it's feeding time or when she is let in, but otherwise she's pretty ambivalent about human contact. Of course, we all still dote on her. It must be inherent in her nature as her brother had identical circumstances but he loved being around us and being picked up, unfortunately cancer took him aged 3 :-(
stevesuk said:
Meet Caine, our second rescue cat. We decided we needed another cat in our life, after our last met an unfortunate end whilst crossing the road outside our house last October. We had originally started looking at cute kittens on Gumtree, but I didn't like the idea of plucking a happy kitten away from its siblings, so we decided the better thing to do was to get another rescue cat.
He's 13 years old, and had been at the cat rescue centre - we think - since at least August. We went to see him the week before Christmas, and in all honesty, they warned us that they'd been working with him, trying to make him comfortable with human contact - but not much progress had been made. But we felt sorry for him, and wondered whether his behaviour was largely because of the environment he'd found himself in - a belief we're still desperately clinging to
So far, we seem to have made only a little progress with him. We've not actually been able to touch him yet - if you come within a foot of him, he swipes and hisses. But he has started to explore the house, and we often come downstairs in the morning to find him asleep on the sofa. Not even thought about letting him outdoors yet - as I'm not confident he'd come back.
We know there's a long road ahead, and he's presumably been like this for most of his life. If anyone has any tips, we'd be pleased to hear...
We have a problem with our cats - one of them is a sneak thief. Every now and then we come down in the morning to find the cupboard in the dining room (where we keep their food) has been jemmied open and half chewed pouches of Felix scattered on the floor, usually accompanied by similar quantities of cat sick 
So I set up a camera to catch the feline purloiner…
Busted!
That’s Freya - a greedy little fatty with bulimia.
Better get a better lock got the cupboard
So I set up a camera to catch the feline purloiner…
Busted!
That’s Freya - a greedy little fatty with bulimia.
Better get a better lock got the cupboard
judas said:
We have a problem with our cats - one of them is a sneak thief. Every now and then we come down in the morning to find the cupboard in the dining room (where we keep their food) has been jemmied open and half chewed pouches of Felix scattered on the floor, usually accompanied by similar quantities of cat sick
So I set up a camera to catch the feline purloiner…
Busted!
That’s Freya - a greedy little fatty with bulimia.
Better get a better lock got the cupboard
Don't get a cupboard lock, just put the food in plastic containers with good lids, so the food can still be seen but not accessed So I set up a camera to catch the feline purloiner…
Busted!
That’s Freya - a greedy little fatty with bulimia.
Better get a better lock got the cupboard
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