i belive those things are normal... one more thing: once she gets used to you, please refrain from picking her up, and dragging her around/cuddling her like a baby. if she wants, she will come to you by herself, and for the cuddling, cats and animals in general, tend to dislike having their stomachs exposed, as this is one of their most vulnerable places. if you do cuddle her/ drag her around, she WILL hate you, and you will see bad behavior.
after watching some shows about bad behaving cats, i noticed these 2 things being done, and i was shocked at this. usually, if such behaviors of the owners stopped, then the cats behavior got better
Someone mentioned body language above. Generally, you'll want to look at the cat's tail and its ears, as well as how it positions its body (lying down, backing into a corner etc.) Scared or angry cats will fold back their ears and puff up their tail and fur, holding the tail straight up. If it gets to teeth exposure and hissing, it's time to back off.
Tail straight up can also mean concentration or attention, like when preparing or jump or listening for something (they use the tail as a balance tool). They also do this when rubbing against you (and everything else), because they leave scents that way. The head-rubbing is also a way to mark things with scent. Lying down, especially on the back or side is a relaxed postion, but watch the tail. Exposing the stomach area is a sign of trust or submission, but again, watch the tail or you might get scratched.
A silly way to practice this is to do the speechcraft mini-game on Khajiit in Oblivion, if you own that game. The reaction faces are fairly similar to real cat reactions, ears and all.
It's a parasite that can affect cats and humans. It's harmless to cats and most people, it only really matters to women who are trying to conceive and the immunocompromised.
My cat never had a hiding phase, he's always been really sociable.
It can affect vital organs and cause miscarriages.
At least that's what my Biology book says. Then again it says that the most effective way to avoid STDs is abstinence so...
I think people have pretty much taken care of your primary questions, but something to remember in the future in dealing with punishment is the difference with cats and dogs. Dogs understand yelling and anger in punishment where cats might run from understanding anger, but they don't get the correlation as well. Whatever they did is easier to resolve by showing them an alternative. Saying 'this bad' fails, while 'this good' is successful.
It can sometimes take months for a cat to adapt. Since it's a kitten however, it will probably only take a few weeks. You just need to be patient. Leave toys out for it in obvious spots, that can sometimes help.
Anyways, I have a few questions. How long will the "hiding" phase last? How long will it take for her to get comfortable around me in the sense that she won't run away the second I look at her? I put a flea collar on her and she keeps scratching it, is that normal? Before you ask, I did loosen it up. Is it OK if I leave her alone for a few hours everyday? What's up with toxoplasmosis?
She's 3 months old by the way.
I'd also like to move her litter box and feeding bowls once she adapts to her new home. Will she get upset if I do that?
1. Depends on the cat. It shouldn't be more than a month
2. Depends on the cat. Be kind and gentle with the cat to help gain trust with the cat
3. Cats hate collars in general. Unless there is a major flea problem in your neck of the woods, you might want to take it off
4. Yes.
5. No idea what toxoplasmosis is.
6. It'll fine, just as long as you move it gradually. Ex: moving it from one end of your house to the other
Anyways, I have a few questions. How long will the "hiding" phase last? How long will it take for her to get comfortable around me in the sense that she won't run away the second I look at her? I put a flea collar on her and she keeps scratching it, is that normal? Before you ask, I did loosen it up. Is it OK if I leave her alone for a few hours everyday? What's up with toxoplasmosis?
She's 3 months old by the way.
I'd also like to move her litter box and feeding bowls once she adapts to her new home. Will she get upset if I do that?
Anyways, I have a few questions. How long will the "hiding" phase last? How long will it take for her to get comfortable around me in the sense that she won't run away the second I look at her? I put a flea collar on her and she keeps scratching it, is that normal? Before you ask, I did loosen it up. Is it OK if I leave her alone for a few hours everyday? What's up with toxoplasmosis?
She's 3 months old by the way.
I'd also like to move her litter box and feeding bowls once she adapts to her new home. Will she get upset if I do that?
I used to be worried sick about every little thing when I first got my two cats. They weren't, though. I've had them for three years soon, and they slept on top of me as early as the first night. Don't worry about it. Let it come to you, and it'll love you wholeheartedly soon enough.
I'm not sure about the advice you got earlier, to keep it in one room. When I got them, took them out of the transportation box, put them down into the litter box and had them explore from there, without paying them much heed. Some cats need more time than others. As I said, just let it have the time it needs, it'll come to you eventually.
Also, I'm not sure if people will agree with me here, but I prefer to always have food out for them, so they can eat at their leisure, instead of having fixed times. If they get used to it early, it saves you a ton of hassle.
Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I might not be able to answer them, as I don't, by any stretch of my imagination, have all the answers, but I'll do my best to help anyway.
- Maybe a week or so, depending on how mush of a social cat she is.
- Again, maybe a week or so, but if she's not a people cat, then she'll probably be like that for some time (my associate has a cat that didn't really like her or anyone else she lived with, and especially didn't like people that were visiting).
- I'm guessing yes, it's just that she's not used to wearing a collar.
- Yes, it's fine. Cats usually don't need all that much attention.
- Not sure. Here's the wiki page on it though [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis]
- Most probably not. Just make sure to show her where they are once you move them.
OT: so I don't get a warning. I can't have cats due to an allergy but my puppy came from an abusive situation. She would growl and hide from my dad and brother. In time though she learned to trust them and now my mother calls my dad and my dog 'the great love affair.'
My family have two kittens. We got Toby from a pet shop when he was 8 weeks and he's never had a problem with us, trusting instantly. Cleo was a whole new kettle of fish, she was handed into a vet after she was picked up by a dog! My friend who works there told me about her, we fell in love and took her home. She was very, very shy and cautious, kept growling at Toby and took a week-ish before she'd go near us. Now, she's so attached to me we might as well be fused together. She's SUCH a cuddler. And she plays now, too, and her and Toby get on beautifully. I think routine helped her, plus we have a feathery toy on a stick which made her come out of her shell, she loves the thing. All cats are different but we let her come to us instead of us constantly going to her, and it gave her time to get used to our presence and as a result feel much more confident about approaching us. I couldn't imagine the house without either of them, they're awesome. Plus she loves hogging an arm, I can never do much when she's snuggled up on me.
I don't think I can add much more to your original post, but! If your kitty ever ruins your couch or something else she likes to scratch on.... get her a material like that to scratch on, or cut out a piece of the couch (or when you're changing cover on the couch). She'll stop scratching the furniture and start scratching on the separate material as long as you place it somewhere easily accessible.
Most cats "shy phase" depends on why they're shy. She's either shy because she's in an unfamiliar place, which means it won't last long, or shy because she's afraid of you, in the stray cat sense. You can try to coax her out by giving her treats or food, then back away until she comes out to eat it. It'll be nice if you can stay within her sight, so she can get used to the fact that you won't attack her.
Scratching her collar is normal, but if it bothers you or if she's really scratching it raw, I advise something like Advantage or Frontline. They're liquids, so you just squeeze it onto their nape and wait for it to dry. There's less expensive generic type ones too.
If you leave her alone, try to leave her in a single well ventilated room with the door closed. Also, leave a toy or two, like a small ball or the feather duster type ones. As long as she has access to food water and litter she'll probably be fine, especially since she's not too fond of you yet anyways.
Toxoplasmosis you get from handling their waste, so just wash your hands after you play around their litterbox.
As long as your cat is scared and hiding I recommend not moving her stuff from where it is, or better yet, moving everything to a single low-traffic room, like your bedroom. Let's them get used to a small area without feeling overwhelmed by the space, getting lost, etc. I also recommend getting a covered litterbox: it helps a bit with the smell since most of them have filters on, and it stops them from throwing the litter everywhere. It also means she likely won't try to run and scatter piss everywhere if you walk by. Privacy and all.
AndyFromMonday said:
Is there any way to get her to stop climbing on beds and such or is this just another little quirk I'll have to live with?
Buy her nail covers. I get them from petsmart, they're like little silicon-ish nail moulds that you glue over their nails. When they're on the cat can try to scratch, but no damage. I only put them on my cat's front nails, so she can still climb (jumping up on my high bed, scaling bookcases...) and fight (should she ever get out of the house or if the dog's playing rough).
Of course you both need to be comfortable with clipping nails. Or you can use a spray bottle and loud noise. They're very good cat deterrents, although you'll want to be a bit sneaky and pretend it wasn't you so they don't associate you with punishment.
I have two cats that my fiance rescued as feral cats. They continue to hide when "strangers" come over but they got used to me pretty quick. We didn't force a meeting, they just warmed up to me after a while. Just let the kitty come to you and you'll be fine.
Anywho, don't stress her and she'll eventually make herself comfortable. If you have to walk past her or decide to approach her don't stare her down try to just mind your own business so she won't feel threatened. If you're going to attempt to interact with her, sit down a bit away from her and let her come to you.
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