Has anyone had a rescue cat with behavioral problems......?

Question

Has anyone had experiences with rescue cats that have behavioral problems? I'm looking to adopt a 2 year old female from a rescue center I volunteer at. Beautiful and confident looking girl, you walk up to her pod and she's all purrs and looks like she's wanting attention, you go to stroke her and she will hiss and lash out. She loves playing and chasing things but half way through a game she seems to panic and run and hide. Its like she's let her guard down and allowed herself to have fun and then this panics her. We don’t know her past perhaps she was treated badly. Has anyone had any experiences like this? Has your cat been able to overcome them?

Answer 1

That sounds like "fear aggression" to me. In the behavior department of the San Francisco SPCA where I was trained as a cat behaviorist this cat would be a "Level 4" and she would be worked with for a long time to help her overcome her fear of humans and make her an adoptable cat. The cat has conflicts between her desire for human attention and her fears from past experiences in her life.

I wish you would go to www.littlebigcat.com and read Dr. Jean Hovfe's article titled, "Flower Essences for Animals" as using these on animals can really work wonders in changing undesirable (for humans) behavior and help the cat emotionally to clear her psyche of past bad experiences, moving her "rehabilitation" along more swiftly and successfully.

Answer 2

It seems as if your cat has been abused in the past in some way. My husband and I took on a rescue cat who had been bullied - she chose us, which is the important thing. However, she was aggressive, and she really, really didn't like women. I'd go to work looking like I'd had a fight with a barbed wire fence - covered in scratches and normally still bleeding. Nevertheless, despite her curmudgeon-ness, we loved her dearly. And that was the key - we ignored the scratching, and the hissing, and let her come out of her shell in her own time, knowing that she was loved and well-cared for. She was a real talker, and it helped talking back to her. Also, we didn't make direct eye-contact, as that's a very aggressive stance in cat body-language. As a result, she became a lap cat, who would come running down the stairs when I put the key in the door, who slept every night on the bed with us, and behaved incredibly well with children. (Any other animal was fair game, though!)
She had to be PTS a couple of years ago, and that was the saddest day of our lives - having to see our feisty girl with no vigour left in her whatsoever.
So, my advice to you is to look past the hissing, and see the cat underneath, who sounds like she's desperate for some love. Be quiet and gentle around her, with no sudden movements. Don't look her in the eye. Treat her with her favourite treats, and try her on some new ones - fresh prawns, tuna, roast chicken. Gradually gain her confidence. Once she knows that she's safe, and loved, she will come out of her shell. Of that, I have no doubt. Don't expect miracles, though - it took us about 5 years to realise that our girl was no longer worthy of the tag of "rescue cat".

Best of luck - you're doing a brave and wonderful thing with this poor kitty.

Answer 3

i use to work at a shelter and still volunteer there now. i will give you one account of a cat and the story:

2 years ago a 4 year old cat named autumn came into the shelter. she was declawed in the front so she would bite you if youcame too close. she was funny one minute she would be loving the next a terror. we decided to put her in a special area and screen extra ccareful those who wanted to adopt her. she was in the shelter for over 3 months before a nice middle aged woman came in and wanted to see her. the two of them hit it off i guess. she was sweet the whole time. autumn was adopted that day. the woman still comes in almost every month to update us. she said that autumn is 1000% better then when she first brought her home. she took everything really slow.

by the way this cat before adopted had a horrible life filled with abuse :(

my advice would be that if you really want to adopt this cat know that you will need to spend extra time with her. the more she gets to know you the more she will come out of her shell. i'm sure she will come around!

Answer 4

Yes. We have had three over the years. They were very much as you describe when we first got them and took weeks/months to tame. She may indeed have been ill- treated by her previous owners. The rescue centre however good is not a happy place, but once a cat is in a settled and loving environment, with your sole attention, they progressively become more approachable. Better just have one at a time though.

Answer 5

my cat caramel was tied up in a plastic bag as a baby and left to die in a back alley. I got her from a rescue shelter that saved her. She acted just as you have described your new cat. Dont worry, gentle handling will help give her treats when she has been good and sat on your lap etc so she connects having treats to being held, then she will connect it with a pleasurable experience. Lots of love is the onyl way, my Caramel was the most loving cat after a year and she was with me for 14 years until she died last year at a ripe old age!

Answer 6

She seems to like attention but is scared of being hit, that is probably why she won't let you pet her. Try helping her get used to your hand by feeding her treats from your hand, maby if she starts to feel comfortable eating from your hand you can start to pet her when she finishes. Don't try to pet her with the other hand while she is destracted by the hand feeding her or she will think that when you offer her food it is a trap, instead, after she finishes eating, use the hand that she ate from and slowly try to pet her(don't try the neck yet, cats bite each other there to make them submit). I have had some experience with stays around my house, so I know it works, at least most of the time.

Answer 7

this happened to me also, the poor cat must have been abused before, I love all animals, but if the cat starts to get to aggressive..off the the Dog pound. Cat scratch fever is a horrible condition you can get from being clawed at. I have seen patients with it, so find kitty a new home, the dog pound and tell them what you are going through, it could badly harm a child.

Answer 8

My cats were also rescued, and both of them are very loving but have mad moments! Again I have no idea what happened to them in the past, but we've found if the more space you give them the easier it gets.
I kept trying to get them to pet and be loving and they hated me for it.
I now leave them alone and they come when they want. They seem far more relaxed, they've stopped slinking across the floor and running away if we go near them, but it's been a long process, had them for over a year now.

Answer 9

I think alot of time patients and lots of love would do that cat some good. She obviously doesn't trust you yet and people can do some nasty nasty things to animals to make them so un-trusting.

I think in time she may come to trust you. 1 step at a time though take it slow with her. If you have kids or other pets your probably not going to have the best home for her though.

Get close to her and try to pet her when she looks like she wants you to if she shy's away or hisses then back off. Speak gently to her and see if you can get her to come back to you again. Try feeding her some treats out of your hand to get her to come then slowly try to pet her. If she backs off when you reach your hand tword her TRY again. Dont force her to fast though, she will come around in enough time.

Please keep in mind though that no matter how much you try she may never come around. I think though with a lot of love and patients she will be just fine. Good Luck!

Answer 10

its really difficult with some rescue cats. my last one was a bit nuts but he did adjust after a while. you really need great patience though. dont get one that you think might need lots of tlc if you go out a lot or there is no-one home for very long periods in the day to start out with. it really does take a lot of love but it is so worth it! i wish you all the best. rescue cats are wonderful.