I need help with a scared cat who might be pregnant.?

Question

I have had a 3yr old Ragdoll cat for a month now. It is possible that she is pregnant, but she won't come out of hiding. She comes out at night to eat and use her box. I talk to her every evening and have tried offering her treats. She just hisses and one night actually bit my husband who tried to pick her up. If she is pregnant she will be due around 2/8. Will she freak out when I try to handle her kittens. What if she needs my help during birth? What can I do to speed up this process of bonding with her? When I bought her from the breeder she was friendly and rubbed up and down my arm. Since she bit my husband, I am now afraid of her. I had her bred for the purpose of keeping a kitten and selling the others, not knowing she would be so difficult. This type of behavior isn't characteristic of this type of cat. It make me wonder how much human interaction she has actually had. It is very important that the kittens arrive safely. Is it possible that she might harm her kittens? HELP

Answer 1

LEAVE HER BE! A cat will NEVER need your help birthing...they do this MUCH better without our help, and many many cats need much more than a month to adjust to a new place. The BEST thing that you can do is let her stay under the bed (or wherever she's hiding) She will definately come out when she's ready. (She's a cat, remember? It's always on their terms!) I'm sorry she bit your husband, but cat's will always let you know when they are ready, and not before. If she is pregnant, she will do fine birthing on her own (better for her that way anyway) Often mama cats who are disturbed at this time will abandon their litter (I don't want to scare you, but you have to understand how important it is you let her do this her own way!)

You can't speed up the bonding. She will let you know - and she will, but it has to be her decision. The other thing is that she can "feel" your fear. She is picking up on your anxiety. I know it seems weird, but you have to try to ignore her. Put out food and water and a litter, leave out treats for her, but then walk away. She will come out when she wants to.

I had a Ragdoll, and you're right, they are usually pretty mellow, but you just happen to have a high strung cat. Leave her to her own. TRUST ME, Please! And she will come around.

Answer 2

Since you are stating at the breeder she was friendly, I believe your cat is suffering from stress. You bought her a month ago and she has been bred all within about a month and a half period. That is a great deal for any animal to deal with.

First of all - dont continue to try and handle her (for now). Secondly, let her make her own peace with things and last and most important...do NOT be afraid. It will only make things worse.

She may freak out if you try and handle her kittens unless you change your actions toward her. And cats usually do not require any assistance. Nor do cat's normally attack their kittens. If they feel their kittens are in danger, they will attempt to move them long before resorting to killing them.

If you want reassurance why dont you contact a vet for a mild sedative and place some in her food. Leave her be and let her eat (with the sedative added) and take her into the vet (put her in a cat carrier when she gets sleepy)

Good luck!

Answer 3

I wonder if she is hurt? If she was friendly when you got her I think she is either hurt or something has happened to her to make this change. Possibly you could figure out a way to get her to the vet for a checkup. I used to wrap a towel around one of my cats when I took him to the vet. It isn't very long til the kittens would be due if she is pregnant, so time is of the essence.

Answer 4

Cats are like humans - some reach puberty at a very early age. She needs to be spayed - and NOW. The outcome of such an early pregnancy is grim - a cat that young is likely to require vet-assisted birth. My local emergency vet charges up to $2500 for the procedure. Call the vet - and now - and get the very first spay appointment for her that you can. He needs to be neutered, as if he's mature enough to mate with her, he's old enough to start spraying.

Answer 5

I have had wild cats in the neighborhood that have kittens and I have tamed the kittens and momma is OK with it and others aren't so OK. after the kittens arrive she may tame down.
Just talk to her and keep trying to cokes her out

Answer 6

well, she is very protective now, so she would not harm the kittens unless they have your (or any other human's scent(if you, or your unwashed clothes touch them. Otherwise, keep a close watch and stay away untill she gives birth, then (still keep close watch) wait 'till they are independant odf her (weaned and eaing solids), then you may fully interact W/ them!!!
Best of luck, and sincerely, Gina.

Answer 7

Seems odd that she was friendly and now isn't...have you been in touch with the Breeder and asked them about this behavior.

Gaining trust sometimes takes time. you cannot rush these things..just keep talking to her, offering her treats and perhaps when she comes out to feed, pat and talk to her...

Best of luck

S

Answer 8

Here is Dr. Jon's tip on how to make a reclusive (scaredy-cat) into a lap cat:

1. The general philosophy for successful rehabilitation is to create circumstances favorable for the cat to approach the owner, rather than the other way around. Striding up to a cat, thus invading her flight distance, apprehending her and placing her on your lap, thus invading her personal space, is exactly the wrong approach.


2. Arrange for rehabilitation to occur in quiet circumstances. Position yourself in a large room with the cat, and arm yourself with a good book and a bag of food treats that your cat finds delicious. The procedure will go more swiftly if you arrange for the cat to be slightly hungry at the beginning of the session as this will increase the cat's motivation to accept the food treats.


3. Without moving from your comfortable chair or couch, toss a food treat in your cat's direction and be patient, until she finds and consumes it. Repeat this procedure at intervals, dropping the food progressively closer to yourself and, finally, beside yourself on the couch or chair.


4. Next, arrange for the cat to take a food treat from your hand, gradually moving your hand toward your lap, only releasing the food treat if the cat puts her paws up on your lap.


5. Remember that you will certainly not be able to make a reclusive cat into a cuddly lap-sitting cat in one session. The whole process may take several weeks or even as much as a year. Be patient and be grateful for modest improvements. Never attempt hurry things along; never come on too strong; and never try to force the issue. Allow your cat to be drawn into a vacuum of food, affection, and petting that you provide for her.


6. Sometimes you can focus a cat on what you are doing more acutely by employing a “click” to signal the delivery of a treat. This focuses the cat's attention on you, the source of the click, and cues her to the subsequent gift of the food treat from you, i.e. you become the common link. The use of a clicker in this way may help quicken the retraining process. Clicker trained cats seem to have more interest and faith in their owners than untrained cats.


7. The person trying to build the relationship with the cat should be the one to feed her regular food. It helps to have the cat ‘meal fed' and to have the meals put down as obviously as possible by the person wishing to forge the close bond.


8. The person trying to draw the reclusive cat out should probably arrange to play games with the cat at least a couple of times a day. Moving toys are best, such as cat dancers and pull toys on a string.

9. If an appropriate combination of such measures is engaged in by a well-meaning cat owner, there is no reason that, over time, a relatively reclusive cat shouldn't be encouraged to come forward and interact affectionately. In many cases, lap sitting will then occur spontaneously, with its implicit permission to pet and cuddle. One caveat, however, is that if the cat wants to escape from the situation, or has had enough for any reason, she should not be restrained but should be allowed to hop off your lap at her pleasure. Cats are at their best when they are allowed to come and go as they please.

10. In many cases, all it takes to produce the ideal, easily pet-able lap cat is to arrange for all the good things in life to come only and obviously from you. As Konrad Lorenz so aptly put it with respect to training, "art and science aren't enough, patience is the basic stuff." And, you may have to be patient for quite some time. I have one cat that was skittish from the time that I rescued her and she only became a completely cuddly lap cat at the age of 12, after years of catering to her and two geographical moves. Actually, I think it was one of these moves into a small temporary lodging that confined her close enough to my family that she had no alternative but to interact with us.

11. The moral here may be that although you don't want to force your presence on a cat, you also don't want to provide the cat an opportunity to always be so far away from you that she never has to interact with you. And, for those few cats who never come round to becoming fully conversant with, or accepting of, lap sitting or cuddling, remember that this apparent shortfall does not necessarily mean that they have no affection for you, the owner. It may simply be that they show their affection in other ways.

Hope this helps you (and your kitty) :)