Help! I have a new 8 month old cat from a cattery, he attacks me and hides under the bed.?

Question

He hisses and growls and cowards at the same time. I think that he may have been abuse. I have had three attacks from him, the last has caused me to go to the hospital for shots and medications for the wounds. Please help me, I am at a loss of what I should do next. I have given him an abundance of attention and love.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, some cat breeders do not take special care to socialize their kittens. He's afraid of you and also afraid of his new environment. Someone may have teased him, too.

Sometimes putting them in a smaller space gives them comfort. Move the cat's food and water and litter box to the bathroom and shut him in there. Visit him often but don't push it. Forget the attention and love for now because he views it as aggression. Sit on the floor and offer treats but don't reach out to him. You need to earn this cat's trust. Talk to him in a calm manner, repeating his name often. I've found that the human voice can have a calming effect on cats.

This may take time and he may never be a real lap cat. Sometimes all you can hope for is a peaceful co-existence.

If you got your kitten from a responsible breeder you can discuss your problem with them and they may have some clues about what happened and what you can do about it. As a last resort they can replace the kitten for you. (Keep in mind there can be psycho kitties, too, and the breeder should take the kitten back if that is the case.)

Answer 2

The cattery should have told you that he had suffered abuse and done a home visit to make sure that he is in the right environment. He sounds very traumatised. I would not try to pick him up but respect his space. When you feed him make sure you leave him alone to eat. Buy him a blanket or pet bed and put it under your bed to let him know you are ok with him hiding under there if he is afraid. One way i trained my tom cat was to give him treats, he will probably learn to trust you through realising that you are trying to care for him and feed him. Find a special food he loves and give it to him once a day and create some time where he can feel comfortable in approaching you and becoming friends. I think he sounds like he will come around eventually with a lot of love and patience. Just keep holding in there.

Answer 3

A lady trapped a feral cat and brought to the clinic I was working at - this cat was so feral that we could not even get close to the carrier/cage! The carrier will start rocking when we even come close. Needless to say, she had to be masked down in gas chamber before we could do any procedure (a simple check-up!) to her. She got better as time goes by - she stayed in the hospital with us for a month or so while the trapper decides her fate. I was an unbeliever that she could be that feral, so for 2 weeks straight, every day during my lunch break, I'll take her with me (with leather protective gloves of course) to a furniture-less room (so she has no where to hide) with me and just let her "cowards" in a corner, she growls, hisses, pounces on me from the corner but soon realized she was wasting her effort as I was simply more interested in my lunch and the celebrity gossip in the people's magazine :) I started bringing her food dishes with me in the furniture-less room, a week or so went by and I got myself a lunch buddy! The next week, she actually creep towards me for a pet - she is now happily adopted and her new mom says "she is such a spoiled rotten lap cat" these days and thanked me for giving her an opportunity. When she re-visits the clinic these days, it's leather-free for the veterinarian technicians. Keyword: Patience, Love :)

Answer 4

What i would do is put him in a cage, feed and water him. Slowly give him some attention but on his terms, by a cat clicker if he trys to his or scratch you click it to show him hes being bad then reward him when hes good don't take him out of his cage tell he starts to become more affectionite may take some time. lots of patints sounds like he was a wild cat possibly never a house cat and you need to tame him over time it can happen.

Answer 5

If you want to keep him you should consider into declaw him and little by little gain his confidence. They do in the long run, but you don't need to get mutilated by the cat in the process. If he can do it to you, he could do it to a kid and you don't want that.
If you think you cannot handle this or don't have the energy for it (believe me it's a matter of energy and patience too!), Simply return the cat back. Nothing else to make you feel better: sorry!

Answer 6

start doing small things for it. like givin it food. but only leave it there, do not wait and see it eat it. when it is hungry it will come and eat. eventually, ur cat will know that u love it. don worry, ur cat will soon gain confident on u. don giv it too much attention 1st, it may be afraid. also try introduce a cat[sme age] to yours, but make sure the cat u introduce is a gd cat. good luck!
later, slowly put ur hand toward ur cat, n wait for it to come over. remember to have some food on ur hand!

Answer 7

Time is the only thing that will help. Put the food, water and litter box somewhere he can see it. Then try to make sure he sees that it is you that is feeding him. Soon he will see you as a good thing and come close, but don't push the issue. Give him time. Sorry I could not help more.

Answer 8

How long has he been there? I would give him time to adjust. Don't touch him much, leave him his food and stay there calmly. Don't try to grab him or bring him out of his hideout. I expects he will adjust in a month.

Answer 9

I am assuming he has been fixed - that should make him more docile

I like the cage idea - let him have his freedom in there
and try to love him - talk to him etc

best of luck

Answer 10

sry but time to say bye bye to kitty. =(