Rehomed cat not settling 100%....

twirlagig

Hi,
I rehomed a cat, got her last week. She is a stunning animal. She's 11 so not a young kitty by any means. I'm doing everything I can to make her settle - same food, litter etc. She is eating well and all that but she can go from purring like a kitten to lashing out all of a sudden. Sometimes I think she loves me but there's times that she seems to hate me. She can be so affectionate but then I get distinct 'back-off' vibes out of nowhere at times. I'm trying to let her come to me when she wants and all that, so it's not like I'm pestering or annoying her. She comes over and rubs against my leg - like cats do... I pet her, and she loves it and then, BANG, tail beating like mad and I know the bad form is back. I know it's only a week, what else can I do? ..... or is it just a matter of perseverance and a long road ahead of me? I so want her to settle in and feel loved.

SillyMangoX

Haha welcome to the world of owning a cat! The whole 'love me love me, oh wait I hate you' thing is just a part of every day life But in time it will become less frequent, try some feliway or calmeze (i think thats what its called) from the vets and it may help her settle into her new environment. And congrats on adopting an older cat, so many of them are over looked in place of kittens!

twirlagig

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Haha welcome to the world of owning a cat! The whole 'love me love me, oh wait I hate you' thing is just a part of every day life But in time it will become less frequent, try some feliway or calmeze (i think thats what its called) from the vets and it may help her settle into her new environment. And congrats on adopting an older cat, so many of them are over looked in place of kittens!

Thank you SillyMango - I've had so many cats in the past but this little cutie has me perplexed! Right now I've the laptop on my lap and she is practically stuck to my hip beside me purring away.....
I wonder can people take those Calmeze???? :D

Pumpkinseeds

Well done on taking on an older cat, its very hard to find homes for them. The Feliway is very good stuff, its also a lot cheaper to buy online than from a vet if you use it long term. Some cats are more sensitive about being petted than others, especially at the small of their backs around the tail area. It must be traumatic for puss having a strange new environment, its got to be sensory overload. Time, patience and love usually triumph, good luck.

twirlagig

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Well done on taking on an older cat, its very hard to find homes for them. The Feliway is very good stuff, its also a lot cheaper to buy online than from a vet if you use it long term. Some cats are more sensitive about being petted than others, especially at the small of their backs around the tail area. It must be traumatic for puss having a strange new environment, its got to be sensory overload. Time, patience and love usually triumph, good luck.

... and thank you also Pumpkinseeds - I haven't heard of Feliway before? Is it a tablet or in what form does it come? I don't really fancy giving her something long-term like that - have you used it with yourself with pets before? Yeah, I know what you mean about the tail area alright, I would usually ever just stroke her around the head/side of face/under chin which she seems to love (for a while anyway!)

Cheers for the good luck wishes too

Pumpkinseeds

Feliway is a plug in diffuser of pheremone. Its a clear liquid that humans can't smell but cats find very soothing. I use it with my 2 cats. I think of it as kitty valium. You just plug it into a socket in whatever room they spend the most time in and it calms them down.

One of my cats was a feral kitten and was very edgy at times, he's still a bit scatty at times and our other male cat sometimes gets a bit aggressive with him. I noticed a big difference when using it. Its usually about 30 euro at the vet for the plug in and the liquid, after that you just get the refills for it. You can get it for about 15 sterling online. It comes in a spray as well so you can use it on pet carriers and bedding.

twirlagig

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Feliway is a plug in diffuser of pheremone. Its a clear liquid that humans can't smell but cats find very soothing. I use it with my 2 cats. I think of it as kitty valium. You just plug it into a socket in whatever room they spend the most time in and it calms them down.

One of my cats was a feral kitten and was very edgy at times, he's still a bit scatty at times and our other male cat sometimes gets a bit aggressive with him. I noticed a big difference when using it. Its usually about 30 euro at the vet for the plug in and the liquid, after that you just get the refills for it. You can get it for about 15 sterling online. It comes in a spray as well so you can use it on pet carriers and bedding.

A plug-in? Jeez! :eek: Never heard of it, but I will certainly go looking for it over the weekend - Thanks so much! It's killing me seeing her uneasy

Qualitymark

Feliway is magic; if you can't find it locally, I think Amazon sells it.

My system for rehoming cats (worked with my mother's cat, which was behaving exactly the same way - rushing up, purring frantically, rubbing her cheek hard on my hand, then biting and scratching and screaming and running away, etc) is to put them in a room *totally by themself* for about a week. Go in every night for an hour or so and just sit there reading, ignoring the cat.

After that week, go in for a little bit longer. When the cat has de-freaked a bit, start addressing the occasional word. When it's de-freaked a bit more, open the door of the room and let it wander into another room but have a safe closed-ish place to run away to.

Of course you have food and water and a litter tray in there, in a quiet corner where it won't be attacked by THE MONSTERS.

This has always worked for me - very very very gradual introduction to the new place, with the cat controlling its own level of access until finally it's a normal happy puss leaping down on you from wardrobes etc.

angeline

Fair play to you for taking on an older cat OP. A lot of people wouldn't. It sounds like the cat just hasn't fully gotten used to the new environment just yet but sounds like he's settling in just fine.