Posted on 03/17/2017 12:23:59 PM PDT by Kaslin
I have a cat I love very much. Rescued her when someone threw the litter she came from out in the trash. Raised her from about 3 days old. She’s 10 now and follows me around like a puppy. My brother and I have been rooming the last two years to save money. The cat still doesn’t trust him and runs from him about 9 times out of 10. She will hiss at me once in awhile. She doesn’t like me to pick her up, but she will jump in my lap. Go figure. Cats rule, but in their own version of the world,lol.
Always grab the back of the neck. You cannot hold the cat off the ground this way ever, you could rip her fascia. But this act will help her be submissive to what is going to happen. Hold strongly but not over tightly to the loose skin above and between the shoulder blades. ALL CATS will become more submissive, at least somewhat, when held like this. You hold herdown like this on a bed or table, and another approaches with the cage.
Then you use your other hand below her two front paws and shove her in. Easier to push her through a side door than to lift and drop her into the carriers top opening.
This will be less traumatic, and because of where the hold is, rush won’t get his hands scratched.
This is also the hold for catching snakes or lizards. They can’t bite if you’ve got them behind the head.
I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. Thanks for your humorous advice.
I’ve owned and loved dogs and cats, though I am definitely more of a dog person. And I have to say, I can’t imagine owning a cat (or dog) with a disposition like Rush’s cat has.
If I couldn’t have an affectionate and trusting relationship with my pet, I wouldn’t want one.
What’s wrong with a little kitty xanax?
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I had a cat that was SO bad, the vet gave me some pills (dosage 1-2) to give her about an hour before I brought her in. The first time I tried it, one pill didn’t seem to be doing the trick so I gave her a 2nd. By the time we got to the vet, all she could muster up was a growl and just laid there on the exam table. She couldn’t even manage to grab a chicken treat & she never saw a treat she didn’t like. The vet & staff were really happy with that visit & it saved a lot of wear & tear on me, too.
Well, sure. That’s what benzodiazepines are for
Unfortunately, now that the behavior has been established, it's going to take a lot of time and patience to undo it. That means doing a lot of picking up and holding, tuna treats, putting her in the carrier, tuna treats, driving her in the car, tuna treats. The crate has to be redefined as a good place. Same with being held, although some cats never do come to agree with that.
I have learned a lot about cat behavior from a feral cat who lives on my patio. Rule #1: Don't ever look her in the eyes while approaching. Rule #2: Before approaching, catch her eyes and do a long, slow blink. If the cat looks away, then approach. This works with any cat I've tried it on. Rule #3: "Kitty kitty" works on the feral, but what really brings her running is when I make a little noise that sounds like "psh-psh-psh." I don't know why it works, but it works on other cats as well.
It took almost 2 years for the feral to allow me to pick her up, and I did it slowly and in steps. Whenever she protested, I left it alone. (The opposite of how you would train a dog, as givin gthem what they want reinforces behavior.) But before I would feed her, she would be winding all around my legs and I started first with just rubbing her, which she loves. Then eventually I moved to wrapping my hands under her belly. Not picking her up, just letting her get used to the feel of hands on her belly. Then eventually moved on to picking her up just an inch off the floor and setting her back down again. Then a foot off the floor. Then holding her about waist high, etc, until before she knew it, she was allowing me to pick her up and rub on her, set her back down, and then feed her dinner immediately. But granted, it took forever...and I was in no hurry to take her anywhere. The only time I have taken her to the vet, I have set up a trap and then left the area so she doesn't associate it with me.
I have had maybe one time where she freaked out when I tried to pick her up, and it was when I was thinking about something else and didn't go through all of the steps: psh-psh, slow blink, look away, rub the head, slowly get hands under belly, carefully pick up, place one hand under hindquarters.
I certainly sympathize with Rush. We drive to and from our winter place each year. It’s a long, two day trip, and I drive it with the cat. She can always tell when we’re leaving, and hides in order to stop us from going. This year she absolutely disappeared. After turning the house upside down for two hours, it was about to become a three day trip. I finally enticed her from her hiding place which was INSIDE the box spring of the bed in her “mom’s” room. I went up to the attic which is her favorite forbidden zone and she came out to follow me.
How to give a pill to a dog: Wrap it in bacon.
CC
I don't know...If you say so then it must be true.
With that being said, this thread is about cats so take your politics and shove it up your butt with fifty pounds of pressure.............
It takes a very long time. Perhaps taking time every day to just sit on the floor talking to her from a distance until she stops perceiving a threat.
And don’t force her upstairs at night. If she doesn’t want to come up, fine, leave her be.
My cat Tori fell from the second floor to the entryway twice when she was a kitten. Knocked her a little silly, but she learned.
We tried the Feliway and it was absolutely noneffective. We have six cats and it didn’t affect even one of them.
In June came the day when we moved to our new home. The vet gave us drugs to put in their morning canned food to make them relax and reduce anxiety. We were confident that we’d be gently picking up six nonchalant cats and situating them in their cages the next morning. In the middle of the night before it occurred to me, “What if they won’t eat the food with drugs in it?” They didn’t. They knew immediately that something was “off”. Not good.
We caught them, one by one, and put them in the cages starting with the easiest, which still wasn’t easy in a 5,000-square-foot house. If one went in to a room, we closed the door so the cat was easier to catch. We got the first five within about a half hour.
Them came the last one — a feral who cannot be picked up. In anticipation of trouble, Hubby had bought a contraption like a butterfly net, with a zipper at each end. After 15 minutes of flying around the house chasing Darth, she was caught. Zip! Turn the cage up on end with the door on top. Hold the net over it. Unzip the bottom zipper and drop the cat in the cage.
Nightmare. Within a week, all had settled in to the new place fine and there were no indications of trauma.
With Rush’s cat, it sounds like Rush made mistakes early on that put her on the defensive.
That way you can leave us alone while you and your fellow haters can form your own circle jerk and enjoy yourselves.....
We won't bother you with our comments and you won't hijack our threads with yours..........
Is that too much to ask?
LOL!
What a cat saga. You have some seriously independent kitties, plus they outnumber you.
RE mistakes early on: My big boy was adopted at about a year. Long-legged basketball player cat from who knows where, apparently not a good home…took a few months, but he did settle in. Rush’s cat may get over her belligerence too.
That thing looks like a small puma!
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