Adopted an Adult - hissing, swatting, digging HELP

[Becki]

@WitchyWoman 's demon under the bed was my rule book with Nyah. If it had been a paper copy, it would have been tattered and torn!

 

[Kat Edge]

Nyah's start was different than ziggy's as I got her from the breeder, and she was about 6.5 months old. When we got her home, she dove under the bed and didn't emerge. When we looked under the bed to check on her, she used words that were not lady like, and certainly not appropriate for a kitten. It took well over a month to be able to touch her, a few months until I could pet her and she enjoyed it, and a few months before she crawled in my lap. She would lay near me, but if I moved or looked like I was going to pet her, she would take off. She crawled in my lap when I was sick, just cautiously climbed in, I was scared to even breathe (though I did promptly post the milestone on here!). I was able to pick her up without her having a total melt down after about 6 months or so. Not that she wants to carried around, like many f2s, she does not. She is still quirky, I am sure she always will be, and I think it has taken the good part of a year to have her be really out of her shell. Adding my very crazy kitten helped a bunch, too. She is very, very bonded to me and my husband. She tolerates my 15 year old, but doesn't always allow her to pet her. She stays within arms reach of the baby, and would not play with her ever like Kovu does.

Thanks for the story. Ziggy's breeder warned me this could be a 3-6 month process. I was thinking about getting him a kitten once he's a little more comfortable with me and once I'm in a bigger place (we're talking months here), but I'll wait and feel it out.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Amazon.com offers a huge variety of freeze dried chicken treats if your local pet store doesn't carry any. I just bought freeze dried chicken hearts & duck hearts from Amazon and my guys go crazy for them. Kitty crack

 

[WitchyWoman]

Oh, and I'm going to go out on a limb (stereotype fully engaged) and say that if the breeder properly socialized the cat before he was sent to his first home, then the holistic nature of the parents likely means they let the child interact with him in an inappropriate way. I may be waaaay off base on this, but I doubt it.

 

[Kat Edge]

LOL.. I could definitely see that happening. Which actually means that he may just need some direction and patience, and he'll be a good boy. Can you teach older SVs tricks (obviously this won't be any time soon for Ziggy)?

As far as the digging at the doors, just put out a mat? Should I be doing anything else?

 

[WitchyWoman]

There are books out there about clicker training your cat. I tend to think that highly intelligent breeds such as the SV are trainable when older. I'm training my 4 & 5 yr. old cats to use the toilet so anything is possible. Marilyn Krieger's book Naughty No More contains a section on clicker training. There are members here who have trained their cats using voice & touch.

 

[Kat Edge]

Yay! I'll have to read up on that. I've read some of the training threads on this site.
Did we cover what I should do when he charges or hisses aggressively?

 

[Rafiki]

I get my freeze dried treats (chicken breast, chicken or duck hearts) from Amazon as the price is usually good. It is amazing how absolutely every time I order something from Amazon, cat treats or toys are ordered as well. LOL. But, if you don't want to wait, you should be able to buy either PureBites or Halo Liv-aLittles freeze dried chicken breasts at any pet store.

 

[Rafiki]

BTW, he is a gorgeous boy. If he is already curling up at your feet within the first couple of days, I would say that the prognosis for eventually having a well adjusted cat is good.

 

[SV Dad]

BTW, he is a gorgeous boy. If he is already curling up at your feet within the first couple of days, I would say that the prognosis for eventually having a well adjusted cat is good.

On this I agree. The cat is showing trust by laying down and napping by your feet. This seems to be a very good sign that the cat is willing to accept you in time.
One clue is the ears. If they are up, most probably things are fine. If they are flat back (we called this airplane ears) that can signal annoyance or displeasure.
Some savannahs hiss like other cats meow. You will have to decipher which one it is. Time will tell.
Be patient, I think you will be rewarded and discover the deep bonding these cats can give. If you haven't read it yet, just about everyone on the forums proclaims these to be the best cats they have ever been owned by.