Adopted an Adult - hissing, swatting, digging HELP

[Kat Edge]

I agree with Deborah - say 'NO' firmly when he charges but don't back off, and don't try to stare him down. As for putting his teeth on your hand, I think he is giving you a warning that he is not ready for you to do whatever you were trying to do (pet him, etc.). The fact that he doesn't actually bite you or hurt you suggests that he already has some trust and respect for you.

Are you talking about your front door that he is scratching at? Is he scratching the door or the floor? If the floor you can put a plastic or rubber mat down, if the door there are hanging cat scratchers that you can put on the door knob to encourage appropriate scratching. Alternatively put a scratching post next to the door for him to use. You can put catnip on it to encourage him to use it rather than the door or floor.

As for the poofy tail - I most commonly see this when a Savannah is happy, however it can occur when they are afraid or angry as well. Again, look at the body language, if the head is down and/or the ears flat back against the head then he is not happy, but if the ears are up and he is animated then he is probably a happy kitty.

One last thing that I don't think was mentioned previously - when you are reading, read aloud so that he gets used to your voice. Read this forum, a book, whatever out loud. The more he hears your voice the more he will respond to it. Reserve your 'firm' voice for when he does something naughty. Work on one bad behavior at a time - I think as time goes on most of his unwanted behaviors - charging, hissing, teeth on the hand, scratching in inappropriate places etc. will all start to resolve.

Thank you! He's not necessarily scratching as much as he's digging.. like he wants out. I'm pretty sure it's claws retracted. It's just SUPER noisy and woke me up at 5am. I'm trying to figure out a way to deter him from that area. I was told to use a roller chair mat upside down or Scat Mat, so I might give these a try.

 

[Kat Edge]

Welcome to SV cat chat, and congrats on your new family member Ziggy.
My f3 boy was very hissy and aggressive with his claws and teeth when he was young. Turned out, I was unintentionally scaring the heck out of him. Patti, Deb, becki, and several others here helped me to realize that my behavior towards him was the source of the problem- he was just a scared,confused little baby.
Once I stopped behaving in a manner that frightened him, he stopped being scared, and stopped biting and scratching. He still hisses from time to time, mostly to let us know he has reached his limits or he is frustrated by something, but overall is a happy, loving boy.
As others have said, let him go at his own pace. That was the most important thing for Jarvis and me.

Do you know what exactly you were doing to put him on the defensive? I've realized that Ziggy is really comfortable around me any time I am sitting on the floor or my bed, but anytime I am walking around and he's on the floor, he runs at my legs and swats them hissing with his ears back almost every time I walk by him

 

[SV Dad]

You mentioned he was not happy with other little children around..... Fast motion...... Maybe he was not comfortable with multiple children running around. Sounds to me like he likes his peace and quiet.

 

[John Campbell]

You mentioned he was not happy with other little children around..... Fast motion...... Maybe he was not comfortable with multiple children running around. Sounds to me like he likes his peace and quiet.

My kind of Cat... Likes the Piece and Quiet and not a lot of kids running around... LOL.

 

[Kat Edge]

Well, that may be because this isn't a common issue with Savannahs. It's just that cats of all breeds are individuals so some are going to need different approaches than others. And what worked with one F2 in that house obviously didn't work with the other. Some cats are simply more tolerant than others...and some are more reactive. It seems to me from what I've read that Ziggy is reactive. He's defensive and he's probably worried by the change in his life. He needs patience and space... most cats react very well to not being pushed to be a certain way...give them space and they will approach on their own.

I do rescue (I've run Savannah Rescue with others now for over 10 years) and so we do get some difficult cases. I was called once by a guy and went to his apartment. The growling and screaming started the moment he opened the door to me. He told me that was normal and that she would never come near us. So I suggested we sit on the floor in the kitchen and he should just tell me about his cat and her life with him. As he talked the cat came into the room and screamed at me some more. I ignored her and wouldn't look at her... and within half an hour she was in my lap screaming at me. She wasn't cured nor happy but she wasn't the monster he thought she was. Just she'd learned that strangers left her alone if she behaved that way and apparently originally his family and friends thought the way to tame her was to enforce holding... and she found being loud and scary kept them at a distance.

We've had cats over the years worse than you've described Ziggy, and what overwhelmingly works with them is time and patience... and love. But the love that allows them to decide on when and how they interact. And mostly they come around to being completely different cats.... it just can take more time for some than others. I can't say how long Ziggy will need, but it truly sounds to me like his posturing and hissing is defensive not aggressive wanting to harm you, and give him that space and he will come back in time to want to interact with you

This is great to hear. I am more and more convinced that there is something triggering his defensiveness. I had some friends here earlier and had them sit on the floor and just ignore him or put out their hands for him to smell it if they want to, and he did great! Didn't hiss at them at all, but with me, he came up to me while I was not sitting down, started hissing at me and "slapped" my leg, multiple times. Now that they are gone, I'm sitting on my bed, and he's curled up next to me again sleeping with his paws on my knee.. I just need to figure out what me walking by him is doing!! I don't acknowledge him. I don't talk. I don't stare at him. I'm guessing WitchyWoman had it right, that it's something with the legs and I need to cover them up and slowly acclimate him to them.

 

[Kat Edge]

Oh! I forgot to mention, when I had some friends over and they were sitting on the floor, I was sitting in a chair playing with a wand with him, and he was LOVING it. He played for a good 30 minutes and then stopped. As soon as I got up, SLAP HISS SLAP HISS SLAP HISS... but NOTHING to my friends.. one little hello hiss.. and that's it

 

[Kat Edge]

You mentioned he was not happy with other little children around..... Fast motion...... Maybe he was not comfortable with multiple children running around. Sounds to me like he likes his peace and quiet.

I think you're definitely on to something! The previous owners thought his bad behavior was coming from them not giving him enough attention, but I'm thinking the child most likely terrorized him with some kind of motion?

 

[Trish Allearz]

LOL.. sorry, I can't help but laugh. No, no, no I don't have a child, that would make NO sense. I live alone in an apartment. The breeder has only said that this is a part of "transplanting" and only time will fix it.

You never do know he does sound like he needs that one on one attention, minus children, that can be provided.

Sent from my so called smartphone so all typos and bad advice can be blamed on said "smart" phone

 

[Alicia]

I hope this isn't offensive and I could be way off here........... But do you think there is any chance someone kicked him previously? The fear he has of your legs seems way extreme to me and it almost sounds like he associates pain/fear which to me would make me wonder about possibly having been kicked.
Like I said, I could be way off base here but it sounds very strange....
Also have you had any Savannahs before? Taking on a difficult F2 could be extra challenging if you have never had a high gen cat before. It sounds like he has lots of promise though, especially if you can get past the legs thing! Have you considered maybe wearing a skirt?

 

[WitchyWoman]

Have you considered maybe wearing a skirt?

Or shin guards