Hissing kitten question......

[Charley]

This is all great advice, thanks so much! I have been stroking him when I can and yes I am desperate to grab him and cuddle him BUT I will stop stroking him and allow him to initiate contact! He's so gorgeous I just want him to jump on my lap for hugs lol

If he is okay with it then it's fine. We noticed Jengo would run as soon as we would pet him and hide so I could tell he was uncomfortable. After a few days and laying treats for him and letting him then decided to eat them out of our hands he would rub against our hands so then we would pet him. This was never an issue with Wigs, but he didn't hide either by the second day he greeted us at the door, lol!

I know - I wanted Jengo to just jump all over me - he took a little more time. We had to be careful with touching him as it made him run away but playing and keeping some distance really worked.

If he's still under the bed you could try and get down and just look at him and do blinky eyes. We did slow blinks and left treats out and I would slide my hand under the bed - but not close with treats. He would sometimes sniff - sometimes not - his choice. It undid some of the damage I did by initially trying to smother him. It doesn't sound like you are doing what I was. He would hide and I 'd still stroke him or when he would run by I'd try to stroke him.

 

[Patti]

If he doesn't shrink away from your stroking you can continue this, otherwise I would do as Charley suggested and wait for him to initiate the contact. Keep playing with him, he is coming around slowly but surely

 

[flyswatter]

hi- so two weeks on and he still hisses at me when i go near him - to date he has not come to me for any contact He has been out of quarantine for a couple of days and is slowly getting a feel for the house but if anyone walks past etc he runs for cover in his quarantine room(his litter, toys etc are still in there with the door open).
I have two other cats and their litter is in a room behind our kitchen - i don't know where to put mavericks litter yet?
Now he has started to POO on my lounge rug ( he has done this 3 times).

He has only let me stroke him in situations where he is 'backed into a corner' not literally of course, i mean in a cat bed or something.

Help!! I am really worried that i will never be able to share affection with this beautiful boy

 

[flyswatter]

p.s i spent most of my days with him in quarantine. Just being around, playing with toys, feeding him etc.

 

[Carykd7kau]

I have and older cat who is very skittish. It was a month before she would come out from under the bed and play. Then another week before i could touch her. She still won't leave her room for more than a few minutes and then ONLY when my other kitty is locked in my bedroom.
My point? Don't give up. Love can conquer all. Don't push him. Let him become at ease with you, your scent and your voice. TALK to him all the time. Tell him you love him, that he is a handsome boy, and that he is a big strong brave boy. I know it seems silly, but words embody an energy they sense.
Good luck!

 

[Charley]

Ok, it sounds like you've just got one who is slow to warm up. Jengo did this too - not hissing - but hiding, every noise sent him running.

Stick with what you are doing. Is there anyway you can sleep in the same room as him? I know that sounds weird but at one point. Jengo was so adamant he wasn't leaving under the bed that we just started living our lives and sleeping in our room. He ended up owning our master, so one night we slept in there and I could feel him on the bed. I pretended to be sleeping and sniffed and sniffed. After a few nights he started curling up.

Do you have any Feliway? It really helps. Spray down his room, the cat biz and where ever else you want him to be. My vet also shared that they sometimes don't like to do their business in the same box. Maybe get a second box next to the first one and see if he likes that better. We have a huge box for Jengo and does one thing on one side and the other on the other side. Put the poo in the box so he can learn to associate smells.

Will he eat in front of you yet? If so work on small challenges of sitting on the floor and brining the food dish closer. Day one might be 10 feet away and day two might be 9.5 feet away but it's a good way to challenge him safely to get a little closer. Make sure you aren't putting treats or food under the bed, I did this and it furthered Jengo's association with the bed. The bed is not a bad thing it's just not where he eats.

Put dirty clothes in the room, dirty clothes have much more scent and that will help him warm up.

The fact that he runs to his room is good, he has a safe place. Bizley still runs up to his room for a nap or when he wants special time. Sounds like he knows where to go when it gets scary and that's good. Keep working slowly with him.

He is a higher gen than either of my boys do it might just take a little more time. Jengo was so touch and go for the first year, everything spooked him. It was one step forward and two steps back. He eventually on his time started warming up. Just the fact he knows where to go is progress! Each cat is different. Bizley was a breeze compared with Jengo. The second he discovered toys and food we were forever friends and the night he was here he even escaped quarantine and ran around meowing and saying hi to everyone. It took Jengo over 2 years to stop hiding when the doorbell rang. He still runs to this day from certain people who've been nothing but sweet, lol.

And finally keep some level of noise going. I have a very quiet home and now big kitties get a little skittish when someone comes around, lol. I have to play the television or radio for them.

 

[Patti]

Have you been bringing his meals when you visit and taking them away when you leave, and not free feeding him? Have you found any treat that he seems to particularly like? I had a kitten that was very much like Maverick, for months I could not get her to lower her guard around me. One day I discovered that she loves potato chips - I literally won her over with potato chips. Now no one has to tell me that potato chips are unhealthy for cats as well as humans, but I was desperate enough to use any means available that would work. She is still skittish, but at times will actually come up to me when I am sitting at my computer to get head scratches.

I'm not sure I would give him free rein of the house at this point, just that much more opportunity to avoid you altogether, not to mention choose your cats to bond with instead of you. I agree that sleeping with him might help - it allows him the opportunity to 'safely' check you out while you are asleep so not perceived as a threat.

As for the inappropriate pooping - is this in his quarantine room or out in the rest of the house? Is he acting particularly nervous or frightened when this happens? How well is he getting along with your other cats? Does he know where their litterbox is? I agree that a second litterbox for him might help the situation, and this is another reason why I would continue to limit his access to the house (if the lounge rug is in the main house, not in the quarantine room).

BTW, I can't remember if you mentioned where Maverick came from, but what has your breeder said about his behavior? Did he/she mention that he was shy or skittish before he left? How far away is your breeder? If it's at all possible for him/her to visit sometimes it only takes a familiar face to reassure him to make everything okay again.

 

[Charley]

I just wanted to pop back and say that 2 weeks feels like forever and I felt very frustrated at that point with both kitties for different reasons but stay patient. They do come around. I remember people saying Jengo was odd because of his shy nature but in the end he is who he is and once Maverick bonds with you and he will, it is a very special bond. Bizley and I do not have the same relationship as Jengo and I. I can put Biz in any room, any where and know he's going to be great, Jengo - not so much. Biz and I are born performers and I love that about him and that's our special bond, Jengo is sensitive and is sort of the brooding artist type.

Skittish kitties are very capable of giving a lot of love with a lot of patience. It's good that there are other cats for him to bond with eventually, they will help show him everything is okay. Jengo eventually opened up after Biz got here and he could see that life not under the bed is fun. They are on their own timeline. I think it took us a solid month to get the two boys good with each other. It took Jengo easily 6 months to really trust and be okay and then really only with me because I feed him.

Jengo's fear and non aggressive personality allowed us to interact with him way more than we should have because he was afraid to hiss and tell us to go away. We literally invaded his personal space so much that we had a lot of step backs that first year. We didn't know any better at the time but I think half of Jengo's emotional issues are because we didn't grant him the freedom to come to us. We just got up on him all the time even when he was running away.

So just hang in there, you're on the right track and he will love you more for being patient with him. When he does warm up it will be very warm. I love that you are listening to him and he's brave enough to tell you. It will work out great

 

[flyswatter]

Have you been bringing his meals when you visit and taking them away when you leave, and not free feeding him? Have you found any treat that he seems to particularly like? I had a kitten that was very much like Maverick, for months I could not get her to lower her guard around me. One day I discovered that she loves potato chips - I literally won her over with potato chips. Now no one has to tell me that potato chips are unhealthy for cats as well as humans, but I was desperate enough to use any means available that would work. She is still skittish, but at times will actually come up to me when I am sitting at my computer to get head scratches.

I'm not sure I would give him free rein of the house at this point, just that much more opportunity to avoid you altogether, not to mention choose your cats to bond with instead of you. I agree that sleeping with him might help - it allows him the opportunity to 'safely' check you out while you are asleep so not perceived as a threat.

As for the inappropriate pooping - is this in his quarantine room or out in the rest of the house? Is he acting particularly nervous or frightened when this happens? How well is he getting along with your other cats? Does he know where their litterbox is? I agree that a second litterbox for him might help the situation, and this is another reason why I would continue to limit his access to the house (if the lounge rug is in the main house, not in the quarantine room).

BTW, I can't remember if you mentioned where Maverick came from, but what has your breeder said about his behavior? Did he/she mention that he was shy or skittish before he left? How far away is your breeder? If it's at all possible for him/her to visit sometimes it only takes a familiar face to reassure him to make everything okay again.

Hi , yes I've been bringing his food when I go in , I've not been leaving it- just dry food and water ( his favourite chicken & salmon go with me!)

He pretty much only comes out of his room and prowls about at night when we are all sleeping. No it wasn't his quarantine room that he poo'd in , turns out he's been peeing too :-(. No he doesn't know where the other cats litter box is and I've not caught him in the act so I don't know if he's nervous or not. My cats have one litter box each but they both use the same one( their choice!).

My more laid back cat just stays away from maverick but my Abyssinian is very curious and she tries to play but he just growls at her . Although this morning they got close enough to sniff noses before he got all grumpy.

Yes the breeder described him as feisty and he doesn't like touch at the moment. Unfortunately he doesn't behave any differently around the breeder and never really liked her touching him either lol

 

[flyswatter]

I just wanted to pop back and say that 2 weeks feels like forever and I felt very frustrated at that point with both kitties for different reasons but stay patient. They do come around. I remember people saying Jengo was odd because of his shy nature but in the end he is who he is and once Maverick bonds with you and he will, it is a very special bond. Bizley and I do not have the same relationship as Jengo and I. I can put Biz in any room, any where and know he's going to be great, Jengo - not so much. Biz and I are born performers and I love that about him and that's our special bond, Jengo is sensitive and is sort of the brooding artist type.

Skittish kitties are very capable of giving a lot of love with a lot of patience. It's good that there are other cats for him to bond with eventually, they will help show him everything is okay. Jengo eventually opened up after Biz got here and he could see that life not under the bed is fun. They are on their own timeline. I think it took us a solid month to get the two boys good with each other. It took Jengo easily 6 months to really trust and be okay and then really only with me because I feed him.

Jengo's fear and non aggressive personality allowed us to interact with him way more than we should have because he was afraid to hiss and tell us to go away. We literally invaded his personal space so much that we had a lot of step backs that first year. We didn't know any better at the time but I think half of Jengo's emotional issues are because we didn't grant him the freedom to come to us. We just got up on him all the time even when he was running away.

So just hang in there, you're on the right track and he will love you more for being patient with him. When he does warm up it will be very warm. I love that you are listening to him and he's brave enough to tell you. It will work out great

Hi there - thanks so much for your advice, it's a real comfort to know it will get better ( hopefully) as I will be devastated if he's like this for life !

Sounds like your Jengo was more scared than maverick as he hisses and growls etc.

I will try the feliway - do I spray it on his litter tray and scratching pole? If I spray it in his litter tray AND other places wont he associate the smell with 'it's ok to pee & poo here'?

I slept in the room with him a few times but he never came near , he's not scared of me being there , he just sleeps in his hammock or on the sofa etc. anywhere but near me lol

Yes he eats from my hand and will also eat right next to me no problem BUT if i tried to touch him he'd run away so I don't try now. I will try leaving something of mine in the room with him

Oh noise isn't a problem in my house!! I have 4 boys and 2 loopy dogs in addition to the other cats so it's rarely quiet . I will keep on truckin' with him and hope he comes around.