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Need a Little Behavioral Insight

Good morning everyone,

If I could have a little bit of insight, thoughts, opinions, etc., that would be great :)

I just picked up my savannah (she's an F3) two days ago. I consider her a rescue, as I'm her third home after the breeder. Her former owner, whom I picked up up from, has 5 children, and they did the stereotypical "oh, let's play with the kitty!" and child-terrorized her. Nothing malicious, just the typical kid stuff that makes people segregate pets that are "good" around children and pets that are "not good" around children.

Now, here I am on day two. She has acclimated to my apartment (it's a large 3 bedroom, so she has plenty of space), is eating, drinking, using the litter box. So, I'm considering her immediate survival needs met. However, if I get too close to her (so if she's under the bed, or behind the couch), she'll do the hissing and growing. She lets me pet her, and she only swatted me once -- without claws. No biting, no attacking. I don't even consider the hissing and growling aggressive behavior in this context.

I feel pretty confident that she's still just nervous around me -- she's not my first cat, but my two prior were domestic short hairs, and they were also rescues. They hid for a couple days, and then became attached, and I never had any issues.

So I guess, in a nutshell, now that I attempted to explain the entire context, my questions are: should I keep attempting to pet her when she growls and hisses? Should I back off, and keep talking to her? She calms down within about 30 seconds after hissing, and the growling stops within about 60 seconds. I don't want to push her, and like I said, I'm on day two now, but I really want her to get comfortable around me and be a companion, not just a four legged creature that exists.

Thank you in advance!
 

Jambi_wild

Savannah Super Cat
How is her food aggression? maybe try giving her a small amount of delicious wet food and petting her at the same time, I have also had a lot of rescues that were stray cats, they warm up eventually and especially with food. kitties love food.
Tastey treats are always rewarding as well. Feeding her from your fingers so she warms up to you.
Hope the bonding happens soon. I am sure once she realizes she is in a great situation and away from terrorizing children she will accept her new plush lifestyle.
 

Rafiki

Site Supporter
She was literally tortured by those kids and has trust issues so you need to back off! Let her come to you. Lure her near you with toys and treats but do NOT touch. In a couple of weeks, "accidently" graze your hand over her back without actually petting her. Every cat/kitten is unique and many are fearful of being touched by someone new and don't allow it for weeks so this is not unusual. Forcing the issue will not help the process.
 

WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
Cynthia, you should follow the quarantine procedure that is recommended when bringing a cat into a new home. Keep her in one room for at least 2 weeks with her litter box, beds, toys etc. Spend time in her room reading aloud or working on your laptop. Engage her in play without trying to touch her. Sleep in there with her if you can. Read the attachment to first post here http://www.savannahcatchat.com/thre...ed-acclimating-your-new-sv-to-your-home.1959/ Even though she is not showing extreme fear or aggression, following the tips and tricks will help establish her trust in you. Let us know how it goes.
 

Jambi_wild

Savannah Super Cat
Spend time in her room reading aloud or working on your laptop.
Today I got an hour of computer work done in a little over two hours, thanks to Jambi's interest in pouncing on my laptop, followed by more food, insisting to play, followed by the need to sleep on my neck and limit my arm movement. Oh being a cat mum.

Good advice, back to basics. especially stressed cats aren't going to settle in easy when being exposed to a large unfamiliar fortress.
 
Thank you so much everyone for your quick replies!

I've engaged in all of the tactics you've all suggested, so it seems, based on my perceptions of everyone's posts, that I essentially just need to keep doing more of the same. I neglected to mention that she has been quarantined (I know some people on this Earth believe that people in apartments should not have any pets), to the kitchen, bathroom (litter box location), living room and my bedroom, so that lack of clarification is on me.

I'll keep everyone posted as we move forward. Enjoy your night!
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
A kitchen-bathroom-living room-bedroom is a huge amount of space, and probably completely overwhelming to her. I would strongly suggest you quarantine her in one room until she settles in and bonds to you. There can be no bonding going on when she is under the bed or behind the couch, however she needs these safe spaces right now since her world has been completely upended. Poor kitty, it sounds like she's pretty terrified, but hopefully she will quickly start learning that she can trust you...
 

SavannahLuv

Site Supporter
Is it a studio apartment where everything is pretty much 1 giant room? If not, I agree with Patti and it's best to quarantine to one room. Even a small apartment is a HUGE, foreign new place to a tiny kitten.

As others have said, let her come to you. I know it's hard to keep hands off when I'm sure you just want to pet and snuggle with her, but with time she will learn to trust you. Every kitten is different, just like kids. Sometimes they are super outgoing and others are more shy and take time to come around.
 

SavannahLuv

Site Supporter
Sorry just read original post saying it was a large 3 bedroom apartment... kitchen, bathroom (litter box location), living room and bedroom is way too much space for the initial quarantine. You need to pick just 1 of those 4 places.
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
Agreed on the smaller space.

In terms of your question about whether you should continue to try to pet her when she is hissing and growling at you... consider this from the cat's point of view. She is saying by hissing and growling that she is threatened and worried by your close presence and telling you to back off...so if you continue advancing and petting her you basically are ignoring her wishes and ignoring her attempts at communicating with you. That does not form a bond too well if you consider it from that angle.

It's only been a couple days and you acknowledged that she had been through a traumatic home situation. Giving her some weeks to settle and feel comfortable and respond more calmly to you would likely be much more successful. By confining to a room she has time to mull it over, and get bored enough to want to get to know you! Boredom will work for you in this way.... then you can see if treats (freeze dried chicken for example) and play are the way to her heart and work on building trust and love. Good luck!
 
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