[Nala14]

Hi,I got my cat Nala over 2month ago from the RSPCA, shes 2 years old very long hair and shes most probably had a very evil ex owner. Shes an indoor cat now and since the day we got her shes been behaving really odd. she has got better but these things just dont seem to get better. she doesnt like human attention much most of all from men but i think that will come with time but will she get over these things:

Shes really scared of noises, simple things opening a draw, moving a chair or the bean bag dropping somthing or even a sudden movement. She scared herself in the mirror (still) and attacks herself in the mirror daily and also likes eating her back feet and tail! (she doesnt course injury but she gets really frustrated and will turn on me) she attacks things and then gets scared of herself. She also cant balance so she falls of thing sometime she fall over her own feet.

She is litter trained but shes tipped it over and shes also fallen into it herself. Two nights ago she got poo in her fur and she get wet food in her mane? So i have to wash her which i dont enjoy because shes so scared.

are these things normal if not can i help her over come them and how?
me and my 2 house mates are starting to think she might be mentally challanged?

Any help is amazing!
thanks you all

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[Analog6]

When we got Zafira (my current avatar puss) from the RSPCA she had big issues. It took 9 months to resolve these and I believe it takes a year for a cat to settle into a new home.

Zafira used to overgroom and hide. She used to sit on window ledges where, behind the curtain, she would proceed to bite her back legs and patches on her front legs until they bled. We took to carrying damp clothes all the time to wipe the window ledges.

After 8 or so months of it I began to think her quality of life was so bad we should have her put down. then one day, lo and behold, she and Raymond started to (very tentatively on her part) play the chasing game! She has never looked back, She still hates to be picked up, but is otherwise affectionate, talkative and cuddly, and loves to be stroked from head to the very tip of her tail.

So be patient, stick to a routine, talk to her a lot, all the time she is with you, just nonsense about your day. And say her name a lot, pat her whenever she is within reach. She needs kindness, affection and routine. In a year you won't know her.

[Nala14]

well that what i mean shes got normal with me she doesn't mind me and mostly not when its just me and her. i got the boys i live with to feed her so she get used to them also so she get used to be around them. she has once came and sat on my lap for about 5min but that was a while ago but my main concern is her odd behaviors!

i think she has settled in quite well, the first 4 days she didnt eat poo or leave from under the bed. she started eating and pooing normaly but then staid down stairs for the first two weeks. she now comes out all the time and spend the hole day upstairs (upstairs is our living room and kitchen) but the moment something happened or she starts freaken out she leaves, sometimes it doesnt happen at all in a day and other days shes really bad. shes really fit from running down our stairs a hundred times a day. we call her hermit crab cose she hides and the when its quite and still she comes back upstairs.

we love our kitty and when we get the change we do give her affection and she does like it for a certain time. but then mostly she only accepts it from me. Mostly after ive washed her.

[Xenacatte]

Your little girl sounds like she has had some scarey times in the past with her previous home-this is probably why she is scared of all these noises, bean bag moving etc-when she realises she is in a safe, loving and caring home with her routine she will settle-Heather says patience, patience and more patience. One thing that may help is some Rescue Remedy 3-4 drops in her water that she drinks and the use of a Feliway diffuser-contains a scent or pheronome smell that calms a cat. You can get this at a vet or pet supply shop-there is information on the CW forum. Good luck.
Chris

[Heather Sharada]

Two months is actually a very short time so I would not be too worried about her behaviour - she is trying to overcome her past and settle and it actually sounds good.....and who knows what is behind her.

The idea to give her Rescue Remedy and get a Feliway Diffuser are excellent....this should help her with the emotional excesses.......also try to move quietly around her and if possible don't ask too much of her for the moment.....let her come round at her own pace. Is there any way that she can be contained to the upstairs/downstairs - which ever makes her feel more safe - for a while longer so she starts to feel that there is somewhere in the house that is just hers and feels safe.

I would clean her with a brush and talcum powder rather than wash her - surprisingly it does a really good job. Get a $2 shop litter tray and when she is a bit dirty stand her in the tray to catch the excess talc and liberally sprinkle powder on the soiled area - and then brush brush brush to get it out. At first it will look even more messy but re-apply the talc and keep brushing - do this a number of times and you will be amazed.

It sounds like she does enjoy being groomed that she accepts affection after you have washed her....maybe that will be a bonding time with you and later with the men in the house if they are gentle with her.

With her rear end you may need to comb the trousers and carefully snip a little hair from the underside of her tail and trousers - do it neatly and it should get rid of that problem. Regarding her tipping the litter box over I have had cats do that - some trays are not very stable. Perhaps get her a bigger box - the sort that people use for under bed storage - usually twice the size of a small litter tray or else get her a covered litter tray - these don't tip so easily.

You sound like you have a lovely cat that just needs lots of patience, patience and did I say patience while she gets her confidence that the world has not come to an end. Keep working with her - she sounds like she just needs understanding.

[Peekablue]

Oh yes, the scared RSPCA cats.

My girl Cleo and my boy Odin both came from the Animal Welfare League and have issues with being fearful. Odin is the most unco-ordinated cat I have ever seen, he does things like jump over the bed and into the wall, jumping into mirrors, falling off garden walls, and generally exhibiting what seems like a lack of poise and intelligence.

Cleo is very fearful too, she'll hide when there are any small changes and is scared of fireworks in real life and on TV. You always have to let her sniff your hand before you touch her or she'll shy away.


Since Odin was only 4 months old, and Cleo was in the pound for 2 months before I adopted her (at 10 years old) I can really only conclude that the pound really, really messes cats up emotionally and mentally.


Everyone has given you great advice and I have nothing to add except to hang in there, be patient, and just enjoy her despite (or because of) her special quirks.

[Nala14]

Odin defiantly sounds like Nala. Nala was at the RSPCA for 6 months at lest before i got her. im a regular visitor there and it hurt me soo much seeing them there! she wasnt my choice of cat but my boyfriend love her because she was a lion and so fluffy and i felt soo sorry because i knew how long she had been there for! its cruel for them.
if her behavour isnt from her ex owner its truly possible its from the shelter.

has Odin improved much since you have had him?

i appreciate everyones help its great having someone there for you that has gones though it all before!

[Heather Sharada]

Poor baby - 6 months is a loooong time in a cat's life. I am sure she will come round....it will just take time.

[fleabag]

Aww poor girl...she's doing well. Lots of good advice so far ..the only thing I'd add is to cover the bottom of the mirror with newspaper until she gets a little braver ..then that mean cat wont attack her all the time ...grin ..

[Analog6]

She will be Ok. She wants to love you but is just timid. My other Siamese, Honey, is hermit crab like too - her refuge is under Mummy's doona! She comes out for me, she is getting to accept warwick (we've had this one 11 months, mind you!) but strangers are anathema. The eyes open wide and she is gone!

Patience, patience and more patience. When she is upstairs, get the boys to sit quietly and may be offer treaties that she likes, talking softly to her so she begins to realise they are just noisy small people. Maybe they could feed her on alternate nights. she will accept her care/food givers more readily. She is very pretty, too.

[Estherkitty]

Our older girl, she is 16 now. We got her aged approx 4 or 5 and she was at that time considered non-rehomable and had been in the shelter a long time, and was extremely shy and also aggressive when cornered. I remember when we got her, my very cat knowledgeable friend said that she was less a "rescue" than a "Salvage" It took her 2 years to become anywhere near approaching normal, even to stay in the room with us! We were just patient with her. We decided to appreciate her for her gorgeous looks, she is a pretty plush white girl with the most amazing green eyes. I doubted back then she would ever become a normal cat and we decided she had a home for life and we would accept her as she was then, so for the small advances she started to make we were always so pleased for her.

[CoralD]

You sound like you have a lovely cat that just needs lots of patience, patience and did I say patience while she gets her confidence that the world has not come to an end. Keep working with her - she sounds like she just needs understanding.

There's "the three p's" again Heather

great advice though. I hope we all remember to thank the great Kitty in the Sky for all the useful stuff we learn - as well as the new friends we find - on these forums.

[soulshine]

Good luck on Nala and keep us updated!

[oriental cats]

Heather has given you great advise and my mum who rescued would agree that time patience and love would win out in the end and always be guided by the cat and let them come to you, she may never really like men some of mums never did but in time would tolerate my lovely big softy dad.

[Adabel_Bengals]

My mum rescued a Bengal from a backyarder about 7 years ago. The girl was around a year old at the time. She was raised in a tiny 50 cent shaped avairy with 7 other cats. They didn't want her inside because she was too much of a talker!!!

Right from the start we knew she had never seen the inside of a house. Everything scared her. It took us nearly a year for her to tolerate us being in the same room as her, she used to hiss and run out of the room and hide elsewhere. Eventually she came out of her shell (about two years after we got her) and she bonded well to me as I spent all of my free time with her.

She's now fine, comes up to us and everything. Still doesn't like being picked up and very wobbly when jumping from the couch to the table etc. She also jumps out of the loungeroom into the hallway - no idea why but it's just one of her quirks!

Keep at it and the issues will slowly dissolve. Our moto at my dog club is 'trust and patience' and I think it applies to animals in general.

Good luck and please keep us updated!