did last owner abuse cat?

u_c_thesecond

Hi all

I had a cat who ran away 14 months ago , my husband and i adored him and it took us a long time before we could even consider getting another cat.

A friend of mine saw an ad in the paper and mentioned it to me, the ad said

"Good home wanted for 1 year old male black and white cat. very friendly, has had all shots and is netured and can provide doc.
Comes from a loving home but owners moving away and cant take him with them.

So after chatting to owner, we decided to give him a home. He arrived last week. He is lovely but a few things seem to be wrong with what we were told and now the number his previous owners was on is not working even though they not moving till march they said.

1. 1 year old

We figured he was big when he arrived,but he was at least twice the size of my sisters cat who is 13 months old. Vet confirmed he is at least 4 years old.


2. "Has had all shots and is netured and can provide doc"
I asked for doc on his arrival and they said they lostit!!! (we want shot history so we can insure him in case hes ever sick) they gave me a number and name of the vet that was "forwarding" the info on to me.
After calling this number it turns out this numbers not real!


3. Very Friendly.

This cat is terrified of us, he has latched on to me since yesterday but if we get up off the couch he lets out a yowl an tears up the stairs, if we go to pet him he yowls and runs, i fed him the other day and as he came over to eat i stood up and he crouched as if he expected to be hit.

I think this cat may have been abused.We were given toys and blankets for him but 2 of the toys had tags on them so they were obviously just bought and his apparant "Blankie" smelled of whiskey. He wouldnt go near it, but Once i washed it he snuggled into it

Like i said he has latched on to me since yestarday but he is freaked out by my husband. He comes home from work and the minute the cat hears him he will let out a yowl and run into the corner and wail. My hubby thinks he may have been hit by a man which is why he scared of him and not me

Can someone give me some insight. Has this cat been abused?? I mentioned i had a cat before because i know how cats act and I find this cats behaviour very odd considering i was told he came from a "loving home"

SingItOut

Did the owner come to your house to give you the cat or did you go to collect the cat?
If you have the owners address you should go back and demand an explanation.

mathepac

What else did the vet say apart from commenting on age?

I had a neutered male a few years ago, the quietest lovingest auld yoke you'd see, until coming into contact with the vet and then he turned into a Tasmanian dirt devil (the cat, not the vet).

Any indications of cat 'flu damage?

planetX

well they lied about the vaccs and age so are obviously vile people who conned you. I'd say it's highly likely they were cruel as well. Lucky cat to have got to you.
Is he at least neutered?

exaisle

Seems a bit contradictory to think that if the previous owners had been that bad they would have sought a good home for him...if they were uncaring then surely the cat would have been abandoned somewhere remote?

As regards his behaviour, give him time. He's in a new place and will be understandably suspicious. A bit of kindness on your part will pay dividends in the long run. :-)

alie

I was in a similar situation 8 years ago, cat behaved just like that, took me a year to settle her down, even household noises would send her into turmoil. She turned out to be a lovely cat and now rules the house, I later found out that the son of the owner had thrown her out an upstairs window when she was very young, they also made her have two sets of kittens before she was one for profit. A little time and patience and your kitty should settle down

seamus

Sound like the cat was probably in a household where the woman looked after it (or tried to), but the man of the household gave out to it and lashed out with a kick whenever the cat was within range. I'm not surprised any more by the level of hate and cruelty that people can show.

Given the lies you've been told about the cat thus far, I wouldn't believe a word of the ad. Assume that you rescued a cat from a very poor home and work on identifying his issues and relieving them.
Cats can be a good deal harder in this regard than dogs, because cats are more innately "wild" than dogs, so getting them to drop learned "wild" behaviours is harder. But the reward when they do open up to you is just the same.
Typically it just takes time - the more love and care the cat receives from both you and your husband, the more it will learn to trust you both.

Lawliet

exaisle wrote: »

Seems a bit contradictory to think that if the previous owners had been that bad they would have sought a good home for him...if they were uncaring then surely the cat would have been abandoned somewhere remote?

People aren't just either heartless monsters or perfect owners, people can be casually cruel and neglectful but still feel guilty about leaving a pet for dead. The fact that the cat is warming up to the OP so quickly suggests that he was shown some kindness before.

It's tough dealing with an abused cat, you'll have to start by figuring out what his trigger are and find ways to avoid setting him off. Avoid sudden moves, shouting or even talking too loudly when he's around. Probably not a bad idea to spoil him rotten for a while; lots of treats and praise. Be careful with your body language, especially eye contact; don't avoid it completely meet his gaze and then slowly and deliberately blink a few times -it's a submissive gesture that should help him relax a bit. Try and get him use to being around your husband, like have them in the same room where the cat can't run off, if your husband ignores the cat and a treat or two , he should eventually get use to your husband.
It's going to take a lot of time and patience, and he'll probably always be a bit nervous, but it's definitely worth it in the end

u_c_thesecond

SingItOut wrote: »

Did the owner come to your house to give you the cat or did you go to collect the cat?
If you have the owners address you should go back and demand an explanation.

No they came to our house after we had been talking on the phone, and the number is now not in service

u_c_thesecond

mathepac wrote: »

What else did the vet say apart from commenting on age?

I had a neutered male a few years ago, the quietest lovingest auld yoke you'd see, until coming into contact with the vet and then he turned into a Tasmanian dirt devil (the cat, not the vet).

Any indications of cat 'flu damage?

The vet checked him out, weighed him said he was underweight, that he was at least 4 years old and has fleas(which he sorted) and after explaining everything to him he stated its likley he has had no shots either so he gave them to him.

He checked and he is netured so thats something. He said judging by the cats behaviour (he hissed at the male vet and nuzzled the female assistant)that he may have had a few homes over the years

u_c_thesecond

seamus wrote: »

but the man of the household gave out to it and lashed out with a kick whenever the cat was within range.

ya that was what we were thinking too.

what freaks me out a bit is the whiskey "blankie" that he apparantly loved. What were they doing to that cat!!

Bullseye1

Maybe it was the woman who was cruel and not the man...... Now how silly does that sound? As bad as vice versa? This thread will no doubt turn into speculation 101.

seamus

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Maybe it was the woman who was cruel and not the man...... Now how silly does that sound? As bad as vice versa? This thread will no doubt turn into speculation 101.

I'm not sure what your point is. Nervousness in rescue animals which is specific to a gender very often indicates that an animal has been treated badly by someone of that gender, so the animal generally associates this bad feeling with that gender.

My dog, while utterly friendly with everyone, show a particular affinity towards men. This is down to the environment that she came from where the only caregiver was male so she has a stronger positive association with men than women.

I don't think anyone was suggesting that the cat was mistreated by a man because men mistreat cats.

lorebringer

From experience - if you have a feeling about something regarding rescue animals, no matter what people tell you, it is likely to be right. People lie, and many will do so to ridiculous point, and if they have been talking bullsh!t about vets (and giving false numbers - wtf?!?!), temperament and age it is very likely that they had no attachment or respect, for the poor animal and just wanted rid of him. I have had people lie, blatantly, to my face and continue to do so even when caught out simply to be rid of something they didn't want to deal with.

Just a good thing that he ended up in a good, loving home. A little affection and tlc will go a very long way with him. Personally, I would start fresh with vaccinations etc, get him chipped (and registered!) and feed him up on some good food!

Bubblefett

Whatever happened to the cat before at least you have him now and can take care of him. It'll mean a lot of attention and taking your time (especially for your husband if the cat is nervous of him) but that cat will finally have a safe home to call his own.

My dog came from an abused background and was afraid of almost everything (couldn't even get him used to being inside a house!) but I worked hard with him and thankfully now you wouldn't be able to tell how bad he had it (though he still isn't quite over his fear of motorbikes or ovens).

Tranceypoo

bubblefett wrote: »

My dog came from an abused background and was afraid of almost everything (couldn't even get him used to being inside a house!) but I worked hard with him and thankfully now you wouldn't be able to tell how bad he had it (though he still isn't quite over his fear of motorbikes or ovens).

Good Lord, what on earth happened to the poor dog to make him afraid of ovens?!!

CricketDude

I have a cat that I rescued from a ditch when the mother left it behind. He squeeled for 2 days in the ditch. I left him for 2 days to see if the mother would come back. When I got him his eyes werent even open.
Now he is stuck to me all the time. Hisses at everyone else and attacks them.
The vet, who is a mate, told me some cats are just one man or one woman cats.

lorebringer

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Good Lord, what on earth happened to the poor dog to make him afraid of ovens?!!

One of mine (a rescue) is afraid of the oven and grill too - peed all over himself when i tried to "introduce" him to the oven. He used to vomit with fear at times too. So now when we are cooking, he hides in bed or in the corner.

Very strange.

Adventure Pout

It is hard to know what happened to that cat.. But at least he is in a good loving home of yours.
If he is scared, only time and patience will bring him out. It is so worth it, so dont loose patience.
When you approach him, try to be at his level i.e. Be as low as you can. Try to put some food where he is hiding, then slowly move it further and closer to you or wherever you want him to go. Try also, to put some nice smelly/attractive food onto your fingers/palm and be at his level, and let him come to you.
Dont try to go after him too much - ignore him (or make him think you ignore him, by keeping an eye at his actions) and let him come to you.
Also, try to encourage some play, like with a fishing rod with a feather (i recommend Da Bird, if you dont know). Little by little he will opens up and comes to you.. This takes time, but once he starts trusting you and knows he is in a safe and unharmful place, you will be so rewarded with love and affection..
And as others said, try not to make too big noise and talk softly.
Oh... You can also try feliway diffuser to help him..
Let us know how your kitty gets on..
Best of luck, and dont forget, Patience, Time and lots of TLC are your core...

alie

u_c_thesecond wrote: »

The vet checked him out, weighed him said he was underweight, that he was at least 4 years old and has fleas(which he sorted) and after explaining everything to him he stated its likley he has had no shots either so he gave them to him.

He checked and he is netured so thats something. He said judging by the cats behaviour (he hissed at the male vet and nuzzled the female assistant)that he may have had a few homes over the years

Poor thing, glad he has a nice home now:)

Bubblefett

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Good Lord, what on earth happened to the poor dog to make him afraid of ovens?!!

I try not to think about it. All I know is he escaped from a haulting site near to my house, starved and terrified.