A cat forum. CatBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CatBanter forum » Cat Newsgroups » Cat health & behaviour
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Is this normal behaviour?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old October 17th 04, 05:46 PM
i.p.freely
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Is this normal behaviour?

Hi group, looking for advice on problems integrating a new cat.

A week ago my older cat passed away (he was the alpha of my two neutered
males, the only two cats). I went to the rescue and adopted a 8 YO female
which was aparently used to other cats and friendly etc. For the first 2
days they studiously ignored each other aside from a few touch-noses but
this morning the new cat attacked Worf and has been hunting & chasing him
around the house (not just out of the immediate vicinity) to the point where
he cowers in fear and growls whenever she is in sight. I now have her shut
in a spare room with toys, bed, litter tray, food etc and Worf has gone
outside & not come back yet

Worf is a sociable cat and used to others, there are a number of cats in the
neighbourhood and they all come in and out of each others houses with no
trouble between them. As he was not the previous 'alpha' of the house, he is
generally passive in nature and therefore is not attacking back although he
is physically twice the size.

Would this behaviour be normal with a new cat asserting herself or does it
look like her nature has been mis-described as I was also told that she'd
been in the shelter for an extended period of time without finding a home
which is strange as she is a pretty little cat. She's also bitten my
neighbour who came in to see her, and after a couple of minutes of petting
also tried to claw & bite me. She's a Turkish Van if her breed gives any
clues.

--

I.P.Freely



  #2  
Old October 17th 04, 11:17 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


A week ago my older cat passed away (he
was the alpha of my two neutered males,
the only two cats).


In the cat world, there is no such thing as an "alpha" cat. A cat in a
two cat household may at some point be considered "dominant," but cat
heirarchy often changes.

I went to the rescue
and adopted a 8 YO female which was
aparently used to other cats and
friendly etc. For the first 2 days they
studiously ignored each other aside from
a few touch-noses but this morning the
new cat attacked Worf and has been
hunting & chasing him around the house
(not just out of the immediate vicinity)
to the point where he cowers in fear and
growls whenever she is in sight. I now
have her shut in a spare room with toys,
bed, litter tray, food etc and Worf has
gone outside & not come back yet


Separating the cat is what should have been done to begin with, and it
was wise for you to put the new cat in a separate room. Allowing
fighting to happen can make introductions *more" difficult, and since
you've had a breakdown in the process of introduction, it would be wise
for you to keep the new cat in the room with NO contact with the other
cat for at least a week or so, let things settle down, then begin a
*very slow* introduction. You can read why this is so important and how
to do one he
http://www.catsinternational.org/art...roduction.html

Worf is a sociable cat and used to
others, there are a number of cats in
the neighbourhood and they all come in
and out of each others houses with no
trouble between them. As he was not the
previous 'alpha' of the house, he is
generally passive in nature and
therefore is not attacking back although
he is physically twice the size.
Would this behaviour be normal with a
new cat asserting herself or does it
look like her nature has been
mis-described as I was also told that
she'd been in the shelter for an
extended period of time without finding
a home which is strange as she is a
pretty little cat.


What you need to keep in mind is that this cat has gone from being
abandoned, to living for a long time in a stressful shelter situation,
to coming into a new home with strange people and a strange cat. This
many changes in such a short time is very stressful for cats, and she's
feeling very vulnerable and defensive. Going on the offensive and
attacking the resident cat is likely to actually be a defensive move
designed to scare him off because she's unsure and scared herself. The
right thing to do for her is to keep her separated in a room of her own
and give her time to make the adjustment to you and get used to her new
surroundings before exposing her to the rest of the house and the
resident cat. No doubt Worf could also use a break from her. ;-)

She's also bitten my
neighbour who came in to see her, and
after a couple of minutes of petting
also tried to claw & bite me.


Some of this could be related to too much, too soon, but you also need
to understand that some cats get easily overstimulated from petting and
the biting is a warning that the cat has had enough and you need to back
off. Cats do give warning signals, and you'll need to learn to recognize
the body language she exhibits that precedes the biting. Signals include
the ears flicking, the tail lashing, or even subtle muscle twitches on
the body. Immediately stopping physical contact when the cat exhibits
any of these warning signals will virtually eliminate incidences of you
getting bitten.

The best approach for integrating this cat successfully into your home
is to give her some time, don't rush and instead take things very
slowly. A good rule of thumb is if you think she's ready for the next
step, wait one more day. HTH.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray


  #3  
Old October 17th 04, 11:17 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


A week ago my older cat passed away (he
was the alpha of my two neutered males,
the only two cats).


In the cat world, there is no such thing as an "alpha" cat. A cat in a
two cat household may at some point be considered "dominant," but cat
heirarchy often changes.

I went to the rescue
and adopted a 8 YO female which was
aparently used to other cats and
friendly etc. For the first 2 days they
studiously ignored each other aside from
a few touch-noses but this morning the
new cat attacked Worf and has been
hunting & chasing him around the house
(not just out of the immediate vicinity)
to the point where he cowers in fear and
growls whenever she is in sight. I now
have her shut in a spare room with toys,
bed, litter tray, food etc and Worf has
gone outside & not come back yet


Separating the cat is what should have been done to begin with, and it
was wise for you to put the new cat in a separate room. Allowing
fighting to happen can make introductions *more" difficult, and since
you've had a breakdown in the process of introduction, it would be wise
for you to keep the new cat in the room with NO contact with the other
cat for at least a week or so, let things settle down, then begin a
*very slow* introduction. You can read why this is so important and how
to do one he
http://www.catsinternational.org/art...roduction.html

Worf is a sociable cat and used to
others, there are a number of cats in
the neighbourhood and they all come in
and out of each others houses with no
trouble between them. As he was not the
previous 'alpha' of the house, he is
generally passive in nature and
therefore is not attacking back although
he is physically twice the size.
Would this behaviour be normal with a
new cat asserting herself or does it
look like her nature has been
mis-described as I was also told that
she'd been in the shelter for an
extended period of time without finding
a home which is strange as she is a
pretty little cat.


What you need to keep in mind is that this cat has gone from being
abandoned, to living for a long time in a stressful shelter situation,
to coming into a new home with strange people and a strange cat. This
many changes in such a short time is very stressful for cats, and she's
feeling very vulnerable and defensive. Going on the offensive and
attacking the resident cat is likely to actually be a defensive move
designed to scare him off because she's unsure and scared herself. The
right thing to do for her is to keep her separated in a room of her own
and give her time to make the adjustment to you and get used to her new
surroundings before exposing her to the rest of the house and the
resident cat. No doubt Worf could also use a break from her. ;-)

She's also bitten my
neighbour who came in to see her, and
after a couple of minutes of petting
also tried to claw & bite me.


Some of this could be related to too much, too soon, but you also need
to understand that some cats get easily overstimulated from petting and
the biting is a warning that the cat has had enough and you need to back
off. Cats do give warning signals, and you'll need to learn to recognize
the body language she exhibits that precedes the biting. Signals include
the ears flicking, the tail lashing, or even subtle muscle twitches on
the body. Immediately stopping physical contact when the cat exhibits
any of these warning signals will virtually eliminate incidences of you
getting bitten.

The best approach for integrating this cat successfully into your home
is to give her some time, don't rush and instead take things very
slowly. A good rule of thumb is if you think she's ready for the next
step, wait one more day. HTH.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray


  #4  
Old October 18th 04, 07:51 AM
i.p.freely
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote in message
...

A week ago my older cat passed away (he
was the alpha of my two neutered males,
the only two cats).


In the cat world, there is no such thing as an "alpha" cat. A cat in a
two cat household may at some point be considered "dominant," but cat
heirarchy often changes.


My bad choice of words. Q was always the dominant cat, I had them both from
kitten but Q was a year older and was with me for a year with no other cat.
I was told I had imprinted on him and he became a 'one animal cat' whereby
he would get jealous and start spitting if I petted another cat and even
spat at girlfriends though was generally OK with other male humans. For some
reason he always tolerated Worf though was never cuddly with him as cats can
be.


What you need to keep in mind is that this cat has gone from being
abandoned, to living for a long time in a stressful shelter situation,
to coming into a new home with strange people and a strange cat. This
many changes in such a short time is very stressful for cats, and she's
feeling very vulnerable and defensive. Going on the offensive and
attacking the resident cat is likely to actually be a defensive move
designed to scare him off because she's unsure and scared herself. The
right thing to do for her is to keep her separated in a room of her own
and give her time to make the adjustment to you and get used to her new
surroundings before exposing her to the rest of the house and the
resident cat. No doubt Worf could also use a break from her. ;-)


Thanks, have done. Took me half an hour to 'walk' Worf through the house
when he came back in last night to assure him she was not going to jump out
on him, poor mite.

Some of this could be related to too much, too soon, but you also need
to understand that some cats get easily overstimulated from petting and
the biting is a warning that the cat has had enough and you need to back
off. Cats do give warning signals, and you'll need to learn to recognize
the body language she exhibits that precedes the biting.


Yep, have recognised that - she sort of yaps before attacking.

The best approach for integrating this cat successfully into your home
is to give her some time, don't rush and instead take things very
slowly. A good rule of thumb is if you think she's ready for the next
step, wait one more day. HTH.

Megan



Thanks for the advise, will see how it goes.
--

I.P.Freely


  #5  
Old October 18th 04, 07:51 AM
i.p.freely
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote in message
...

A week ago my older cat passed away (he
was the alpha of my two neutered males,
the only two cats).


In the cat world, there is no such thing as an "alpha" cat. A cat in a
two cat household may at some point be considered "dominant," but cat
heirarchy often changes.


My bad choice of words. Q was always the dominant cat, I had them both from
kitten but Q was a year older and was with me for a year with no other cat.
I was told I had imprinted on him and he became a 'one animal cat' whereby
he would get jealous and start spitting if I petted another cat and even
spat at girlfriends though was generally OK with other male humans. For some
reason he always tolerated Worf though was never cuddly with him as cats can
be.


What you need to keep in mind is that this cat has gone from being
abandoned, to living for a long time in a stressful shelter situation,
to coming into a new home with strange people and a strange cat. This
many changes in such a short time is very stressful for cats, and she's
feeling very vulnerable and defensive. Going on the offensive and
attacking the resident cat is likely to actually be a defensive move
designed to scare him off because she's unsure and scared herself. The
right thing to do for her is to keep her separated in a room of her own
and give her time to make the adjustment to you and get used to her new
surroundings before exposing her to the rest of the house and the
resident cat. No doubt Worf could also use a break from her. ;-)


Thanks, have done. Took me half an hour to 'walk' Worf through the house
when he came back in last night to assure him she was not going to jump out
on him, poor mite.

Some of this could be related to too much, too soon, but you also need
to understand that some cats get easily overstimulated from petting and
the biting is a warning that the cat has had enough and you need to back
off. Cats do give warning signals, and you'll need to learn to recognize
the body language she exhibits that precedes the biting.


Yep, have recognised that - she sort of yaps before attacking.

The best approach for integrating this cat successfully into your home
is to give her some time, don't rush and instead take things very
slowly. A good rule of thumb is if you think she's ready for the next
step, wait one more day. HTH.

Megan



Thanks for the advise, will see how it goes.
--

I.P.Freely


  #6  
Old October 23rd 04, 11:00 PM
i.p.freely
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote in message
...

I went to the rescue
and adopted a 8 YO female which was
aparently used to other cats and
friendly etc. For the first 2 days they
studiously ignored each other aside from
a few touch-noses but this morning the
new cat attacked Worf and has been
hunting & chasing him around the house
(not just out of the immediate vicinity)
to the point where he cowers in fear and
growls whenever she is in sight. I now
have her shut in a spare room with toys,
bed, litter tray, food etc and Worf has
gone outside & not come back yet


Separating the cat is what should have been done to begin with, and it
was wise for you to put the new cat in a separate room. Allowing
fighting to happen can make introductions *more" difficult, and since
you've had a breakdown in the process of introduction, it would be wise
for you to keep the new cat in the room with NO contact with the other
cat for at least a week or so, let things settle down, then begin a
*very slow* introduction. You can read why this is so important and how
to do one he

http://www.catsinternational.org/art...roduction.html



Update:

She's been 6 days in the spare room and generally has become accepting of me
and accepts petting just like any other cat would from her keeper. For the
last 3 days I've been opening the door slightly to allow her and Worf to
have a sniff at each other and there was no adverse reactions. Today I
picked her up and carried her to where Worf was lying on a chair, he made no
move to run away or be aggressive but as soon as she saw him she 'yapped' a
kind of meaw, put her ears back and tried to launch herself out of my arms
at him - fortunately I was ready and held her back.

Lost cause?
--

I.P.Freely


  #7  
Old October 23rd 04, 11:00 PM
i.p.freely
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote in message
...

I went to the rescue
and adopted a 8 YO female which was
aparently used to other cats and
friendly etc. For the first 2 days they
studiously ignored each other aside from
a few touch-noses but this morning the
new cat attacked Worf and has been
hunting & chasing him around the house
(not just out of the immediate vicinity)
to the point where he cowers in fear and
growls whenever she is in sight. I now
have her shut in a spare room with toys,
bed, litter tray, food etc and Worf has
gone outside & not come back yet


Separating the cat is what should have been done to begin with, and it
was wise for you to put the new cat in a separate room. Allowing
fighting to happen can make introductions *more" difficult, and since
you've had a breakdown in the process of introduction, it would be wise
for you to keep the new cat in the room with NO contact with the other
cat for at least a week or so, let things settle down, then begin a
*very slow* introduction. You can read why this is so important and how
to do one he

http://www.catsinternational.org/art...roduction.html



Update:

She's been 6 days in the spare room and generally has become accepting of me
and accepts petting just like any other cat would from her keeper. For the
last 3 days I've been opening the door slightly to allow her and Worf to
have a sniff at each other and there was no adverse reactions. Today I
picked her up and carried her to where Worf was lying on a chair, he made no
move to run away or be aggressive but as soon as she saw him she 'yapped' a
kind of meaw, put her ears back and tried to launch herself out of my arms
at him - fortunately I was ready and held her back.

Lost cause?
--

I.P.Freely


  #8  
Old October 23rd 04, 11:10 PM
Sherry
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Separating the cat is what should have been done to begin with, and it
was wise for you to put the new cat in a separate room. Allowing
fighting to happen can make introductions *more" difficult, and since
you've had a breakdown in the process of introduction, it would be wise
for you to keep the new cat in the room with NO contact with the other
cat for at least a week or so, let things settle down, then begin a
*very slow* introduction. You can read why this is so important and how
to do one he


http://www.catsinternational.org/art...roduction.html



Update:

She's been 6 days in the spare room and generally has become accepting of me
and accepts petting just like any other cat would from her keeper. For the
last 3 days I've been opening the door slightly to allow her and Worf to
have a sniff at each other and there was no adverse reactions. Today I
picked her up and carried her to where Worf was lying on a chair, he made no
move to run away or be aggressive but as soon as she saw him she 'yapped' a
kind of meaw, put her ears back and tried to launch herself out of my arms
at him - fortunately I was ready and held her back.

Lost cause?
--

I.P.Freely

Oh, no, it's not a lost cause. Six days isn't very long really. I never offer a
face-to-face meeting of the new cat till after at least 3 weeks. You just gotta
be patient.

Sherry
  #9  
Old October 23rd 04, 11:10 PM
Sherry
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Separating the cat is what should have been done to begin with, and it
was wise for you to put the new cat in a separate room. Allowing
fighting to happen can make introductions *more" difficult, and since
you've had a breakdown in the process of introduction, it would be wise
for you to keep the new cat in the room with NO contact with the other
cat for at least a week or so, let things settle down, then begin a
*very slow* introduction. You can read why this is so important and how
to do one he


http://www.catsinternational.org/art...roduction.html



Update:

She's been 6 days in the spare room and generally has become accepting of me
and accepts petting just like any other cat would from her keeper. For the
last 3 days I've been opening the door slightly to allow her and Worf to
have a sniff at each other and there was no adverse reactions. Today I
picked her up and carried her to where Worf was lying on a chair, he made no
move to run away or be aggressive but as soon as she saw him she 'yapped' a
kind of meaw, put her ears back and tried to launch herself out of my arms
at him - fortunately I was ready and held her back.

Lost cause?
--

I.P.Freely

Oh, no, it's not a lost cause. Six days isn't very long really. I never offer a
face-to-face meeting of the new cat till after at least 3 weeks. You just gotta
be patient.

Sherry
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
large heart normal? Yngver Cat health & behaviour 18 November 5th 03 10:27 PM
New Cat - Strange Behaviour Jeannie Cat health & behaviour 14 November 1st 03 12:02 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:46 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CatBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.