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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Bit freaked out/scared of my newly rescued cat.......

43 replies

paisleyII · 08/11/2011 20:37

i tried to usher our otherwise affectionate quiet cat off my bed just before, we've had her for a week, as i have asthma and can't have her sleeping in my room (she was sitting on my bed right by my pillow, i am allergic to cats) and she scowled twice although didn't actually go for me. she has never done this before and it has left me edgy. quesion - is it normal for a loving cat to sometimes turn like this and do most cat owners let their cats go in their bedroom/sleep on their bed? thanks

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Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 20:41

sorry, one more question, i am self employed and work from home and do not have the time to sit with her for long periods, i give her affection and attention but cannot sit with her for long periods - she likes to immediately come and sit on my lap. everytime i get up, which is often as i am very busy, i feel this awful guilt, it is doing my head in actually. i do give her attention as does my daughter and my dh but we all have busy lives and have other things to do. i always thought that a cat would be more self contained and not require so much attention, i think she is a bit clingy although she was a rescue and is not going outside yet, i am hoping things might change a bit, i think i am feeling a little suffocated. i am trying to get some work done upstairs but as soon as i sit down she comes and sits on my lap and whilst this is really cute etc after a while it is beginning to stress me out a little, not having a good day....... :(

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SecretNutellaFix · 08/11/2011 20:42

sounds normal. My cat gives me the eye when I walk past the doorway he sleeps in. I've had him and his sister since kittenhood.

I think I would probably keep your bedroom door closed so she gets the message she isn't allowed in there. My two have never been allowed in our bedroom to sleep, and we achieved that by keeping the door closed.

DaveyStott · 08/11/2011 20:51

Sounds normal to me too - I've had cats who object to being moved from a comfy spot. I used to allow ours on the bed, but only at the bottom of the bed on their own blanket. However, since having DD 6 months ago we've stopped them sleeping in our room. We just shut the downstairs doors.
Also when I used to work from home, one of my cats was extremely fussy - took to lying across my laptop to get attention. Again, I just shut them in another room - but did make sure that she got attention whenever I took a break.
Don't stress about it - she's new and you'll all work out a routine soon

minxthemanx · 08/11/2011 20:57

My cat gets on my lap the minute I am a) on the phone or b) working on the computer. She squeezes into the most stupidly small space between my lap and the desk. I think it's a fallacy that cats don't want much attention - they do, but on their own bloody terms!

Well done for getting s rescue cat and offering her a lovely home. Just accept that you are no longer in charge. Grin

minxthemanx · 08/11/2011 21:00

Oh and frequently walks across the laptop when I'm working, causing typos and occasionally managing to delete things.

Fluffycloudland77 · 08/11/2011 21:02

I think you need to relax, she will be fine as long as she has food, water, warmth and fuss it will be ok. Remeber its a cat not a newborn baby.

Even if she growls at you or hisses it is just posturing.

By now her dander (bits of fur and allergens) will be all over your house, clothes and furniture so if your asthma isnt much worse then dont worry about it. Dh is also allergic and asthmatic. You might want to let the gp know if your using your rescue inhalor more.

You have already done a wonderful thing by rescuing her and giving her a loving home. A lot of people wouldnt have bothered.

Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:17

hi secret, thnks for your message - are you cats allowed into your room at all ie in the day?

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Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:22

thanks minx, really funny, you are spot on. i was upstairs sitting on the floor sorting out my stock (i am a dealer) and even thought i had a large book on my lap and was writing out pricing tickets etc she still managed to head butt me and squeeze in. she looks gutted thought that she can't go in my room, i feel guilty about this, probably because the last week we have been REALLY pandering to her to make up for the crap she has had the last however many months (many according to the vet, of being homeless). last night was ridiculous, instead of pushing her off the bed with my feet i ended up, as i am a softie, sleeping 'around' her to fit in with her, i had a rubbish night sleep and had to get up for work at 4am, hence her not being able to sleep with me again (i have to get up at 05:15 tomorrow). the funny thing is my job keeps really early hours and whenever i get up, doesn;t matter what time it is, thee she is when i open the door. she has long hair and sometimes looks the worse for wear, hair all over the place and sleepy but she still follows me around, weird for me having company at that time, not ideal having to clear up a smelly poo either when you have just got out of bed at ie 04:00 :)

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SecretNutellaFix · 08/11/2011 21:24

They weren't for ages and ages. They will come in now and then if I'm in there and their dinner is late but generally they ignore.

RandomMess · 08/11/2011 21:26

When we go to bed our cats get a treat of half a pouch of wet food between them, they've learnt to come running! Ours get shut in the kitchen overnight as I'm allergic to them. We have a faux fur throw on the bottom of our bed which they're allowed on during the day.

Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:26

thanks fluffy - i have been using my inhaler loads today but it could be a coincidence. i am going to splash out on a cleaner once a week :) despite dh being against it, i will pay, i don't have the time to be seriously cleaning all the time enough to deal with extra cat fur, i think it is a good idea and worth the money. i have also bought a brush for her hair, petal cleanse and two air purifiers although they are still in the boxes..... i am worse around a male cat that used to come in. she is a very sweet cat, loves attention, bit lazy, spends most of the time sitting on or under the radiator, i don't know how she can bear the heat when sitting on it... she doesn't seem at all interested in going outside, perhaps because she was living rough outside for too long. she can sleep on dh, we sleep in separate rooms due to his snoring :D he doesn't mind and she has done that the other nights but seems to prefer me...

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RandomMess · 08/11/2011 21:30

It took me three weeks to stop reacting strongly to the cats but I don't have asthma just severe house dust mite/cat/dog blah blah allergy controlled by antihistamines. We have hard flooring everywhere apart from the children's rooms and a leather sofa - it reallly did make a difference - have got a miele vaccuum cleaner and 2 long haired cats!

Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:32

hi random, it's a relief in a way reading of another cat owner who is also allergic to them, most people think i am mad but i don't regret taking her in, too upsetting to have left her there (in a builders garage). i bought her a soft bed but i shouldn't have bothered as she has no interest in it. i don't mind her snooping around the house at night. i don't mind her in my room i just don't want her on the bed but not sure how to stop her going on it, after this evening of her hissing at me when i tried to get her off i am not overly thrilled about having to do that again.

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Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:34

random - how often do you take anihistamines? i couldn't live off them permanently. we have some in the hosue as dd has nut and raw egg allergy

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Fluffycloudland77 · 08/11/2011 21:36

our dn is more allergic to short hairs than long hair cats.

amazon do a furminator brush, wonderful thing, gets lots of fur out and he doesnt seem to mine it.

RumourOfAHurricane · 08/11/2011 21:45

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RumourOfAHurricane · 08/11/2011 21:48

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Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:48

thanks for the tip fluffy, i have just ordered one, they look like razors, i hope she doesn't mind, so far she seems to quite like it

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RandomMess · 08/11/2011 21:49

I take antihistamines every day of my life!!! Fortunately piriton works okay for me so 2 of them at night, for several years I also had to take pescription strength telfast daily too.

We had a cat who got ran over then had a years break and then got this pair, I really did think I would have to give them back my reaction was that bad for the first 3 weeks, could hardly breath, slept propped up!

As you have a few bedrooms I would just keep your door shut and make it out of bounds to the cat. We let them in ours because the dc were still young and we have a small open plan house, we also intended to keep them as housecats (that lasted 6 months until the female started jumping out of the 1st floor windows at every opporunity) so we felt it was only fair that they had our room as respite from the children.

In a quieter househodl it's perfectly reasonable to keep 1 or 2 rooms out of bounds.

Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:52

thanks shine, i bought some petal cleanse along with all sorts of other things ie allergy wipes from pet store etc but have just been too busy to use them. she is sitting outside the bedroom, she looks like she is sulking.....it is like having another child, i know i fuss over her as if she was one :D

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Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:56

omg random, you must be a real cat lover to have persevered with that, i think i would have thrown the towel in. i admire your willpower. i really hope mine calms down, i keep being told how people climatise to their cats.

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Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 21:57

(i meant i hope my allergy calms down, not the cat!)

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RandomMess · 08/11/2011 22:03

I was Shock and I actually prefer dogs but we'd had cats before and MIL has a multitude of them. I had told dh, however, that I wanted Rex's but he so loves his somalis Confused

MrsBaggins · 08/11/2011 22:03

My cats dont sleep upstairs -I take them down at bedtime pretty sure they are Hmm. Keep your door shut .
She sounds like a lovely cat . I would introduce a lap time - my boy cuddles on my lap in the morning ,headbutts me and I drink my coffee . If I am at home he mostly is out during the day and then he jumps on my lap and has a snooze in the evening .She sounds like she is really needing lots of affection and reassurance. One of my rescues was like this - he would sit silently on the drive all day waiting for me to come home !

Original poster
paisleyII · 08/11/2011 22:27

i LOVE rex's & rex rabbits

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