We have a cat!

[GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal]

Brought Casper cat, a 16 month old ginger fluffster, home today.

I'll provide photos if he ever comes out from under the sofa.

Aw how lovely! Congratulations

Oh you got Caspar! I'm so pleased and he is very gorgeous indeed. Is he a big boy?

Re tray - Take him to it and kind of did his paws in the litter a bit so he knows what it is.

Caspar is very handsome, what a great name for a cat!! Hope he's soon settled and snuggly.

Well he's certainly settled in over night! Patrolled the whole house, found the litter tray and seemed to take exception to the tray liner, got affronted at closed bedroom doors and miaowed at them until they opened, and got into bed with everyone St least once - all the while purring like an engine.

He's also apparently an early riser. Miaowed me out of bed at 6am for no apparent reason other than he wanted me up!

@YetAnotherSpartacus, he is big, although not the behemoth I'd been led to imagine. Definitely bigger than any other cat I've had though. But he does the cat thing of curling up and looking tiny, and can squeeze himself into the smallest of spots. He feels quite bony to me through the fur, and he's definitely not motivated by food - barely tasted the chicken I offered him, and has hardly touched the very expensive dry food that the fosterer said he liked.

He's a gorgeous lad. He sounds really happy to have a family again.

Aww he sounds very happy. What's his history ?

Nothing too terrible, Oldraver - he had a family from kittenhood, but one of the children developed an allergy, so he was given up to a rescue. Had a couple of different foster homes there, then came to us.

He sounds wonderful and perfect for you no he doesn't I want him. I hope that he calms down and starts getting more invested in his noms soon.

So Casper bit my DD yesterday and this morning gave my DS a nasty scratch across his face. It's quite deep and just missed his lips.

He's bitten me a few times whilst playing. I'd overlooked that as I know it's not unusual in cats when overstimulated, but this does not seem to be the calm, gentle cat he was "sold" as by the rescue.

What should I do? My instinct is to take him back to the rescue, as I can't have an animal around that hurts and frightens my children. They are devastated at the thought of him going but also scared to go to near him.

I feel awful for putting them through this.

Get a feliway plug in and leave him alone for a bit. He may seem to have settled on day one but he still needs to settle.

Leave him to come to you. Give him time.

Greebols don't panic yet. He is still settling in. you have had him 3 days?

how old are your children? The hard lesson is not to instinctivily yank or flinch if you are bitten - it is the "tearing" motion that often does the damage.

Make sure they know how to read his body language, and leave him alone if he wants to be left alone. I.e. the cats should approach them and not the other way around.

Also maybe let him take the lead? I can't recall if your children are used to cats, but teach them the striking warning signs and remind them that cats play on their terms. Maybe don't play with him / cuddle him unless he is actively asking. He sounds a little over-stimulated to me.

Ok. I've ordered a Feliway. He was absolutely manic last night.

The only other cat I've had that's behaved this way had previously been feral. All the others I've had have been very gentle, but I'd had them from kittenhood.

Contact the Rescue and explain the problem and ask for advice. They have likely seen this before and will be able to suggest strategies and might send someone around to give him a stern talking to.

Hmmm we had a similar with a rescue cat who we were told was a friendly family cat. She most certainly was not! She'd bite my children and disappear for hours at a time. She was beautiful but not a family cat. It didn't end well, she went missing for 6 weeks, we gave up hope and got two more rescues (from a different rescue, they are proper family cats) then she turned up miles away! Had to go back to the rescue unfortunately. It was a really sad episode and I wish the rescue had been honest with us about her character.
My point being, rescues don't always know or tell the truth, and if things don't work out it is best to be honest and try again. Give it a little longer, but don't feel bad if it doesn't work out. Good luck.

If you've only had him 3 days it could be the confinement that's making him like this.

Lots of games chasing things up and down the stairs tires them out quickly.

He's apparently always been an indoor cat, @Fluffycloudland77, but yes, it did strike me as the sort of behaviour that would have had me kicking my old cats out to burn off some energy!

Does he show any interest in outside?.

Mine goes mental if the weathers too bad to go outside now.

Not really. Has the occasional peer out of a window.

Can I be the first to suggest another cat for company and play?

Oh god, DH would kill me! He's not hugely struck on one cat!

I do plan on letting him out once he's settled. We have a small garden.

Are they small children? Maybe keep them away for now as the cat's still settling in, being grabbed and mauled around and shrieked at won't be relaxing for him ( apologies if your kids are mid-20s vet nurses or something)!
Try a fishing rod toy so you can play with him at arms length.

I’m still not sure about this cat...

He’s still fairly bitey. 98% of it of is play behaviour - the other 2% is him telling DS to back off, which is fair enough - but it’s still not ideal with small children.

He does seem to like the kids, however. If they’re home he hangs out in the play room with them, usually lying in the middle of DS’s train track with typical cat perversity, and goes straight to their rooms to greet them as soon they wake up in the morning.

He also seems to quite like DH - who is not a cat person - and will go and sit with him on the sofa of an evening. The only person he doesn’t seem terribly keen on is me! He will tolerate my stroking or picking up him for a little while but then starts biting, and since that first night he hasn’t come to sit with me. Fair enough I suppose, lots of cats aren’t terribly affectionate, but when I imagined the cat we would have I pictured one who’d snuggle up with me on cold nights when the kids are in bed and DH is working late.

It seems unfair to return Casper to the rescue just because he’s not quite the cat I imagined, but my heart sinks slightly of having him for potentially another decade or two. Feels like all hard work (for me) with very little reward.

Plus I wasn’t aware till now that long-haired cats can get lumps of their own poo stuck in their fur which you have to remove for them... (vom not envy!!)

Oh, and does anyone have any suggestions for a cat who doesn’t seem to like Dreamies, tuna, chicken or prawns??! Because I’m not above bribery to get him to like me!

Have you tried lik-y-lix?