Rescue kitty showing behavioural issues?

[Orangelover]

We adopted a beautiful boy rescue cat on Saturday from our local RSPCA. I've wanted a cat for ages, always wanted one as a child but my parents aren't animal people at all and it was always a solid no. The last few years I've always loved playing and cuddling other relatives cats and now I've moved in with my boyfriend we decided to adopt a little 2 year old fella who needed a home as he'd been abandoned. OH as always had cats at home since he was little so is fine with all the practical side of owning a cat.

He did really well on the first day, hid for a couple of hours under the sofa but eventually came out to see us and ate and drank well. Used his litter tray and even sat on the sofa and had snuggles with us. I was in love!

He's now been here 4 days and I'm starting to feel a little concerned. He has massively long claws which I'm assuming are normal as the rspca didn't clip them or anything but they are razor sharp. Bought him a nice fancy scratching post which of course he doesn't use but I'm not surprised.

If he's sat on the sofa with you (which is pretty much all the time if you're sat down) he'll follow us when we get up. This isnt a problem but he dances round my legs and a couple of times when ive moved he's grabbed my legs and clawed drawing blood

Also he'll come and snuggle up on my bed right up to me which again is lovely, but then he rolls over which appears playful but if I move at the wrong moment he goes for a bite

My mums friend came round the other day and she was stroking him which he appeared to love, next minute he bit her.

I'm more than happy to have a cat that would rather be left alone and if he doesn't want fuss all the time that's fine. But it's him that's initiating it all the time, wanting to sit on me but then claws

OH says he's just being a cat and that's how they are but then did admit none of his other cats have bitten... I don't really like the idea of a cat that I can't trust when people are round, especially when he demands fuss then reacts badly. I don't think he means it at all, I'm getting the impression he's had a bad start to his little life as he's very nervous about other things too. If ever he hears a dog bark he looks very startled, and next door put her bin out the other night and the sound of it being wheeled out terrified him.

I know he needs time to adjust, our house is lovely and quiet and normally someone around for a decent part of the day so I thought this would be good for a cat. But when should I be worried about biting and is there anything I can be doing in the meantime to avoid it?

Thanks
Worried new cat owner

Sounds fairly normal. You need to learn the signs that indicate he's had enough. Before he bites. You've only had him 4 days. He sounds very confident but it's still very early days.

Sounds normal, though it is hard to get used to.
Warn guests he can bite without warning before they approach. You can usually tell when they are in a funny mood as the tail starts whipping.

He's going to take a while to settle, and also to learn what is and isn't acceptable behaviour in your home. It sounds in general like a) play behaviour (the following & grabbing) and b) deciding he's had enough play & reacting a little more roughly than you would hope, rather than any malice on his part. It may be useful for you to help him settle if you knew a bit about his background e.g neglect or rough children can both affect behaviour in different ways.

Regarding the razor blades claws, it might be worth asking RSPCA when they last did them - he may well have had them done when he came in, but if he's been waiting a while they could have grown plenty since then. If you were going to take him to the vet for a once over when you register him there, you could ask then?

My cat does exactly the same! Very unpredictable. I often wonder why he initiates the contact if he doesn't actually want it... If he bites then I completely withdraw all affection in a hope he'll realise it's not acceptable but I don't know if that actually works...

Unfortunately the RSPCA have little info on what happened to him, he was found abandoned but I get the feeling he had a bad time before going to the shelter. He hates his paws or tummy being touched and I think the claws round the leg thing is when he's worried about being kicked so maybe he's experienced some violence.

He's been given a clean bill of health from the rspca vet but he's very skinny. When you stroke him you can feel all his bones bless him. He eats whatever you put down for him, but has also got a bit of diarrhoea going on which at the minute I'm putting down to the anxiety of a new home. They said they fed them on whatever food they were donated at the shelter so again I'm not 100% on which foods would agree with him best at the minute.

I just want him to be happy and have a lovely kitty life I was like this when I got a hamster at Uni, looked after him with my heart and soul, and was always worried he wasn't happy

I do tend to be an anxious personal myself who over thinks everything. Maybe he senses this My auntie who's had cats for years popped round and I told her my thoughts and she laughed at me

Regarding his claws, she agreed with me that they looked very long, especially his thumb one. He's got a initial health check appointment at the vets I've just registered with so will see that they say

Same with my rescue kitkat. He won't have his vulnerable bits touched, tummy, paws etc. He's even funny about his back sometimes.

I get my cats' claws trimmed for me at their annual MoT, so the vet should be happy to at least tip them for you. I gather that they don't wear them down by scratching, that's done to sharpen the claws, but more they are worn down by general abrasion by walking about and the cats giving themselves a manicure.

Another thing to bear in mind is that cat's claws grow in layers sort of like a sheath, so they will shed these now & again where you can find them (in my case, usually by sitting on them ouch!). This also helps keep them shorter.

It's play behaviour, lion cubs do the paws around legs thing too.

I think you need a kickeroo toy or a da bird toy for him to play with.

It's very common for cats not to want to have their tummy tickled. One of mine will writhe around the floor offering his tummy but the minute you touch it he clamps around your hand and bites you. His brother on the other hand is in ecstasy if you rub his tummy.

None of the behaviour you have described would worry me in the slightest and I say this as someone who has had lots of cats over the last 35 years. Was your kitty at the RSOCA for long? If he's been penned up for a while I would imagine there is a lot of pent up energy waiting to come out! I have clipped my cats claws when they have been too long (you just literally take the point off - nothing else). This will also blunt the claws so you will not get as many scratches.

Thanks for the advice. I know I'm being daft and this is normal cat behaviour. OH who's always had cats thinks I'm bonkers and need to chill out

He's a lovely boy and he's had some visitors today which he seemed to really enjoy. Happily was fussed, until my Auntie went near his paw and got the claw She's a mad cat lady though and didn't care.

I think he'll be happier when he can go outside also, especially at night. Feel guilty but our house is still a palace compared to a little pen at RSPCA, if a little daunting at first.

Yeah, don't go for the tummy. Cats will show it off to you, then freak when you try to tickle it.

Is he actually biting (like, teeth going in to skin); or just holding your hand in his mouth? Latter is totally normal play.

Cat toys are great for kitties, especially if you only have one. But in my experience the best possible toy is a bit of tinfoil scrunched round some string. They go mad for it.

He sounds quite a lot like my girl, also a rescue cat I adopted at about 2 years old, she's also known to go for feet and will tell people she's had enough by using her teeth (not really a bite, just a warning).

After a year, I've learnt her body language pretty well and can tell when she's reaching her limit, know to not try and give her belly rubs, even if it's presented. You'll learn what makes him tick, for her it's cheek and chin fusses, she loves them.

The biggest thing for me is playing with her, if she's going for my feet, it generally means she's got excess energy to burn and needs to get her hunter instinct out on a toy and not my feet. The ones she likes the most are the feather on fishing line type and she will happily leap around after it. I'd definitely say get some toys, espeically if he's temporarily a house cat and used to going outside.

The diahrrea is probably linked to stress and/or changes in diet. I had a bit the same with my cat when I got her, in the end I worked out that she really would only eat Gourmet Perle food (diva!) and it settled right down.

I went through the terrified by every noise stage, she would run away from a flushing toilet, the washing machine, tin foil being torn off the roll, anything unexpected but it soon settled down and she got used to them, now she only runs away from the hoover when it comes too close. I'm sure it'll be the same for your boy as he settles in. Just try to reassure him when something makes him jump and try not to move too quickly.

One thing I had when I first got her was a Feliway diffuser, it's like a plug-in air freshner but with a synthetic pheremone that only cats can smell and is designed to help calm stressed cats. The starter pack is less than £20 on Amazon, you can also get them from vets and pet shops. I like to think it helped her when she first moved in and when I was having building work done on the house, it could all be rubbish but I like to think it helped her with all the changes!

I don't think it's silly to worry about your cat and how they're fitting in, it's a big thing for you all. I was the same when I adopted my cat and still worry about her a year on!

Best of luck with it all OP