Claws McGraws the swipey bitey rescue cat

[MidlandCatGirl]

Hi all,

Sorry this is a long one, didn’t expect it to be!

We got a rescue cat 8 weeks ago now and in true rescue fashion, no history to speak of. He was ‘found’ in Coventry and is put at around 16 months of age. He’s spent 3 months in one rescue pen whilst attempts were made to find his owner, he was then relocated to another rescue (I’m assuming it’s so he doesn’t try to walk back to his old turf) where he spent another 3 months before we adopted him.

Weeks 1 and 2 he went from nervous to confident but in week 3 he turned into a nightmare, would chase up the stairs whenever we walked up them, then bar our exit, swiping at us with claws out when we had no option other than to step over / past him. He’d regular run at my sons feet and attack. After doing a loud handclap no! each time he misbehaved he stopped this however despite it now being week 8, he’s not really progressed in terms of affection - it’s like he still thinks we’re going to hurt him but now it’s my husband who’s being clawed (he was stoking the cat earlier and he suddenly grabbed his hand and did the bunny kick on him - he does this a lot and no amount of ‘no’, handclap or ‘ouch!’ is working).

We had cats years ago who we had to say good night too when they reached very old age and I suppose the memory of a sweet affectionate docile 19yr old cat is clouding my memory but we now have a cat who will only allow affection strictly on his terms - he won’t sit on laps, won’t even sit near you, if you try to pick him up he’ll turn his head and simultaneously try to bite your hand whilst also doing a claws out swipe.

I know he’s emotionally messed up due to whatever has happened to him in his past plus spending around 6 months of his life in various pens with minimal human interaction hasn’t helped but I’m just wondering when it’s going to get better. Two friends recently adopted rescues and they’re sending photos of their cats just days later sitting on their laps, giving their faces headbutts, cat kisses etc - I daren’t put my face anywhere near my cat for a kiss as I know he’d probably rip my skin off.

Has anyone else had a rescue cat like this? Does it get better? I know it’s early days and I do have patience but sometimes it just doesn’t seem like there’s any light at the end the tunnel.

-sleepyhedgehog- I’ve heard about the hiss thing on other threads so will get DH to do that. I have overheard him do his No and clap at Mr Claws and tbh it’s so feeble it wouldn’t startle a gerbil, let’s hope his attempt at a cat hiss is better 😂

I know what you mean. I could have written your story myself.
I feel for you. In my case it hasn't improved much after 7 years. I've posted about this before on here.
Because of this we don't have much of a bond, and I'm constantly on guard and wary of him. It's no way to be for him or me, and I often feel so sad about it.
Sorry i hope it's different for you and your gorgeous boy.

Haha startle a gerbil 😂😁

Thank you to all who offered words of support and advice - yesterday I went to Pets at Home and The Range and came home with two different types of fluffy thing on a stick and two different Kickeroos. Transpires that Mr Claws hates the Kickeroo that crinkles but adores (as in kicks seven bells out of) the one that doesn’t and is only mildly amused by the fluffy stuff on sticks.

Today (Friday) he’s a lot calmer, I followed the suggestion of letting him eat food from my hand which he did surprisingly gently - I still have all my fingers which is a bonus and just now I sat down on the sofa, Mr C walked over, jumped up and sat near me!!!! Slightly blurred picture attached as proof. I daren’t move or try to stroke him as he’ll probably jump down but I am absolutely beaming at his progress.

Oh that's fantastic.

You need all your willpower now to desist from stroking him!

I have an ex feral and they just need time, patience and love - my boy can still be shy but he's not scary lol 😆
Good luck

He’s gorgeous

I like the way his ears are pricked backwards incase you try to murder him in his sleep.

My rescue cat is 7 and only accepts affection on her terms, not a lap cat and an all round PITA but we loves her anyway. Don’t even try and pick her up or put her in a carrier 😱

Research into this show if kittens are not habituated to humans from very early on they often remain quite 'independent'.

Our rescue who is 16 and ruled our home for 15 is a biter. He will sit on us but only when he wants to. He has had arthritis from a young age so hates being picked up or cuddled. (Even the vet will be bitten or scratched when examining him!) Fortunately I am well beyond wearing short skirts as my legs just above my knees are a mass of scars and current wounds - he thinks he's a panther and I'm some kind of prey to chase and bring down! Do love him though......

I don’t believe you. He’s too cute.

I had a cat as a child, she had been feral, dumped with her kittens or ran away. She took quite awhile to come around, perhaps a year. As she got older she would sort of give a warning miaow if she wanted you to stop stroking, which we learned to listen for. It was easy to miss if you were engrossed in a film- so we often got cat slapped.

She was a lovely cat, would come to a whistle, very affectionate but mostly on her terms.

We adopted a cat who came with a biting warning from the rescue. We are child free and I’m not sure I’d have him around kids but we won his trust, and he now LOVES affection, gets in bed for a cuddle every morning and lets my DH carry him round like a baby!

he does still bite for attention but kind of dives in, realises what he’s done and doesn’t clamp his teeth, just looks at you with a “omg, I didn’t mean to”, slinks off, comes back a few minutes later for a cuddle to say sorry- it’s actually very sweet.

also as a rescue he definitely gets food anxiety. He’s always worse around meal times as I think he used to worry about his next meal. We switched to an automatic cat feeder popping up with small portions a few times a day and it changed his mindset from bothering us to feed him, to bothering the cat feeder (it’s had a fair few smacks!)

cat tax photo of “the bitiest cat in the shelter”

We have a rescue - 18 yrs old now - who has a 3 second rule. A quick stroke or scratch under the chin and that's your lot.

She's a dear old thing but doesn't like being tampered with <swipe>

I have the worlds angriest birman (never met an angry birman before him) who bites and swears at everyone. And he’s 9 now so no hope for him. He’s an absolute bastard and is going to live forever just to piss me off. At the vet recently everyone said their pets were “good boys” whilst I said mine is vile. I tried to give him away to the vet nurse but she wouldn’t take him.

they gave him a ton of ketamine to sedate him so they could Clío him and. He STILL tried to kill everyone at the vet.

total swine. Obligatory photo below - he looks like he should be in a Harry Potter film lurking menacingly on a shelf.

Clip him!

Aw, he looks so sweet!

Could be worse, my Bengal had to have a GA to have a blood test to check he was healthy enough to have a GA.

Legends the pair of them.

I got a rescue cat just a year last December, on the rebound from loosing my last cat 9 months before that, and have had exactly the same problems. He viscously attacks my feet and I can’t have any real interaction with him at all, and he has not improved very much in well over year now.

if you met him you would not think that. He looks at us and is obviously always thinking “I hate you”. All the other cats avoid him like the plague. As do we.

‘The bitiest cat in the shelter’ looks gorgeous and I’m sorry for laughing at your post Whirlyhead but I can’t help it. Cats have got the whole planning the demise of my human look pretty nailed.

One of our was a stray tomcat who walked through the garden and took 2 years to come anywhere near me. He was supposed to be a trap/neuter/return but had other ideas and sat on our doorstep refusing to leave. He spent 9 months coming in at night to sleep in a cage and spent days outside before eventually accepted he was ours. During that time, and for some months after, he would sit on my knee for a cuddle, purr happily for 5-10 minutes then jump down and bite or claw my legs unprovoked, although possibly overstimulated. I was frequently bruised or bleeding.

He was so bad that I didn’t think I could possibly rehome him as he was vicious but, over time, he settled right down and is, overall, a loving, sweet cat. He does have bitey and cross moments if you stroke for too long or stop him doing what he wants, but he gives fair warning. I’m writing all of this to give you hope.

When they are rescues, you have absolutely no idea how much socialisation they have had or how many traumatic events they have experienced which trigger them. He’s also a teenager really so that may explain some behaviour too. Just give him time and love and it will get better.