Poor little rescue kitty

[HorseySurprise]

Just over a year ago my son adopted a 5 year old female rescue cat. She had been at the rescue place for a year. She wouldn't have been easy to rehome because she couldn't be with other pets or children and was known to be a bit - feisty. He decided that as he lives alone he would take her - I honestly think she would have still been there if he hadn't.

She took a while to settle in but eventually took to him and he is obviously her human - sits on his knee, seeks his presence (he works from home quite a lot). She doesn't like anyone else - won't let anyone approach her but occasionally approaches them. Doesn't want to be touched or picked up. Even he has a struggle to get her in her carrier to go to the vet and just once she had to go into a cattery and she really struggled. Fortunately it was only for 2 nights.

Every few weeks he has to go away overnight for work and I have to go and feed her and if she wants let her out. She doesn't have a cat flap. Usually I talk to her but don't otherwise approach her.

The thing is she seems to have a fear of people's hands - she has twice clawed/bitten me when I've not been interacting with her. Then she seems to remember this for months. She attacked me on Thursday for no reason I can understand but it was triggered by me picking something up. She was pleased to see my son return and wants to be in his company, but he reached for something and she did the same to him. It is frightening because although she is small, she is so vocal and ferocious - but she is obviously very scared of something and it is quite heartbreaking.

Apart from Feliway, has anyone got any suggestions.

Hugs, I hope she starts to be less fearful for you x

I need a photo to fully assess the situation 😁

It sounds like pent up aggression/fear. Does she have any outlet for it, ie do you or your son play with her using those wand toys? She needs mental and physical stimulation even if she does go outdoors. It is also great for bonding between cat and human (in a similar way that walking a dog is).

EDIT - some cats find Feliway too stimulating and find Pet Remedy is more soothing.

Sorry I forgot the required photo - all the photos at his house turn out dark for some reason.

I haven't heard of Pet Remedy so will try that if the Feliway doesn't help.

He does try to play with her with various toys and she will play a little bit but tbh she doesn't seem to know how to play very well. She likes following him around when he's doing stuff and she likes going outside although she does get into altercations with a couple of big bully cats sometimes.

I just feel like something has happened to her at some point to make her like this.

If he has stairs then throwing a foil ball up them can be just as good. It was my favoured means of playing as I just sat at the bottom waiting for the cat to tumble back down with the ball 😂

After play then a small meal, cat yoghurt or handful of treats. This simulates the hunt, kill, eat, sleep instinct which can help cats enormously. What he should never do is try to play with her using hands or feet such as wiggling a toy mouse to get her attention.

That's a pity regarding getting into fights. She won't see outside as safe which is limiting her world. Even a five minute play every day is better than nothing (and my rescue was rubbish at wand play, liked looking at me doing it rather than hunting it 🙄). She's beautiful ❤

EDIT - one of my vets used pet remedy in their post/pre op holding room. Their practice was the only one where my cat relaxed enough for them to handle her without excessive fiestiness.

I should have guessed she was a calico!

I have a calico former semi-feral and she also has a hands obsession. She's been with me just over 3 years now and it has got a lot better, but I always have at least one, usually more, scratches and/or bruises from her. She's an absolute sweetie, very needy and demanding, but I think she will forever be bitey.

What's helped?

• every time she goes to bite or bites I say a stern but not scary "no biting" and sometimes this alone will stop her.
• providing chewy toys (Kong dental toys are good).
• cardboard is her favourite thing to bite after hands so she has several cardboard scratchers in different shapes to bite.
• not playing with fishing rod toys or laser pointer as she knows my hand is in control and goes straight for me, not the toy!
• recognising her body language (which can be highly contradictory which doesn't help!) and distracting her.
• toys all over the house (originally had treats to hand to distract but she's not foodie at all).

Have you tried Zylkene? It is a substance found in milk that does not cause diarrhea but calms cats. It has no side effects and can be ordered on Amazon. It worked for my feisty cat that was prone to overgrooming but it took about 2 weeks before it started working.