Help with nervous cat

[freedomseeking]

My little girl had a rough start in life before I adopted her last year. She has a lovely stress-free life - we live on a cul de sac, with a quiet garden that her cat flap leads into, I am the only person who lives with her and never have visitors!

However, she remains very jumpy and nervous, albeit very affectionate. If I leave her for a few hours she can become extremely clingy. I have Feliway etc - can anyone think of any other ways I can reduce her anxiety?

Possibly another young cat to keep her company when you're not there? I also have a nervous, jumpy cat and she didn't have a rough start in life like yours so it could just be her temperament.

My cat got super anxious when we moved house.
She lost weight amd wouldn't come out of our bedroom like for 7 months
We took her to the vets eventually thinking something like Valium was needed at that point and they asked us to try this plug in thing
It gave off a scent only cats can psmell ....pheromones or something to reduce anxiety
I had little faith but it was a game changer
She literally got better over about three weeks
Ask your vet it's all natural x

Rescues can take a long time to lose their anxieties. Took a couple I knew years to relax and stop being jumpy, even though they were happy, well fed & safe.

Plus last year wasn't that long ago!

Patience, patience...

Give it time. I adopted a young rescue cat six years ago and it took about two years for him to really trust me. He still doesn't like other humans aside from me.

Thank you for giving this dear creature a safe home. You are providing the ideal home, with peace and quiet. She'll settle down in the end but it just takes time.

Keep doing what you're doing, she's doing great.

My rescue former semi feral stray has been with me over 3 years now and she will still revert to feral fear at times, both by freezing/fleeing and also by going full honey badger, and it took her a long time (well over a year) to learn to really settle and sleep without an eye half open all the time. She's the best cat though, mostly very happy and annoyingly demanding!

How long have you had her? It can take them months (or even years) to overcome their anxieties and some never do.

I know cats who are well into their teen years who are anxious and nervous still.

My cat is a rescue and even now, 8 years on she is still nervous at times, hisses at visitors etc (indoor cat). Feliway definitely helps as does valerian (just buy it in bulk off eBay, v cheap) but really as other posters have said it’s just time, patience and lots of love. thank you for giving her a home 💜

We had two kittens at 9 weeks old and they were very nervous. We discovered after we had them that the elderly gentleman where we had them from had dementia and would go round banging his walking stick so I think they were damaged by this early experience. Over time they were happy around us but if we walked in the kitchen when they were eating they would be jumpy. Also if any strangers/workmen or even my in-laws came over they would scream at the back door to be let out and wouldn't come back in until the 'intruders' had gone. At the cattery where they stayed if we went away they would hide under their fleece. They were both 17 when they had to be put to sleep (within a few months of each other) and they were always very nervous cats.

Thanks all, that’s really helpful. I initially adopted her with a large male cat she was being housed with in her previous situation, and before long it became clear he was bullying her. I immediately re-homed him via the charity I had got them from, but I suppose it makes sense that she is still quite jittery, all things considered.

She only really relaxes when she’s sitting on me, but I guess that is a good sign - she knows she is completely safe with me.

Our DGirlcat is very nervous although much better than she was. She had an awful start in life and just hid the whole time.

It just took time with her. Every day she tries to be brave and she's getting there. But she likes it quiet and she's has separation anxiety.

Bless her! One of mine is really nervous but he's improved a lot in the last six months or so. He'll be four next month and we've had him since he was 10 weeks. It kind of coincided with our older girl passing away and us getting a new (very confident) little kitten - I suspect that helps.

He actually let my mum stroke him multiple times when she visited last week and she was so happy, lol. He normally bolts and hides on the fridge whenever anyone comes to the door

We leave the radio on quietly when we go out to work, so the cats can hear voices. No idea whether it helps or not though!

8 years ago I adopted 2 very shy ex-feral siblings some years ago - they were 2 yo and had spent a year at the rescue with nobody wanting 2 voids who would hide away from people. It took me around 6-8 months before Girlcat would let me touch her, and almost 2 years before Boycat would accept fuss. He then became 6.5kg of total cuddle monster in the space of a few months BUT only with me.

Both of them would hide from anyone else who came into the house (indoor only cats) though eventually they would observe from the doorway when DSis & nephew no 4 visited.

Sadly Boycat had to be pts last January and Girlcat became very clingy & distressed. I have to work out of the house so decided to get her a companion. Being me, I brought home a former stray who had clearly had a very rough time of it and needed loads of patience & time, but would be suitable for Girlcat.

A year down the line, Tobias is getting there slowly. I can now stroke him while he's eating, and he no linger lashes out hissing with full on claws if he thinks I'm going to touch him. Instead I get a lazy swipe of a no-claw paw & a dirty look. He's still very much a case in progress, but I think one day he will be happy to accept fuss.

Girlcat has taken on Boycat's mantle of demanding fuss (on her terms of course) frequently throughout the day, but no longer clingy with me - she has too much fun telling Tobias that she's the boss!