Romanian rescue cat worrying behaviour

[susie1984234]

Myself and my partner adopted 2 female cats who were rescued from living on the streets of Romania.
Cat 1 (2 years old) is showing some worrying behaviours. Both are very anxious about food and terrible scroungers, Cat 2 (1 year old) is less so but still a bit of a scavenger.

Both love to go outside, they are avid mouse hunters and have a great time but Cat 1 also seems to be very attracted to cars - going so far as to walk in front of moving traffic and sit in the middle of the road. I am terrified she gets hit. We also found her yesterday inside of the engine of a neighbours car and found out she has been approaching people in the area shouting loudly and acting erratically:/

Has anyone else experience with former streetcats or can offer some advice?

You presumably haven't tried to adopt a cat recently.

Despite having Harry for 15 years until he was 18 (so presumably doing something right!) I've been told I can't adopt a cat because I have a cat proofed garden and cats have the right to roam. Another 'reason' is because I don't have a spare room and the cat must have its own room. One rescue told me I must have a room I don't use 🙄. I was also told I can't adopt because I have a cat flap and therefore won't be supervising the cat outside - that would because the bloody garden is cat proofed and he won't be going anywhere!

Like @ShouldIJustKeepChangingTables I would consider am FIV+ cat but if you can't get through the first check box questions they won't go any further.

Elton! How is he doing?

What do you suggest those of us who want a cat and can offer a cat a good home but are rejected by rescues for totally ridiculous reasons should do? Go to a breeder, buy from Gumtree?

No I expect people to go to uk rescues but there is a need to look hard in some cases…they are not all mad in terms of refusing to re home. We were able to rehome a cat even though we had very young kids and when we were looking for a dog we did have to go further afield in the uk but it was still possible.In my city there are certain ones known to be very restrictive but others away from my city who will re home with the exact same criteria. The ones who turned you down do seem particularly bonkers…evidence of keeping a cat safe and well for 15 years should have been more than enough. I think some people running pet rescues are very eccentric and are actually pet hoarders who think nothing other people can offer is acceptable.

He's doing well thanks so much for asking @PinkSparklyPussyCat . His numbers are still not great but on a day to day basis he's really improved. He's put on weight and is much more agile. He's still very loving and affectionate as well as shouty! He's on more medication now - anti nausea and something to help reduce protein loss in his wee as well as the phosphate blocker but is tolerating them reasonably well. All in all he's a happy little boy!

Apologies @susie1984234 I feel your thread got completely derailed. In my experience rescue cats from abroad are having to adapt to very different environments and it can take much longer than you think for them to settle. I don't think most rescue cats are traumatized in the same way some rescue dogs are, but they can definitely take time to adapt. It's taken Elton nearly a year to really feel at home in the UK.
Are the cats happy and relaxed in the home? If so it might be worth keeping them in for a bit to try and break the car habit in the older one. Food scavenging should taper off as they get used to being fed regularly.

I can see both sides here but I don't for minute regret adopting my two girls. I didn't go out actively seeking to adopt from out of the country but it might mean a couple more cats can escape kill shelters or life on the streets

They are both extremely relaxed at home and that makes me very happy. I hope with time Emma will grow out of her eccentric behaviour.

Here is the little rascal in question ;)

She's gorgeous and looks very relaxed!

Oh she's pretty!

My friend adopted 2 street cats from Ukraine and they were totally traumatised. She had to keep them in for a year and work on them before either could go out.
Even now they are pretty shifty and don't get on with her grand daughter at all.
They are like abused kids. Hard to take on.

But that can happen with UK cats as well @Gettingbysomehow . There are plenty of threads on here, about UK rescues that struggle to settle and don't get on with family members. At the end of the day, rescuing any animal from any country, including the UK is a gamble, as there is no way of knowing how they will adapt and process what has happened to them .