Conference misery::feline_v1

     Einstein hid under the bed for three days when I first brought him
home.  Finally, he got brave enough to go face Tigger.  Tigger took a swing
at Einstein and left home for several days.  When she came back, Einstein
was waiting.  He realized that Tigger was afraid of him and got very friendly.
They get along pretty well now.

     When I picked Einstein up from the cattery, he had been there for 6
months.  He didn't really know if he could trust a person.  He was very
skittish.  For the first week or two, he would only come out from under
the bed if I was out (I could see he was eating).  He finally ventured
out a little bit and then a little bit more until he finally let me
pet him.  It's been slow, but there has been real progress.  He hides
if someone visits but will eventually come out.  If you pet him once,
he won't leave as he loves being stroked.  He runs and greets me at the
door and he even cuddles once in a while.  We have a long way to go, but
we have made big strides in our relationship.

     All of this is to say, "Be patient, Robin.  The cat will get
used to you and be a loving friend."  

	Although it has been quite a while since I got C'mell and Apollo, I
remeber that both of them were scared of their new surroundings. (I got Apollo
about three months after C'mell and they were not littermates, which made
things a bit harder for both.) 
	What I did was to spend as much time on the floor as possible, and as
near to them as they felt comfortable with. I did not try to force the issue
with them. After a length of time seeing me on the floor reading, they each
decided that I was not out to harm them, and their curiousity forced them out
from their respective hiding places. I would continue to do whatever it was
that I had been doing, but I would talk to them encouragingly. 
	As time went on, they increased their range until they were
comfortable with their new home.  Apollo took a longer time adjusting to
strangers, but eventually decided that any friend of mine was ripe for turning
on the charm. 
	Patience and understanding to you both.

  
Well my current kitties have always been friendly to the point of being 
obnoxious...   I have however spent a couple of summers working for a vet and 
volunteering for the shelter so I've seen plenty of shy and scared kitties.
  I very imprtant thing is to let the kittie  get used to your smell.  AT
first don't even try to pet her.  Just put out a hand for her to smell.  If you
try to pet now she may think you are attacking her.  I've found that pet the
head is not the best thing to try for first contact.  (she thinks you are
going for her neck, a vunerable spot.)  After she smells your hand without 
shredding it, trying scratching under the chin or along side the face.  For 
some reason kitties seem to find that less threatening.  Another age-old trick 
is too emphasize the connection between you and food.  Get some treats like 
Bonkers and feed her by hand.  or if she won't take it from your hand right 
away, put it on the floor close to your hand.  And of course it goes 
without saying that at first you should approach her one at a time in the 
most unthreatening manner you can,  and never corner her.  Always let her feel 
that she ahs a way to get away.

A final note just to confuse things... I have on occasion spent quite a bit of
time wooing a kittie to the point of frustration .  At this point I pick the cat
up and pet her and most times I find much to my disgust that she was just 
playing hard to get, and now settles back in my arms purring.

tlh

Well, I had the little dude (now called Sammy, or dude) for a week.  He's
mellowed out around me, to the point where his favorite spot is right in
front of my face so I can't see, or do anything else, especially lay down
and watch tv.  He still won't let my other 2 roomies near him, but they
haven't spent anytime with him yet.  
Sammy has claimed one of the chairs in the living room as HIS, and only
HIS.  I had a big stuffed frog in the chair before, but 4 days in a 
row of putting the frog back in the chair, then coming home to find
it on the floor, I've learned its been claimed.
						/Robin

It took Smokey and the Bandit about two days to get used to their new home,
and now they have the run of it for the most part. We don't let them on the
kitchen table, or under the recliner in the living room (it has lots of sharp
mechanical parts in it, and we're afraid that they could get caught in the
mechanism and mangled). It took them a while to learn, but after getting
smacked a few times for going under there they've learned. At least they
don't when we are around, which is just as well.

The biggest problem we have had so far is with their claws. We want them to
be outdoor cats, but Smokey drew blood twice tonight falling off my legs.
After the second time I got mad, so I clipped the sharp little points off
of their claws. They didn't like this too much, but they put up with it.
Is this a OK thing to do? We don't want to get them declawed since they will
be outdoor cats, but for the sake of our furniture and our skin, we'd like
to keep the really sharp edges off of their claws. What is the best way to
do this?

Charlie

I've clipped my cats' claws more or less regularly, and never had a problem.
I use regular fingernail clippers, but you can buy some that are designed
to trim claws. Just be careful not to cut too much; if you draw blood you'll
hurt the cat and the claw might get infected.

-b

Add my vote to the special clipper group. Fingernail clippers are designed for 
humans' flat nails which can be crushed. I used to use one of those 
guillotine-type "Pet clippers" designed for both dogs and cats, but they must 
be squeezed almost all the way shut before they will clip a cat's small claw.
(Yes, I know that after being scratched, you don't think they are so small.) I 
finally decided that what was good for my vet's (Dr. Jakubowski @ Brookline 
Animal Hospital, and a really caring person) use was good enough for me, so 
now I use a "notched scissors" type of clipper. The work goes faster, and they
are easier to deal with when my cats start objecting to the proceedings. By 
the way, during their brief time as indoor/outdoor cats, they did quite nicely 
with clipped claws, using threats as their weapon against intruders.

You can get the "notched scissors" type of clippers at most good pet stores.
Ask them for small cat claw clippers.  I use them and they work well.
			Steve

Jennyanydots ran into the bathroom and hid behind the toilet the first day I
got her.  After the first time I flushed the toilet, she gave that up and
hid in one of the closets for the next couple of days.  She soon discovered that
essentials like food and litter box are not to be found in the closets, and
she's been OK ever since.

--PSW

	When my grandmother passed away in 1976, we inherited her cat, Opie.
	Opie was used to living with one quiet woman, not four people, two of
	them loud teenagers. Miss O lived under the couch for a week, feeding
	at night. However, one evening, Opie identified my mother as the senior
	female in the house, and like a bullet emerged from under the sofa and
	into my mother's lap. They've been close friends ever since.

	Cats are strongly addicted to places, almost more than people. If
	you are moving, and the new occupant of your home is amenable, it's
	often kinder to leave the cat with the new owner. That's hard for
	cat-lovers to do.

The first couple of replies to this note are most reassuring.  My five-month
old kitten, Ada, has been hiding under things (the microwave stand, my bed,
etc.) since I brought her home two days ago.  Ada was originally a barn cat,
then spent almost two weeks in a cage at the shelter waiting to be adopted,
so it's no wonder she's upset.

After an "accident" in the living room, I'm keeping Ada and Loiosh (my other
"kid") in my bedroom until they get used to finding the food and litter box.
Ada will only come out from under the bed when she thinks I'm not looking.
She watches when I play with Loiosh, but won't come closer than three or
four feet.  Her expression seems to indicate either jealousy or a feeling
that the younger kitten is crazy to get so close to me.  

Naturally, any movement I inadvertently make in her direction sends her back
under the bed.  I'm hoping she'll warm up, though, as she gets used to me and
to her new surroundings.

I appreciate the suggestions I've seen here.  More would be welcome.

					  -  o
					 - -/-->
					-  @~\_

					Roger

The first couple of replies to this note are most reassuring.  My five-month
old kitten, Ada, has been hiding under things (the microwave stand, my bed,
etc.) since I brought her home two days ago.  Ada was originally a barn cat,
then spent almost two weeks in a cage at the shelter waiting to be adopted,
so it's no wonder she's upset.

After an "accident" in the living room, I'm keeping Ada and Loiosh (my other
"kid") in my bedroom until they get used to finding the food and litter box.
Ada will only come out from under the bed when she thinks I'm not looking.
She watches when I play with Loiosh, but won't come closer than three or
four feet.  Her expression seems to indicate either jealousy or a feeling
that the younger kitten is crazy to get so close to me.  

Naturally, any movement I inadvertently make in her direction sends her back
under the bed.  I'm hoping she'll warm up, though, as she gets used to me and
to her new surroundings.

I appreciate the suggestions I've seen here.  More would be welcome.

					  -  o
					 - -/-->
					-  @~\_

					Roger