Conference misery::feline_v1

    If he was abused it may take him a while to trust you, so
    you will need some patience, and have to be careful not to
    do things that inadvertently frighten him -- sudden
    motions, coming up quietly behind him, etc.  Lucky puss
    to have a good new home.
    

    
    Danielle-Marie,
    
    I think .1 is probably right, regarding the patience you will need
    to earn his trust (understandably, poor little thing), but don't
    give up..... the President of the SPCA here in SF was on a radio
    talkshow a while ago, and he claims that cats who have been through
    this, once they do come to trust you, are absolutely the most loving,
    loyal pets.  All the best to you  --you're wonderful to do this.
    
    Lynn
    

    I can certainly relate to your situation having recently adopted
    an abused dog.  It has taken alot of patience on my part but it
    is definately well worth the effort.  Because I knew the background
    of this dog it was easier to work around his problems but I did
    contact Betty Lewis, who "talks" to animals to help us out.  One
    thing that she suggested is to use the Bach flower remedies to help
    him overcome some of his fears.  I started him on them last week
    and have noticed a big improvement.  It might be something for you
    to think about.  I also agree that animals given a new life develope
    a much closer bond to their special person.  Good luck to both of
    you!!!
    
    MaryAnne

    
    I adopted an abused cat from a shelter once.  She was spayed.  She was
    a beautiful cat, but she hid everytime someone came to the house.  I
    was the only one she would come anywhere near....I was the one that
    picked her up at the shelter.  It does take time.  Your new one may hide
    quite a bit at first and observe from places like under the bed.
    
    Good luck and I'm happy for your new one.
    
    Faith
    

      I think you are in for a real treat!! My wife and I have 9 dogs and
    3 cats currently, and of the cats and 5 of the dogs were serious abuse
    cases. We have found from experience with this type of animal that an
    abuse case respons dramatically to a kind hand and caring attitude. In
    fact, one of our dogs is a Beagle that we suspect was dog-napped when
    very young. She was rescued from a puppy-mill that was broken-up by the
    various Humane Societies and the New Hampshire authorities. She has NO
    reason to EVER trust a human being, as she was terribly abused. She has
    scars all over her poor little body, is sway-backed from all the
    puppies she had, and was confined in a 4' X 4' cage fro God only knows
    how long--years we expect!! She is the BIGGEST LOVE that we've ever
    seen, and she ADORES us(as we do her!!)
    
      Abuse cases DO have a tendency to be very cautious at first, but
    patience, love and kindness, combined with a safe, secure home will
    VERY soon bring the trust back. One thing I've become convinced of, is
    that whatever we give to an animal--especially an abused one--we get
    back a thousand times more from the animal in the form of love. 
    (Another dog we have is a Dachshund that we think is about 9 years old
    who was found by a friend in her SECOND dog-pound. SHe was found
    abandoned by some slime-bag and spent 4 weeks in the two pounds. SHe
    was shaking and shivering in terror when found, and was 1 day from
    being put to sleep. Ruby sleeps at night with her little body CRUSHED
    against my side...and I usually wake up with her gently licking my
    ear.)
    
      Give your Kitty some time and you will be amazed how the love
    response grows from him/her!!
    
    John McD

    Re: .3
    
    MaryAne - did you adopt that Beagle from Helen Cielaki?  I tried
    calling her but she never answered me.
    
    (Sorry if you're not the same person I'm thinking of...)
    
    Mary
    

    I have a formal feral and abused cat named Nikki.  He grew up in
    the woods and was totally wild when the shelter people trapped him
    and took him to the humane society.  It took a long time for the
    volunteers to get him to trust them without getting ripped to shreds
    in the process.  Then, when they finally got him tamed and adopted
    out, his new owners abused him and dumped him when they moved out
    of their apartment.  He reverted back to feral (semi), I won his
    trust, took him to the humane society, and re-adopted him when we
    bought our home last April.
    
    Nikki has down an about-face since that time.  We were very patient
    with him, didn't push him to like us, and did things on his terms,
    not ours.  Whenever he entered a room we made a big deal over him,
    saying his name, talking to him, etc.  He would come over to us
    for pets but the slightest noise sent him fleeing for safety.  Since
    he loved to be brushed and fussed over, I spent considerable amounts
    of time each day brushing him until just the sight of the brush
    sent him running in my direction.  It took a good year, but Nikki
    is very much an intregal part of the family now.  He still has feral
    tendencies but to a much lesser extent.  He hates everyone but us
    and goes into hiding quite regularly when friends and family visit.
    Strangers make him very uncomfortable.
    
    I applaud you for taking in this needy fellow!  You will give him
    a wonderful home and he will thank you for it for years to come.
    Be patient, and the rewards you receive will be plentiful!
    
    Best of luck,
    
    -Roberta
    

    Your kitty may very likely have a name already.  The shelter people
    try to treat them as sympathetically as possible, which includes
    naming each one if they don't have a name.
    
    Ask the shelter what the cat's regular diet is, and where it sleeps.
    Anything you can do to ease the adjustment will help.  Do not be
    surprised if the cat goes into hiding for a few weeks.  Our two were
    also 2.5 years old at adoption.  They lived at the shelter for the
    entire time.  When we brought them home, all they did was hiss if
    we came near them (behind the couch, under the tub, etc.).  I honestly
    thought one of the cats was deaf because he would not even look
    up when you called the kitties.  But he was just unaccustomed to
    being the only kitties in the house.
    
    Be sure you have an escape-proof crate for initial visits to the
    vet for a health check.  My two kitties went off the deep end
    over being put in a crates.
    
    If you can, provide your new kitty with a room where he can feel
    secure and have privacy.  You will probably find that after a few
    weeks, your cat will select the room he feels most safe in, and
    will make this his home.
    
    A word of warning to take a look around your house for breakables
    that could get knocked over, or eaten (dried flowers) by kitty.
    Our two would explore the house at night and climbed on every surface
    possible.  In the mornings, it would look like our house had been
    vandalized.  Now we know better.
    
    If your kitty has been living with other cats for quite some time,
    you might want to seriously consider adopting two cats.  There honestly
    isn't more work involved, and our two rely so much on each other
    for company during the day.
    
    We have had our two cats for 9 months now.  They like to be petted,
    but only by us.  They are afraid of strangers and do not like to
    be picked up by anyone.

    Yes, lots of patience.  Be quiet around your apt, no loud music.
     Cats particularly like classical music and "soft rock."  Move around
    slowly so as not to frighten him.  You don't have to go in slow
    motion, just don't move suddenly in his direction, drop things,
    etc.
    You must've named him/her already.  Did you name him or did he telll
    you his name?  Usually I let my cats tell me their names.  It only
    ttakes a few days.
    
    Anyhoo, how're you making out?  I'd love to hear from you.
    
    andrea