Knowledgable cat owners, please answer

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thread starter Senyain Aug 28 2009 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Hello all knowledgable cat owners, So basically, I've got three cats, two of which were strays (Yoyo and Hobo), but the other is the one I'm worrying about. I was a dog owner for nearly 15 years so it's hard for me to gauge how differently I can expect cats to grow/behave. Basically the cat I'm worried about is named Duchess, aka "Babykitty" or "Demon Hellspawn." I'm 99% certain she is a purebred British Shorthair. For those who don't know, that's the silver-furred, yellow-eyed breed that normally grows very large and fat (the "I Can Has Cheezburger" cat being only slightly larger than typical). When we first got Duchess she was tiny (like barely larger than my hand) and she's still a lot smaller than most cats of that breed. Fast-forward to now and Duchess, at nearly 3 years old, is still tiny, less than half the average size for her breed. She's shorter in length than my forearm, weighs under 8 pounds (my 1 1/2 year old kitten Hobo weighs 11) which is the same as she weighed at 1 1/2 years old, and she has a kitten's face and a meow that sounds more like a squeaking mouse, unless it's bath time. She eats plenty and is still like this. So basically my first question is, should I be worried that's she's an epic runt, or is 3 years old still not fully grown? Google searches are producing conflicting results on that question. Her other issue is dealing with others. She hisses at Hobo whenever he comes nearby, which is understandable because when he was younger he used to attack her and beat her up. But she's also mortified of everything else. She only lets four people near her: me, a girl named Ashley (crackaphob in Bera), my infant niece Krysta, and on rare occasions my dad's girlfriend, who is allergic to cats anyway. The rest of the time all she does is run away from people, the other cats, her own reflection, sometimes from toys. She even runs from air (true story... I tried to carry her outside once and you'd think all Hell broke loose). She also tries to hide under my pullout bed and in the litterbox. The other two are nothing like this, being friendly to humans, crawling on people's laps and purring. Duchess only purrs and acts friendly late at night and when I come out of the shower in the morning, and on those occasions she shows affection mainly by... trying to bite me. Mostly my hair. When she gets picked up, she grasps the person's wrists like she's holding on for dear life. And she's very timid... when I'm offering her treats she'll back away at first, often allowing Hobo to steal them unless I throw him off. I think she may have been abused or dropped by her previous owners as a kitten. I'm wondering if anyone else has been able to solve this kind of problem with their own skiddish cat.

HappyGoLucky 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

I couldn't help laughing at the cat named Hobo

lampard9 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Rabies? Idk I don't own pets =[

lettucing Aug 28 2009 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

>.> <.< i don't know

RougesBlade 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

With the whole weight issue that happened to my cat and then we found out she has Diabetes.

heinous 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

HappyGoLucky : I couldn't help laughing at the cat named Hobo same :|

Kian 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Abuse from your other "stray" cats is one of the factors that have affected your cat's behaviour. She would've been better off growing up alone... If they're abused over a period of time, they end up becoming more voilent than the normal stray cats. Purebreeds/pet cats aren't supposed to hiss, no matter what happens, unless they grew up in a wild environment and/or were abused in the past by their respective owners. Hope I helped.

Chawcolate 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

I have one cat that hates everyone. She hisses at the dog, the other cat, everyone, but my mom, dad, sister and me. What we do is just keep them away from each other (The hissing cat and the other cat + dog.) The dog likes to pick on the hissing cat, and the other cat is just calm. We tried to get the hissing cat used to them, so far she's okay with the other cat, but the dog keeps chasing her, but I guess that's the best we can do for now.

Tatterdragon Aug 28 2009 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

I have a cat a lot like that too... lol. She has all the timid parts, but not the mean ones. She'll even go hide just because someone came into the room. And she'll only let a few people get near her. Chances are though that she wasn't treated very well when she was young and never learned to trust a lot of people. It can be done when they're older... But it can be a lot harder. Kittens are very trusting, but if you teach them not to trust people then it can be tough to break that habit. =/ To be honest, I'm not really an expert on cats. I live with several, so I know a lot about them, but... All I can really do is give advice as to what might work from my experience. Cats are all different, just like people, so what was effective on my cats might not work so well on yours. The best place to start would probably be with the people she already trusts. Just give her attention and try not to do anything bad to her. Talking helps a lot, even though she can't understand you. Saying nice things to her when she's done something good helps to associate doing that good behavior with pleasant feelings from you. Extra treats and attention are good too. When she does something bad, try not to yell since it could scare her. Express distaste or disappointment instead, since they associate the bad behavior with upsetting you, but without being scared. If at all possible, try to keep her in a calm environment away from yelling or fighting people. Would it be easier for you to trust a stranger who is often calm, or one who loses his temper all the time? Your cat is probably the same way - it's easier to trust a calm person than a screaming and yelling one. Avoiding sudden movements around her would probably help too, since sudden movements from anything half their size or bigger are usually associated with predators by instinct. Slow movements in plain sight though usually don't seem as threatening. Let her know where you are, and let her know that you want her to know where you are (making eye contact helps). A predator would almost always want to keep an advantage by sneaking up, so by showing her that you'll let her know where you are, you remove some of that fear. Yet again, speaking helps. Speak softly when you approach to let her know you don't want to hurt her. If she runs away, you could try calmly following her. And if she gets herself in a corner, approach and give her something nice. Then calmly stand up and walk away. People who meant her harm would never just give her a treat and then walk away when she was cornered. Once she's comfortable and getting along fairly well with people she trusts, you kind of have to break that trust a little bit for getting her to trust others. Invite someone she doesn't trust over who will be nice to her, and bring her close to the other person. You could start out with just holding her on your lap across the room, and then move to letting the stranger give her attention or treats too. You don't need to go for hours at

Slurped 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Sarcastic : A stray named Hobo. You need a name change. It costs too much NX :.

Lanique 08/28/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

take her to the vet, seriously basil isn't very likely to give you a professional answer