Recently rescued cat - difficulty in handling him

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

oh liz, so pleased its not just me but the only time i can stroke sasa is at vets and she is so s0ft but frozen 

[Liz]

he sounds nicer than some of my ferals - we gave up spot on many moons ago and now get Program injections from the vet twice a year - it covers felas and ticks and is a lot less stressful than parents getting shredded

We also get the vet to worm the ferals we take to the vet as they tend to freeze in strange places and let the vet do what they like - we even get to stroke them at teh vet whilst at home they avoid us like we are human but adore our 2 Border Collies Sky and Sunny

Speaking from a very multi cat household with domestic, domesticated feral, feral, and very very feral not forgetting our Rescue ragdoll totalling 47 we have the whole spectrum here at the Clan

[Rosella moggy]

Our Billy Whiz sounds a bit like Pickle.  Sadly whilst Billy does love a stroke and even a tummy tickle in certain well defined situations (mainly starts headbutting me at 3am with his pal Noni nearby), we are still unable to pick him up without distressing him and us and he came to live with us 4 years ago.  The good news is that, if you allow Pickle to dictate progress, things will improve but you shouldn't expect miracles.  The fact that you can stroke and tickle Pickle's chin after 10 weeks indicates he isn't as bad as Billy.

You may also take some comfort from the fact that Billy is a great deal better behaved with the vet and vet nurse than he is with us and yes you will find a way to trap Pickles into a carrier when you really have to.  We managed to trick Billy in open top of one the first time using his favourite treats.  Needless to say, that only worked once.  Strange how the wary ones are usually the clever ones too  

Billy is now about 4 weeks late for his latest Frontline flea treatment.  I have to trap him into carrier to get enough on him to make it worthwhile and I hate doing it.  Worming however is simple.  I just push a Milbemax worming pill into centre of a bit of Webbox stick and it's gone.  Must be Milbemax pill though due to shape.  Drontal is just too big and awful taste if you try and divide it.

[clarenmax]

When I first adopted Poot last year he was very scaredy, and wouldn't jump on beds, sofas or laps either.

He came round slowly but surely, gaining their trust gradually is the way to do it, and all things in their own time.

You will hopefully find the handling issue improves as well, you could always try a bit of bribary, you try to pick up then reward with a treat, then hopefully he may start to put two and two together on that front 

[Lotzy]

My cats are brother and sister and both hate being handled.  The boy will bite, scratch, hiss and rip your clothes if his claws get into them.  The girl will wriggle so much you have to put her down.  She is however a real lapcat and can't get enough of being stroked.  We use spot on flea treatment and normally apply it when they are asleep, if you are quick you can get it all on before they wake up and do a runner. You can get spot on worming treatments or the vet will pop a pill down them (well worth £5 each, a new t-shirt would cost that). It takes the vet and her nurse to do Toby!  Mind you, we have to get to the vets first - usually takes 20 minutes to catch, hold on and load his sister.  It might be that he is like mine and you won't be able to handle him, but by giving him some space he will build up confidence and hopefully turn into a loving cat in his own way.

[Fire Fox]

Jumping on and off laps is how Noah was when first in foster, but he is a full on cuddle bum now.  He isn't teeth and claws when being picked up but will nip/ bite. Last time I got him into the cat basket I grabbed him whilst he was asleep, but I can be pretty confident prawns would entice him to go in of his own accord. 

I have been clicker training using prawns on and off for some months and presently working on getting Noah to let me clip his claws without struggling and biting. Problem is he has had a serious paw condition in the past, so may associate having his paws touched with past pain. After just two sessions he will touch my palm with a paw, he purrs during the entire session due to the prawns, so he should end up associating paws being touched with his very favourite thing!!

You could try desensitising Pickle using the same method, given he loves his grub? Just start with getting more used to stroking his back and sides say, then over a few sessions used to you laying your hands on his back in the picking up position, etc. There are lots of 'how to' videos on YouTube. It is a slow process, but cats are smart and they will respond to training if you don't push too fast and make it worth their while. 

[Mark]

I think a cardboard box as a "safe place" is good for a new cat. When I got my Kylie in 2002, she would scratch me if I went anywhere near her. I gave her a deep cardboard box at the other side of the living room. I ignored her and watched TV. Every now & then, her head popped up. I think it was on the 2nd or 3rd night, I was in bed when I heard the thump of a cat landing next to me and a wet nose. She has been a cuddlebum ever since (unless you are a cat daring to come into the garden  )

[cliveb]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all their helpful advice. This forum is a very friendly place!

Looks like we just need to be a bit more patient. This experience with Pickle is just so different from our last rescue cat, Pixie, who after a couple of weeks was completely at home. Maybe we were incredibly lucky with her. Sadly she succumbed to kidney failure last December, aged about 15. We'd had 13 wonderful years with her.

As for the worming tablets I would not bother - take him to the Vet and let them do it.

Trying to get him into the cat basket is going to be interesting!

[Yvonne]

I think Pickle will come round in his own time but it may take a little while just be patient

As for the worming tablets I would not bother - take him to the Vet and let them do it.

Good luck

[Tiggy's Mum]

Felifreind does sound like it's worth a go but I also think a Feliway plug in may do him the world of good too - to generally relax him and make him more confident/at ease in the home.

One of my cats is very overly sensitive, he is easily frightened and is quite jumpy. He had an issue with the fridge freezer (long story!) and was frightened of going in the kitchen for months after the event, even though we'd moved house since! Anyway, I have a Feliway plugged in permanently now and he is like a different cat - confident, not afraid to go in the kitchen, doesn't jump three feet in the air if he sees a sock on the floor etc!

He is very friendly and affectionate but he also despises being picked up, no idea why as he had the same upbringing as his brother who is happy to be flipped upside down and carried like a baby so nothing bad has happend in his life. When it comes to frontline time I am firm with him and just whip him up onto the table, pinned against the wall and do it there. The difference is that he is 100% at ease with me whereas your new boy obviously needs to learn to trust you so I would wait until you have built up the trust before manhandling him.

If you are going to get either felifriend or feliway plug in then best place to buy them is online - vetuk, petmeds, viovet are all likely to be much cheaper than your vets.

and let us know how he is getting on

[cliveb]

Thanks for the advice. At least now we know not to try and force the issue.

Theres a product called feliway and theres a form for using on hands called felifriend, also zylkene which is said to help calm them abit (naturally not doping them up!) they may not help but worth a try. Both available from vet uk

Thanks for the pointers. After checking a few sites, I reckon Felifriend seems the one most likely to help in this case.

[Millys Mum]

Did you get told anything about it by the centre you adopted from? If not i'd first off phone them and see if he was like it there (and if so why they didnt say!)

I wouldnt get heavy with him, it will make him more determined to fight!
Keep with stroking and gaining trust, with cats iv had that didnt like being picked up iv introduced 2 handed body strokes and then gradually apply light pressure round them without lifting. When thats ok with them iv increased the hold and then started just lifting a little bit up and down again, its a long process but iv found it to work. These have been timid not aggressive cats tho, ones that are like it from purely being unsocialised not from manhandling or mistreatment like he may have 

When you are stroking you can apply a quick spot on for fleas...

Theres a product called feliway and theres a form for using on hands called felifriend, also zylkene which is said to help calm them abit (naturally not doping them up!) they may not help but worth a try. Both available from vet uk 

[cliveb]

Earlier this evening I introduced our new cat Pickle (http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,32368.0.html). Here I'd like to ask for some advice if I may, with apologies for the length of this post.

First, a bit of background. We got Pickle from the RSPCA about 10 weeks ago. He is a 3 year old neutered male ginger moggy. He had been found wandering around an industrial estate, and was a *very* scared little cat. It took a while for him to begin to trust us, but he's made good progress.

The current situation is that he seems fairly at home. He has no problems using the cat flap. He spends about equal amounts of time out in the garden and in the house, and is happy to sleep in chairs and on beds (while ignoring the *two* cat baskets we have provided for his comfort!). He's eating well - perhaps a little *too* well! He's still a little jumpy at times - quick movements can startle him and then he'll run off for a short while. He's reasonably friendly - enjoys being stroked and having his chin tickled. He has briefly jumped up onto laps but immediately jumps back down, even when we try to encourage him to stay. At other times he seems wary and won't come when called. For now, we just have a cat living in our house, rather than a pet. Our guess is that it will just take a bit of time for him to become fully comfortable. Who knows what traumas he might have experienced while he was a stray?

OK, so far so good. But we have a fairly pressing and immediate problem. He absolutely hates being handled. Try to pick him up and it's claws, teeth, hissing, the full works. He rapidly struggles free leaving me (or my wife) nursing scratches and bites. How on earth are we going to get some spot-on flea control on his neck? And the thought of trying to get a worming pill down his mouth is just laughable.

So, does anyone have any advice? Are there flea and worm treatments that can be sprinkled on his food, perhaps? Should we just be firm, don thick gloves and keep trying to handle him until he accepts it, or will that put his progress back?