Problem with rescue cat

**Howlinbob** · 31st July 2010, 08:32 PM

Sorry guys, this is a bit of a long post, please bear with me, I would really appreciate your advice. We have a new rescue cat, Humphrey. As you can see from these pictures, he's gorgeous!

Problem with rescue cat-humph-5-small.jpg

He was in the local shelter, in a room with 8 other cats, and he was stressed out. He threw himself at us when we walked in and with his big mournful eyes he said 'Please get me out of here!'. Apparently he had been a stray. When I went back to collect him, a new cat had just been put in the room, and Humph had completely lost it, growling and hiding. They had to tip him out of his hiding place and put him in my carrier by the scruff of his neck. A volunteer said 'Crikey are you sure you still want him?' Of course I did, I could see he was just stressed out of his mind.

As soon as I got him home he relaxed. It took 2 weeks for him to stop swearing at and hiding from our old moggy Barney, but one evening we had a bit of a 'Look here Humph, this has GOT to stop, we're all going to GET ON! and after that they were fine together. Humph is not a lap cat and hardly ever purrs, but he would sleep on the bed for a bit at night, have his tummy stroked, be pleased to see you, play wonderful games with his toys in his box, hop in the bath for a drink, etc.

Then a week later, we got Larry. A week after that, we got Monty. Humph by now was allowed outside and he was totally ecstatic about it, climbing trees, killing pigeons and making friends with all the neighbours. He would come in twice a day to eat A LOT of food, and then he was off out again. Whenever he encountered a kitten, he would swear. It was disappointing for us, because the kittens are so nice natured and just want to be friends. They are great mates with Barney. We thought the swearing would ease off after a couple of weeks, but the problem is it's getting worse. Humph is actually becoming more hostile to the kittens and to us. I used to be able to brush him and pick him up (to bring him indoors for the night). He would submit to this kind of close contact without complaint. Now I get warning growls and lots of tail flicking - at a push he will try to bite.

Things came to a head last week when Humph was on the bed upstairs, my OH sat next to him to fuss him for a bit, but then Monty got on the bed and Humph just snapped and lashed out towards Monty. OH had a stern word with Humph and Humph flew away and hid in the cellar. I went to get him out and he had 'gone feral'. I put thick gloves on but he was a ball of fury and I didn't dare pick him up. It was just like the episode in the shelter. In the end I chased him (gently) outside, making sure the doors were open.

I thought, that's it, he'll run away and we won't see him again for days (or ever). But the amazing thing is, that 10 minutes later I went outside, and Humph came running up to me, tail waving, rubbed around me, lots of licks and friendly nibbles! Talk about a Jekyll and Hyde cat!

Humph is clearly a cat who needs lots of personal space and gets very upset if he's not sure of his escape route. We are learning to read his signs and we're very careful not to stress him out. We have reigned our expectations right in. He's around (outside) most of the time and eats like a horse. When he comes in, I sometimes shut the kittens away so that he can relax and eat his dinner. When I meet him outside, he's a joy, he runs down the road with me, leaps in front of me, shows off, rolls over...

Do you have any advice for the best way forward for us with Humph? Should we carry on what we're doing? When the weather gets colder he may want to be inside more, and maybe by then the kittens will have calmed down a bit. Perhaps I should get him an outside shelter? If we had fewer cats and a cat flap I think it would suit him better, so should we rehome him? I believe he's a very nice natured creature underneath, but he just has these issues. We don't know what he's been through, after all. Thanks for reading my post, I'm quite worried about him!

**jckkerrison** · 31st July 2010, 09:58 PM

It does seem as if Humph prefers not to be in a multi cat household,you could have to make a difficult decision for the sake of you all,he looks a very handsome fella bless him.
Why not keep trying as you are for a bit longer giving him his own space & time & see if he gradually comes round,can you try him again with just one of the others & see if he will start up a friendship & if he gets confidence with that one hopefully he will gradually accept the others even if he doesn't luv them.I think cats not getting on with each other are one of the hardest species to fathom & deal with,there are things like Feliway etc but the fact that he sparked off when put with another cat at the rescue center then settled so well with you to spark off again when more cats appear I feel he is not a happy little person.Not knowing what has happened to him in the past doesn't help the situation either.
Good luck I hope someone on the forum can come up with a answer for you..

**Rum Tum Tugger`s Mommy** · 31st July 2010, 10:54 PM

From what I read - in my opinion it is obvious that Humph wants to be an only-cat, not one of several... It might be better to give him to a home where he can be the king and only-child. He would not be stressed and you would not be eighter...

" It took 2 weeks for him to stop swearing at and hiding from our old moggy Barney" yeah normal behavior not to worry about

"Then a week later, we got Larry. A week after that, we got Monty." This is hard, especially for a cat that has just arrived and still needs to find his place... And all boys, too... It sounds with Barney alone he would have come along.

Maybe you will find another solution. Letting him be in an outside house, as you mentioned, or something... I don`t find this an ideal solution, but it is your cat.

I don`t want to sound rude. I hope, I did not. Translating everything into English sometimes gives me a hard time.
Bottom line: I really think that you have rescued him was a perfect thing! I also think that finding a good home for him, where he can be a single cat with access to outside would be a perfect thing, too.

Let us know, how things go with Humph! He is beautiful!

**Louie-Louie** · 4th August 2010, 06:55 PM

Have you got a Feliway plug in they realy help with stress or you can get other stuff have a look on here Bestpet Pharmacy - Anxiety and Stress

Hope you find something he is a super looking chap

**Howlinbob** · 4th August 2010, 07:48 PM

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am feeling a little encouraged today: Humph has been in 3 times and hung around for some titbits of bacon, thanks to Monty stealing a slice off the chopping board. I guess food is a great motivator so he waited in line with the others and got his share. This evening he was thrilled to see me in the garden and did his little dance around me with finger licks and mewing, I thought I'd take a bit of a risk and picked him up for a minute, (he feels absolutely wonderful in the arms, so chunky and muscly!) he stayed calm and I put him back down again before he struggled. So that was OK. Then, most amazing of all, he came in for his dinner, didn't swear at anyone, and instead of asking to go out again, he settled down under the table for a bit of a wash and a nap. He's not done this for a few weeks! Larry and Monty were playing a boisterous game of ping-pong in the other room but Humph wasn't bothered by the noise. He didn't even murmour when they came up and gave him a good sniff. Larry, bless him, even tried to start a game with Humph by giving him a bit of a playful poke, but I moved him on before Humph reacted. Humph stayed put for about an hour, then OH gave him a little stroke, Humph swore (oops, maybe that was a bridge too far!) and soon after he was off outside after a pigeon.

But hey, that's PROGRESS!

It's so sweet, Larry and Monty don't hold a grudge, even though they've been sworn at so many times by Humph they just want to be friends with him and they never give up trying.

**jckkerrison** · 4th August 2010, 08:19 PM

What great news,as I have said in another thread when it comes to things like this I always think the old adage "Make haste slowly" is the best thing to work by & fingers crossed that even if they don't all become the best of friends hopefully he will learn to
accept the others & not see them as a threat.
Look forward to updates.

**Howlinbob** · 4th August 2010, 09:08 PM

Humph has just come in AGAIN and has settled down in his place under the kitchen table, even though Larry and Monty are snoozing on the kitchen chairs just inches away! We are ignoring them all and pretending it's all perfectly normal, then nipping into the other room to go 'YAY!'

Could be a different story when the kittens wake up and go mental, but still, all good progress!
I am starting to feel less depressed about this. Thanks for all your kind words!

**harrymc** · 4th August 2010, 09:42 PM

That all sounds encouraging. Don't be depressed about it, I am sure it will all work out in the end. I think your right with ignoring certain actions, they are like children really aren't they, attention, attention, attention. Your doing a great job !

**Howlinbob** · 5th August 2010, 11:33 AM

Thanks Harrymc. Humph is like a delinquent teenager: out all night, only comes in to eat all the food and be rude to you! But at the same time you know that behind the facade there is a really nice bit, waiting to come out....

**Rum Tum Tugger`s Mommy** · 5th August 2010, 03:11 PM

Wow, wonderful news!! I am really glad that it start to turn out that way! Yeah, sometimes they just need just a little more time to get used to something.

Great!

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