Frustrated Cat Owner

by Deb Pyle
(Carnegie, PA)

We adopted two cats from a breeder in February. Monty is a 3-yr. old bluepoint Himalayan and Smokey is a 1-yr. old black half Persian and half Himalayan. The breeder had over twenty cats in her home. After getting these cats home, we realized that they were like feral cats. They would run from us anytime we entered a room they were in. They've gotten a little better - will come up to us for treats, but we have to lay them down on the floor. If we move toward them as if to pet them or pick them up, they run away. As I'm sure you know, these type of cats need constant grooming. We had each of them groomed when we first got them, but that was months ago. I've been able to catch the Himalayan three times to brush him and the little Persian only once. Can you suggest anything at all that we can do to get these cats calmed down to allow us to pet them and groom them? Once we do catch one of them, they're very docile and allow us to brush them with no problems. They behaved beautifully at the groomer's.

Thank you so much for any guidance you can give us.

Answer by Kate
Hi
firstly if I were you i would report this breeder. having so many cats which are obviously not socialised i.e do not have enough time spent on them is definitely something the pet organisations would want to know about.

It can take some time for cats who are not used to a lot of human contact to get used to people etc and unfortunately the process does have to be taken slowly and at the cats own pace.

Bonding with cats takes time and patience, but persistence and constant interaction is important. however this interaction has to be from your cat not you. Any attempt by you to touch them, pick them up or even approach them will be seen as a threat and will only worsen the problem. What you want is for them to come to you in their own time. they will if your approach is non threatening and calm. I have written a web page about how this bonding is best carried out here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/new-cat.html

I hope the poor little guys relax with you soon as they too are probably still anxious and would love to feel more at home.

best wishes Kate

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