Extremely nervous cat-Help!

[Peg]

I offered to take a cat from my friend who has two. She was concerned because the young male was becoming very aggressive with the older female--his adoptive mother, who is declawed and who was uncharacteristically hiding and not eating.

The background of this cat is unusual. My friend's son teaches at a technical college which has a vet. assistant training program. The cats came from the lab. The young male I have was apparently born in the lab and his mother rejected him. The female mentioned adopted him as her own, so my friend took them as a package.

For several years they seemed to have a good relationship--play wrestling etc.-- but things changed. I took the young fellow rather than have my friend get rid of him.

He has always been very reclusive and preferred to stay in hiding-places in the house. He has always been very nervous about strangers. I rarely saw him when I visited.

When he came to us, he naturally was traumatized and I have just been allowing him to become acclimatized.

After 3 1/2 months, he will come to me--he doesn't trust the men--and will have snack treats in the evening. He will allow me to stroke him and he even lay down one time and relaxed a little beside my legs. I have never seen his pupils other than fully dilated, even in bright light, and he starts violently at every little sound. He slinks away to hide whenever someone else is around. He has never purred even at my friend's place. He does not respond to catnip.

He looks like a long-haired Siamese. Who knows what his lineage is?--and I don't care. He is absolutely beautiful. He eats well and drinks only water. He is on Scientific Diet or when I can't find that, IAMS blue.

Does anyone have any tips for me which might encourage him to become more relaxed? My daughter once took in a stray who didn't purr for a year, so I'm not anticipating anything happening quickly.

[lylag]

Some times cats take a LONG while to acclimatize....so your patience is great.

I would try grooming the cat with a daily brushing. Start off SLOW and gentle. Most cats really like this. You can also try gently massaging the cat to build up trust. It will happen!

BTW I would d stick to only 1 pet food.

Good luck

Lylag

[Peg]

Thanks, Lylag!

Yes, I have been allowed to brush, but only after bribing with treats. He will allow me to massage also, but his ears are always back and twitching. He will still run away at the slightest sound,
but we are making progress. We are developing a kind of routine. He even allowed my husband to feed him a little treat.

I have been wondering about his eyes. Is he nocturnal because he is nervous, or because his iris muscles are not functioning properly? Or are his eyes not working well because he chooses to be nocturnal?
I suppose I'd need to have a vet check him for that, but I have no intention of traumatizing him again so soon after his last ordeal. My friend's son wore gloves and a heavy coat to catch the cat. Apparently he jumped straight over the fellow's head down the basement steps!!!

We will keep at it. I have kept to the same catfood and he seems to be happy with it.

Again, thanks for your reply.

Peg