The Quirky Love Of A Rescue Cat

While talking to a friend one day about 18 months ago, I mentioned that I thought a pet would be a nice idea at that time in my life. I was trying to decide on whether a dog or cat was best for me. Curiously enough, that very day, my friend was in the process of delivering a kitten to the local animal 'RESCUE' program. The kitten was found in an active addict's apartment. The owner, the addict, had abandoned the pet and the apartment at least 10 days before by the time my friend had pieced details together and dashed over to go see if the kitten was still in the apartment.

An animal lover herself, she had wondered about bringing the animal into her own home, but she was a little worried about the fact that her young son might be rough with the previously abused, abandoned and starving animal. There were also concerns, of course, that the kitten would act 'wildly' and defensively and harm my friend's son.

I said I would take in the animal while my friend decided about her situation and prepared her home.

When she brought the animal carrier into my place, the kitten bolted and hid, but what I managed to see as he streaked across the floor, terrified, was a scrawny little grey ball of fluff and not much else.

Once I put some food and water down in dishes, little Mr. Scare-dee-cat came out to investigate, but was SO defensive that I dared not touch him...he bolted away again as soon as he gobbled some food.

My friend left and I kept the atmosphere quiet at home and after a few hours, the kitten came out again to stand in the middle of the floor...I approached him slowly, saying, "Nice to meet you, little scared fluffball. It's going to be okay. Nobody's going to hurt you here."

I picked him up for the first time...

He promptly BIT ME

:)

My friend called me the next day to see how things were going with the kitten and said she would stop by later to see him.

I told her that he was scrawny as all heck. I was worried about his physical health and mostly, about his behavior. He had remained quite defensive, frightened and nervous even overnight - though I had kept the apartment quiet throughout all this time, talking very softly to him and REFRAINING from attempts to approach him after that first time the night before.

My friend said she would still stop by late in the day and we left plans at that.

During the afternoon, I decided to take a nap. I made sure that li'l FEROCIOUS fluffball had food and water and I crawled into bed. Sometime during my slumber, I rolled and realized I was hearing purring noises right by my head. I was a little uneasy, remembering the kitten's last interaction with me and I opened my eyes...I must have shifted a little and the kitten rolled away, so I remained still for a while, worried that I was going to feel his sharp teeth in another instant...

The kitten was propped against my side, so when I moved, this startled him and was not such a good thing at first...he literally ATTACHED HIMSELF TO MY SIDE, dug his claws into my shirt (and a li'l skin, for a moment), but he did the strangest thing. He nestled his head between his paws, onto my side and just stayed there, purring. I'm not sure what kind of behavior this was but his claws relaxed and later, whenever I tried to move and give him some room, he seemed to need to stay ATTACHED to me quite literally.

Once it was time for me to recover from napping and get up to make supper, the kitten just kept following me, attaching himself, wanting to be picked up each time I stopped walking or moving. By the time my friend arrived, he was a cuddly little fluffball and my friend didn't have the heart to take him home. Though he bolted again when my friend entered my apartment, he snuck around her later and jumped up to me attaching himself to me, planting his head into the crook of my neck.

This was 'cute' for the rest of the day and evening, but I realized that some definite and literal attachment issues were present a little later on.

The next morning, I had to leave for classes and the suddenly-turned-cuddly little kitten turned suddenly-INSANE! The poor little guy flung himself around the apartment when I put my outdoor shoes on - flung himself at the door, jumped up on EVERY higher surface in my apartment and kept hopping around, knocking books down off shelves, cassettes off the counter, etc.

I was seriously thinking that the poor little guy had sustained brain damage or something due to malnutrition or whatever physical abuses he had sustained with his previous owner. I figured that maybe the calmness he exhibited for several hours the day before and overnight was just a fluke or something 'cos my new little buddy was acting seriously INSANE as I prepared to leave for school.

He actually bit me a couple of times before I got out the door and I wondered what on earth I would do with him when I got home - if he continued to display these behaviors.

I called a couple of veterinary clinics after classes, before I returned home and was told that I could not be advised about what to do with the feline unless i brought him in for the animal care staff to see.

When I returned home, little Mr. Psychocat was magically turned cuddly again. He had eaten the food I set down for him before I left for classes and he was actually starting to look a little better. I had experienced a very short day with minimal classtime, so I was only gone from home for about 4 hours. Little cuddle cat was a little angel for the rest of the day and evening...

Until Morning again...

He turned into Hyde-Cat with chaotic, insane behavior once more, vaulting himself across the room, totally freaking out in the bathroom as I tried to comb my hair and get ready for classes...

On hearing this, my friend decided that this was NOT the animal that would be safe in her home or that her son should be around. We considered going ahead to deliver the animal over to the Rescue program, after all.

I went ahead and left for another short day of classes and telephoned the Rescue program staff while I was out. They told me to 'have patience' and that abused animals often display very erratic behaviors. Sometimes they have been harmed and don't recover well from either malnutrition, physical abuse or abandonment and neglect. I was advised that if I turned the kitten in to the program, I should still be as careful, patient and gentle with him as possible until I could deliver him to their building.

When I returned home to pack this little Jeckyl-and-Hyde furball up, he was again very cuddly, so I was quite confused.

It turned out that my new visitor was simply reacting with behaviors that are comparable to when human beings have 'attachment issues.' Children who don't receive adequate attention from a caregiver at pertinent times and ages of their lives often develop 'attachment issues' that are either 'reactive-attached' or 'avoidant' in classification. 'Reactive' types 'freak out' and 'avoidant' types behave in apathetic ways, protecting their mental state and emotions by literally pretending that they don't notice the caregiver departing.

I was dealing with the 'reactive-attached' variety with my new kitten. He recognized MY BEHAVIORS in getting prepared to leave the apartment. He had probably gotten used to similar behaviors from his previous owner - who may have combed her hair, gotten her shoes on, put her jacket on, and then left the little kitten all alone for many hours or days. Definitely, just before my friend retrieved the kitten, one instance he was familiar with was being left alone for a 10 day stretch - without food, water or kitty litter.

Once I realized these things, my new kitten's behaviors made quite a lot of sense and I was able to adapt my behaviors so that he didn't feel like I was abandoning him every time I left the apartment.

With a great deal of effort and some major adjustments on my part for several months, my new pet managed to recover from whatever experiences he had before with the previous owner.

Many of my friends thought I was crazy for setting many of my behaviors around a kitten, but once I saw how severe his behaviors and reactions were to certain things, I felt that the little guy must have been throught a LOT and deserved a chance to recover.

I was patient and got ready for classes an hour or two early for a while so that the kitten could see that putting on shoes and combing hair did NOT always mean that I was bolting away from him. I set aside an extra long period of 'playtime' with him about 20 minutes before I would have to leave and offered him kitty treats to distract him right before I had to leave the apartment.

On the first weekend available after I thought I'd figured out his 'issues,' I spent the entire weekend planning 'mock departures,' leaving the apartment for various lengths of time - but staying away no longer than 20 minutes at a time for the entire weekend. This must have had the hoped-for effect of letting him know that - although I WOULD DEFINITELY LEAVE sometimes - I would also return. This gave the little guy some confidence, I think, that he was safe without me and that he was safe to stay alone because I would return.

He's full grown now and is the quirkiest cat I've ever had. He still has some remnants of 'attachment issues' but he's mostly pretty secure now. If I am gone for 20 minutes to the store - or if I am gone for 5-6 hours at classes, his reaction is the same when I return...he greets me at the door, puts his paws on me and wants to be picked up immediately. At least I can safely stretch the length of time I can stay away from home without him becoming too insecure.

He's the cuddliest little creature I've ever had and does require a little more attention still than most cats. I'm not sure he realizes that he is a cat because he acts like a billy-goat, head-butting me quite often when I get to studying too much for his liking.

He's quirky.....but he's safe now. I'm not sure who adjusted more for a while, him or me, but keeping him has been a very rewarding experience.

He also will also head-butt me, standing on the edge of my desk, looming with his paw hovered over my keyboard. He does this when HE IS TIRED because he thinks I need to tuck him in. He'll lower his paw slowly as a warning if I don't respond to him...sort of like he's saying "It's time for YOU to knock off early (or finally), too, ya know?" And yes, if I try to ignore him, he will attempt to finish typing my essays for me and will try to key in 'the end' so that I can put the lights out and stay on a decent sleep schedule...

He may have been 'damaged' in his younger months, but currently, he's a pretty cool little guy and a great little companion...and he's much smarter than I am, as it turns out. He never stays up past his bedtime...

Oh - here he is

.......................................... t h e e n d (t h e r e s c u e c a t)