Timid cat.

[pussnboots]

We have a resue cat that is very timid, been with us for 3 weeks now. She lets us stroke her and she liked her chin tickled but it is impossible to pick her up she rips my hands and arms apart. I need to give her Frontline as she is now going outside, as soon as I make any move in this direction she runs a mile, has anyone got any tips on the best way of catching and holding her.

[chi-chi66]

tempt her with some treats, have a towel ready, wrap her and let someone else give her the frontline. or vice versa.

[Sir Alec]

I used to don good thick gardening gloves, so I didn't get scratched.
My cat is now 13, so I just sneak it on when he's asleep!

[nungate]

if she is so timid do you think it wise to let her go outside?
I have 4 cats one of whom is very timid, occasionally she'll put a paw out of the kitchen door but no farther than that. You could try one of those Feliway plug in devices that are meant to help keep the cat calm, though I've tried them and found they had no effect at all on my 4. I also never use frontline on any of them either as it seems to irritate their skin and a couple of them have been so bad that they have scratched the skin red raw, pulling out all the fur on that spot, so I don't put anything on the cats at all.
If you do manage to catch her, try and wrap her snugly in a towel to put the stuff on her. Otherwise, make sure you wear long sleeves.

[pussnboots]

She only goes in the garden nungate and we rescued another cat at the same time, they were both living together when abandoned, she follows the other cat outside. The rescue centre gave me the Frontline when we picked them up. I thought about wrapping her in a towel, will try that if I am lucky enough to catch her, she seems to recognise when the Frontline appears......silly moggie.

[nungate]

I loved Sir Alec's suggestion about sneaking it on when the puss is asleep - though I doubt it would work with my lot they don't seem to sleep too deeply - maybe I should wait until I hear the snoring? Do you cats snore?

[Sir Alec]

I rarely hear him snore unless he does that lying on his back with legs in the air, thing. He gets snuffly when he's got a fur ball though, shakes his head and the 'dewdrop' always manages to land on me somewhere. Yeuch!

[nungate]

Lou is the worst for snoring. It doesn't matter what position she lies in if she's in deep sleep the snores come, loud and clear! (she's called Lou because we were told that the kitten we got was a boy and we called him Louis, it wasn't until we had the first visit to the vet that the "mistake" was discovered - it's difficult to tell if a long haired cat is a boy or girl apparently, and she doesn't suit being called Louise!)

[Sir Alec]

My cat walked into my house one night and never left! He had a huge fat face and large front legs, so I named him Stubby. His full title is Stubbington Aerosmith as he has a mouth like Steve Tyler when he yawns.
He produced a batch of kittens with a queen a few years ago, so I had him 'done'. It was the best thing I ever did as he calmed down and is a much nicer cat now.

[nungate]

Our two boy cats are still as boisterous despite having the snip Sir Alec, they charge around the house like a pair of free runners! Bobo the cat in that Go cat ad had better look to his laurels as both Max and Henry are after his title! Max's Sunday name is Maximus Cattypuss as he was so small when the rescue people offered us him as we were experienced with young kittens he was less than 6 weeks old when he was found abandoned in a motorway service area. Henry is so called after Thierry Henry, when he played at Barcelona - since we're huge fans

[Brinjal]

I take mine to the vet buy the frontline and let them do it. they do the worming as welll and they dont charge for the service only for the product.

[Blueflame]

With regard to the timidity-Time and patience! The cat will come to you eventually as it learns to trust you. We have a feral cat,rescued at approx 6 weeks. Four years on,although still very cautious,she settles on my lap of an evening and purrs for England.As far as holding her is concerned,try dropping a towel over her and wrap her up quickly.You may get some serious growling,but it worked for us! Good luck!!!!!!

[boxtops]

We used to use the towel method - it does work as long as you make sure to get the front legs in! - three weeks is very early though, we don't know what she might have put up with in her earlier life, she's probably still getting used to the idea of a real home to live in.

PS - don't bother with Frontline, it really isn't very effective - ask the vet for Stronghold instead, my three guys get a dib of that every month and it does work well.

[mccfluffy]

Why not just put q flea collar on her till shes more trusting of you
If shes only been with you a few weeks shes prob not feeling secure in her environment.

[boxtops]

I don't agree with collars, fluffy - not since Rover nearly hung himself on one. Never again.

[pussnboots]

Thanks for replies and all the cat stories, towel method will be tried but I think I will leave her for another week.

[lankeela]

If you get the frontline spray from the vet and put it on the other cat it will also protect the timid one as any fleas around them will be affected by it. You can also spray it on some rubber gloves and when you stroke her it will go on her coat.

[Messalina]

After my attempts to get antibiotics down Smoke, I would recommend a full suit of armour.