Socializing my cats

"Laura R." wrote

Er, "an" equal opportunity hater, that is.
--

Gotcha. :') You know, when I waxed lovey over Gnarly, about the only thing I
could gush about was "She has the softest fur in the whole world." I mean, I
couldn't say "Oh, look at my sweet, smart, lovey little Gnarly." Of course
she was pretty. And she did have a pulse. That was enough for me for 18
years. I'll just leave the nature of the men I dated to your imagination.
LOL!

in article %6alc.11248$m03.9509@clgrps13, Geoff at wrote
on 5/2/04 12:22 PM:


Time. Let her hiss. It's normal, and it's instinctive, and you're
never going to "stop" a cat from hissing to express feeling
threatened. Let her do it. Eventually, she'll get used to the dog. Or
she won't, and she'll continue to hiss at the dog. Either way, that's
just the way cats are. :-)

Laura

Even our biggest hissers eventually got over hissing at the dogs. I also
suggest establishing a very solid "routine". The cats are not going to get
confident if new things continue to be thrown at them. I also agree that
the
way they will get used to visitors is by having lots of visitors.
Depending
on if your visitors are amenable to helping you "train" them, you could
also
have friend over who will sit on the floor with you. This is always more
non
threatening and the cats will usually get curious enough to come out. If
the
visits are pleasant and without ruckus, I bet they will get better about
it.

Karen


My friends come over quite often however even with my parents over and we
are very quite they hide under the bed and will not move for the duration,
they arn't curious enough I guess.


Keep it up. Maybe give them special yummy treats after the guests leave.
They might come to associate treats with guests.

Karen

in article %6alc.11248$m03.9509@clgrps13, Geoff at wrote
on 5/2/04 12:22 PM:


Time. Let her hiss. It's normal, and it's instinctive, and you're
never going to "stop" a cat from hissing to express feeling
threatened. Let her do it. Eventually, she'll get used to the dog. Or
she won't, and she'll continue to hiss at the dog. Either way, that's
just the way cats are. :-)

Laura

Even our biggest hissers eventually got over hissing at the dogs. I also
suggest establishing a very solid "routine". The cats are not going to get
confident if new things continue to be thrown at them. I also agree that
the
way they will get used to visitors is by having lots of visitors.
Depending
on if your visitors are amenable to helping you "train" them, you could
also
have friend over who will sit on the floor with you. This is always more
non
threatening and the cats will usually get curious enough to come out. If
the
visits are pleasant and without ruckus, I bet they will get better about
it.

Karen


My friends come over quite often however even with my parents over and we
are very quite they hide under the bed and will not move for the duration,
they arn't curious enough I guess.


Keep it up. Maybe give them special yummy treats after the guests leave.
They might come to associate treats with guests.

Karen

"Karen Chuplis" wrote Keep it up. Maybe give them
special yummy treats after the guests leave. They might come to associate
treats with guests.


Aha! Good idea!

"Karen Chuplis" wrote Keep it up. Maybe give them
special yummy treats after the guests leave. They might come to associate
treats with guests.


Aha! Good idea!

"Geoff" wrote in message
news:5t8lc.10817$U75.8695@edtnps89...
Hi, I just joined this newsgroup. I have 2 cats, they are 8 months
old. If
anyone comes over they hide under my bed and won't come out. And if
they
happen to come out for a sec and see my company the one will run
away, the
other will growl and hiss... what is the best way to socialize my
cat?
Also, we just purchased a dog and the cats have spent the last 24
hours
quivering in their spots afraid to go anywhere near the dog (3
months old).
And the same one if the dog gets too close will hiss... so how
should I
handle this? Also, what is the best way to stop my cat from
hissing, I
don't want this to become a habit for her. Oh yeah, they are all
females if
that makes a difference. Thanks

Geoff


Hi Geoff,
You need to let the cats settle and get used to the shock of a
puppy living with them before you try to tackle the visitor problem.
They won't be in the mood to accept visitors and might associate the
puppy with them and be even less receptive.
Its difficult with cats of nervous disposition and those that
haven't been socialised as a kitten. As Karen says, you need to
have a vistior(s) willing to work with you on a regular basis and get
down on the floor. First you need a room they are relaxed in, where
can't run to hide under the beds but where they have somewhere to
climb to feel safe (cat trees are useful ). Don't let the visitor
knock or ring the bell as this is a signal to run and hide. Put the
pup in another room and hope he doesn't cry or whine as that increases
tension. I would ignore the cats and not even look at them to start
with, just sit and chat with your friends to give them(the cats) a
chance to relax a bit and be less tense. Try leaving out some tempting
treats like tuna in the hope it will lure them out . Also, if they
start to relax , try playing with them with string toy that they can
chase. Let the cats approach the visitor and not the other way around.
You want the cats to associate the visitors with nice things when they
are in the room not after they have left. I expect it would take a
good few visits before your cats start to relax and not want to run
away .

The principles are the same with the pup.They need to associate him
with good things. Don't let him chase them or even approach them
until they are more used to him , you might need to keep him on a lead
when the cats are in the same room. Distract him with a toy if you
can. Having somewhere high where they can watch the pup but he can't
get to close will make them feel safer. I think you should work on
getting them to accept the pup before he gets too big .
You need to encourage your cats to not want to run away but not over
do it by flooding them and increasing their fear. A step at a time is
best.
Alison

"Geoff" wrote in message
news:5t8lc.10817$U75.8695@edtnps89...
Hi, I just joined this newsgroup. I have 2 cats, they are 8 months
old. If
anyone comes over they hide under my bed and won't come out. And if
they
happen to come out for a sec and see my company the one will run
away, the
other will growl and hiss... what is the best way to socialize my
cat?
Also, we just purchased a dog and the cats have spent the last 24
hours
quivering in their spots afraid to go anywhere near the dog (3
months old).
And the same one if the dog gets too close will hiss... so how
should I
handle this? Also, what is the best way to stop my cat from
hissing, I
don't want this to become a habit for her. Oh yeah, they are all
females if
that makes a difference. Thanks

Geoff


Hi Geoff,
You need to let the cats settle and get used to the shock of a
puppy living with them before you try to tackle the visitor problem.
They won't be in the mood to accept visitors and might associate the
puppy with them and be even less receptive.
Its difficult with cats of nervous disposition and those that
haven't been socialised as a kitten. As Karen says, you need to
have a vistior(s) willing to work with you on a regular basis and get
down on the floor. First you need a room they are relaxed in, where
can't run to hide under the beds but where they have somewhere to
climb to feel safe (cat trees are useful ). Don't let the visitor
knock or ring the bell as this is a signal to run and hide. Put the
pup in another room and hope he doesn't cry or whine as that increases
tension. I would ignore the cats and not even look at them to start
with, just sit and chat with your friends to give them(the cats) a
chance to relax a bit and be less tense. Try leaving out some tempting
treats like tuna in the hope it will lure them out . Also, if they
start to relax , try playing with them with string toy that they can
chase. Let the cats approach the visitor and not the other way around.
You want the cats to associate the visitors with nice things when they
are in the room not after they have left. I expect it would take a
good few visits before your cats start to relax and not want to run
away .

The principles are the same with the pup.They need to associate him
with good things. Don't let him chase them or even approach them
until they are more used to him , you might need to keep him on a lead
when the cats are in the same room. Distract him with a toy if you
can. Having somewhere high where they can watch the pup but he can't
get to close will make them feel safer. I think you should work on
getting them to accept the pup before he gets too big .
You need to encourage your cats to not want to run away but not over
do it by flooding them and increasing their fear. A step at a time is
best.
Alison

"Laura R." wrote

You know, now that I think about it, there does seem to be a
correlation...

Hmm.

Oh my. Bet we can tell some similar stories from our 20s. They say "whatever
doesn't kill you makes you stronger." One would hope!


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"Laura R." wrote

You know, now that I think about it, there does seem to be a
correlation...

Hmm.

Oh my. Bet we can tell some similar stories from our 20s. They say "whatever
doesn't kill you makes you stronger." One would hope!


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.676 / Virus Database: 438 - Release Date: 5/3/2004