Clumsy Cat

[mrichar]

I recently adopted a one year old, neutered, declawed male cat (Sylvester) from our local rescue. Although he is glad to see me when I get home from work. He seems to like to sit by himself in the evening away from us. I'm wondering if I should continually bring him into the room with me or leave him alone? I'm also interested if anyone has a clumsy cat. I'm afraid he will hurt himself one day. I've never seen a cat like this. I might add he has a slight deformity on the left side of his face and wonder if this has anything to do with it. By the way, he doesn't purr.

I also have another year old female cat named Kona. Kona is not in the least interested in playing with Sylvester. However, Sylvester clearly wants to be close to Kona. Any help would be appreciated on how I can get Kona to interact and play with sylvester.

[Cataholic]

Welcome to PT. I am sure you will like it here, and there is tons of great advice. I don't know how recently you rescued Slyvester (sounds like a tuxedo cat to me...and we sure love our tuxes!). But, time is usually the remedy. Attrack the kitty to you, or into the room you are using with toys, treats, etc. Make it a positive experience to come to you...maybe Sly wasn't very socialized in his last home???

As to his less than agile ways...some cats are just Klutzes! I wonder what the deformity is? Maybe it is a partial paralysis? Affecting his eyesight? My dad has a cat that is the biggest klutz in the world.. it is kinda funny. I wouldn't worry about that, except to investigate the deformity issue. I would also look in the Cat General thred for the pet proofing thred..lots of good ideas in how to pet proof your home.

As to Kona and Sly hitting it off...maybe they never will. But, they probably just need more time. Others will chime in with their experiences in mixing cats...I would again try the 'forced' interaction...playing near both of them where they want to interact with you enough that they might interact with each other by accident.

Good luck, welcome again, and keep us posted!:)

[Barbara]

Hi, welcome to Pet Talk!
It sounds as if Sylvester is with you for quite a short time. So he may need some time until he fully trusts you and his new sister. Even young cats may need a time of several days before they talk to each other -with older cats it can take much more time.
Grisette who lived with me 25 years ago has spent weeks under the sofa until she became a family cat. I think it's a good sign that he looks forward to your coming home.
With his clumsiness this may be a different problem. I think you should see the vet for that. It is difficult to judge whether his deformation in the face comes from an injury. In this case he might even be blind on one eye. (In general blind cats are not necessarily clumsy but he's in a new environment, too).
Regarding Kona I am sure she's a little jealous that she is no longer the only cat in your heart. This may change with time (in most of the cases it does(Read the story of Jade Jaguar today) but in some cases, especially with older cats, the 2 of them will just organize their life so that they do not meet each other.
I hope things will get better soon because I am convinced Sylvester is happy to have a new and caring home.

[Barbara]

Cataholic, it looks as if we were writing basically the same things at the same time;)

[Cataholic]

Barbara...I noticed that too, then I saw that you had posted again, and I had to go sneak another look..great minds think alike, right? :)

[jenluckenbach]

If your Sylvester is a fairly new addition, the cats may just need to get used to each other. They may or may not become best friends but when they are ready to play or sleep and no one else is available (namely the humans) they will seek each other out. If you do not know why Sylvester's face is deformed it would be good to find out. It may need monitoring. It may affect balance but so could the fact that he is declawed. Of corse he may just be "klutzy". Instead of bringing him to you, I'd go to him. He most likely feels most comfortable where he chooses to stay and maybe he just likes time alone. When I have a new cat that prefers to stay in one room (this was usually because there were afraid or shy) I would keep them company in that room and slowly move furhter and further out of the room hoping they would follow. Keep us posted.

[kittymom]

Jen, Am I understanding you correctly, that tuxes are a little standoffish (sp)? Mine is just over a year, actually 13 months, and although she can be the most loving cat (cuddle and purr herself to sleep on your head) there are times when we have to remind her she is part of the family, go get her and bring her into the room with us.

Although I have always loved cats, I am just getting to understand that some characteristics (like my tort's personality) are not unusual to them but part of the breed.

[jenluckenbach]

No, I can't really say that tuxes are a little standoffish. That is one color pattern I am new to (just got my first tux in June) And my Biddy is wonderful. The fact that you said "she" when you referred to yours brings me a bit of a clue to her behavior.

[AmberLee]

Welcome to Pet Talk, MRichar. My Livvy was rather clumsy when she first came to our home, but has gained grace as she's matured. She's a Maine Coon mix and it seems they mature later than many other breeds. Can you tell us more about Sylvester and Kona?

BTW, as a child our family cat was a gray tabby named Sylvester and we adored one another. Sometimes I'd call him Silver Vest when we played. It's a treat to see this name again.

[wayne0214]

Welcome to pet talk mrichar. I have one klutzy cat, namely Fawn. Although he is not as bad about this as he once was. Whenever I hear something "crash" in the house, I can rest assured that Fawn is the cause of it - at least most of the time. Fawn is a small cat for his age, but just the same he has become one of my special lap -cats, In fact, he is in my lap as I'm writing this. :)

...........wayne

[catmandu]

Joseph The Joker is defitely the least corordinated clumsby cat I have ever seen. He has a poor sense of balnce and he does not have the cats ability to landor jump softly . He was deemed expendible by 3 homes , including my brother , so I gave him a chance . He gets so excited by the thoght of his Whiskas Temptations that he will knock yhing over to get tothe ttreats. So Far he has demoed a VCR, an old one and a remote control . But I wouldnt trade him for the world. NO LOOK OUT JOSEPH! CRRRASSSSH BOOOOM POOOWWW!