Can cats be 'slow'?

I have the most wonderful gray tabby who is, for lack of any other word, retarded. He's in his own little world so I call him 'autistic' since for the past 12 years he's been in his own little shell and is very fearful until I break thru, which I have to start anew every single day by approaching him very gingerly. I adore him but he's not like any other cat I've ever enountered and I've never talked to anyone who has a cat like this. He and his brother were rescued from a ferral mother at 5 weeks and he's been terrified and rather wild since. I can't hold him close as he will claw me without wishing me any harm. He just can't help himself.

Anyone experience the same thing? It would be unfortunate if he were someone's first cat but he fits in great with us.

Thank you for loving him for who he is. My guess is that it is entirely possible that autism is the closest explaination (or the cat's equivient). Each cat is different, and not many are "perfect". But they can be PERFECT for US! :D

Yup - cats can be "slow." I think my Mishi is a bit "touched" - his name comes from the Yiddish word Mishugenah (sp?) roughly translated in this case to mean (slightly) insane kitty. :) I love him just the way he is, my little nutty Maine Goon :D

AWWWWW kitties, close your ears!!!! Don't let anyone say your are "touched" or "retarded". You may be a bit "challenged" (let's be politically correct here people) but that's what makes you so special.........:D

Cats come with many different personalities. I wouldn't say Kuhio was "retarded" but it did take her 10 years to catch on that the cabinet door would open if you pulled on the end opposite the hinges. Halo figured that trick out at 9 months. Cammie? Well, she seems mystified. Why should she try to figure out things when she has two humans perfectly willing to wait on her hand and foot?

When I was a kid we had a litter of kittens. We kept the mother (my cat) and one little orange boy. He got too close to the hoof of one of the horses and took it to the head. He was always a bit daft after that. Sweet...but not too bright....

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Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary
When I was a kid we had a litter of kittens. We kept the mother (my cat) and one little orange boy. He got too close to the hoof of one of the horses and took it to the head. He was always a bit daft after that. Sweet...but not too bright....

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:D :D :D ROFLMAO!!! Sorry Sara, but I can't stop laughing at this one....poor kitty.....

bit daft.....**snort** **snort**

So you could say he wasn't the loudest meow in the choir????

When I was a kid growing up on a farm, we had cats of all kinds. I had one that I had really grown attached to, his name be Hennry, LOL, anyway Henry got stepped on by my mother, and from that time on, he was as you say a little touched? He would jump into buckets of milk, do some of the strangest things I could ever imagine a cat doing.

He was very sweet though, and when I was just out walking around, he rode on my shoulders, he was just too sweet. He didn't do much growing, stayed small. But as I said he wasn't too bright, but yet he was the most loving kitty I had ever seen.

Tray:)

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Originally posted by slick
So you could say he wasn't the loudest meow in the choir????

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LOL! Mishi does have the loudest meow I've ever heard and he uses it all the time, sometimes he sounds like he's muttering under his breath - very loudly. Mishi was hit on the head hard enough to cause brain swelling before I adopted him - I sometimes speculate that that knock on his noggin' makes him as nutty as he is, but then CatDad told me that Maine Coons are just kinda goofy anyway. Whatever caused his zaniness, I love my special goony guy. :D

But here's the thing. Biff has been living, for the past 2 months, on top of the stove, only getting down to eat and go to the bathroom and the occassional visit to my nightstand for water.

Now he'll stop this soon and life on a particular chair or maybe on my bed when I'm not there. During the summer he worked his way up onto a ledge outside of my kitchen for about a month.

Very cute and very odd because he literally has not left the top of the stove. Really.

I can shove him outside sometimes but he runs right back inside. This big, strong gray boy scampering back inside is a very funny site. He's just terrified of everything and everybody.

again, I got him at 5 weeks so there was no abuse and his brother is very bright and very mellow. Go figure?

Yes, I have several male Maine Coons that are just a tab off (very big goofs). But just as lovable as ever. But one male has figured out when drinking from the bath tub water tapm just let it go down the side of his mouth and he will get more that way. And he is 22 pounds and runs like Fred Flintstone twinkle toes. What a riot to watch him run this great big boy running on tip toes.
Stella

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Originally posted by RP Cathouse
And he is 22 pounds and runs like Fred Flintstone twinkle toes. What a riot to watch him run this great big boy running on tip toes.
Stella

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OMG - I'd pay money to see that. :D
I'm cracking up just imagining what it must look like!

I would have to say my Ripley is not the sharpest knife in the drawer either. He's a bit strange sometimes and I also have had to deal with years of what one vet called "Feline Rage" which is directed solely at me. I've had him since age 7 weeks and I'm pretty sure there was no abuse before that.

On the other hand he is my only cat that can open door by turning door knobs. I guess he's fairly bright in some areas. Of course that may be because he's the only one big enough to reach the knobs.

He was my first cat ever and his 'behavior' almost put me off cats forever. Thank goodness my little Jazzy girl taught me differently.

I love my Bob, but he can be just a bit off sometimes. Nothing bad, just not quite all there at moments. That's Ok it makes him all the more lovable.:)

Stella you really need to get a video camera from somewhere and get a shot of the Fred Flintstone twinkle toes run for us.:D

I think my Eddie's a little slow. She's adorable and sweet, but she has a really blank look on her face all the time. Growing up Azriel always learned new tricks or how to do things, and Eddie always just kind of sat there. She's also been known to run into doors, a lot, and one time she got herself stuck between the back of the couch and the patio door, and for some reason she seems to think that if she digs at the carpet next to the garage and basement doors she'll somehow end up in there.

A good way to describe the difference in intellect between the two is a little story. At our old townhouse Azriel used to hide goodies under the rug, stuff like pens and batteries (don't know where she ever found those). Well, you don't really see stuff like that under there, so it was always there for her when she wanted it. Perfect hidey spot. Ed didn't get the whole idea, though. She tried to hide a McDonald's cup under there. We pretended we didn't see it, for her sake.

Azriel is really smart but has her dumb moments. She likes to watch me get ready in the morning, and while she's sitting on the sink she rubs her chin on everything. Well the other day she kept rubbing on the soap dish, and next thing I know I hear a small licking sound...I had to tell her three times that day to stop licking the soap. Yep, soap. So she's not smart all of the time.

I think all kitties have slow moments, some just have longer ones and have them more often than others. :) Although I think Kathy's cat may have something more than that going on. Kitties are more like people than most realize--they are all different in many, many ways. But unlike people they're all lovable!

I love everyone's responses but Biff seems way different than anyone elses experiences. I've always thought that maybe he is a combination of feral and retarded. Not a good combination but it seems to be the only one that might make sense. He's terrified of people, only I can hold him after much cajoling, nothing ever registers in his head and if I approached him the wrong way he would claw me soo badly without even meaning to.

I still love him madly but it's not like he's a slow passive gentle cat. He's just weird, distant and in his own little world that no one can break into. He does get along with his brother and 3 other sibs tho and he's not a problem. When he manically jumps on my nightstand, nothing is toppled. And when I stroke him in the kitchen for a minute, he'll show up in my bedroom maybe 10 minutes later for a short visit. How strange is that?

I think he will always remain a mystery to me. The first time I laid eyes on him and his brother Buff, when they were 5 weeks old, I mistook his feistiness for attitude, having no idea that he was a little off and fell madly in love with this feisty little ball of grey fur. He didn't seem fearful then, just mad. The fear came as he became an adult and I thought he might grow out of it but he just becomes more and more eccentric.

I think he's still feral mixed with 'slow'. And I'm hoping he gets over living on the stove soon.

I'm glad I got him since I think someone demanding loving sweet behavior would have run out of patience by now and I stilll find him very amusing (but I sooo wish I could give him a big hug without fearing for my safety).

My former foster Buddy wasn't too swift. I think he had gotten kicked; he was very foot aggressive at first. But he turned into a sweetie, even if we called him buddy gump.

I think I said on a previous post that Biff, the subject of this post, was living on the stove for the past few months but that would probably change. Well, fortunately for me it did.

I had a 2 week holiday during christmas that I chose to stay in town for and Biff, for reasons unknown, decided to leave the stove and settle the my pillow. It's been wonderful as he's also let me cuddle him constantly for the 23 hours a day that he's settled with no fear of him freaking out and attacking me. It's the first time in his 12 years that he's been soo relaxed.

I hope this continues but I know that it's a day to day proposition with him and we'll just see where it goes.

Fortunately my other 4 are very affectionate but this addition has been well worth the 12 year wait. And I think he loves it too.

Hope you all had great holidays!

Kathy