# New here! Adopted this little guy!! :)



## Nibs (Jul 10, 2014)

Hello all,

Last Tuesday I adopted Sammy....he's a Grey Domestic Short Hair Tabby.





































I adopted him from the Humane Society. :blackcat The poor guy has been there since February. He's a few months over 2 years old and unfortunately he is terrified of everything. He was in a room with around 10 other cats and the smell was absolutely revolting. I'm not sure if that is the standard at an HS as I've never personally had a pet. I thought they would be separated in kennels with a couple of friends but that wasn't the case (the dogs were however). 

I think he's been abused as he's EXTREMELY submissive. He will not move unless I make eye contact with him and encourage him by patting the floor and talk softly. Also, he won't eat unless I'm sitting there watching him. He's gotten much better since Friday but he's still terrified by any noise. 

The good part? I think he's starting to like his new life.....I woke up today to him walking on me under the covers. He also ate without my encouragement for the first time this morning. The only trouble I am having is cleaning his fur; I'm not sure if it's clear in the pictures but his coat is very mat-ey. I'm trying to comb him but he does not seem to like it. Hopefully he will get used to it. I'll be getting a furminator later today in hopes of taking off all the fluff (I assume he wasn't being brushed very much at the HS). Aha, before I end this I wanted to ask if there's any advice for cutting his claws....they are VERY long and he gets them stuck in the carpet. He won't let me touch his paws. I know it's way early for him to trust me enough but a couple of times already he has almost ripped them out on the carpet (I don't mind him ruining my floor he's just too cute for me to care :crazy ) but I wanna make sure he doesn't hurt himself. LOL I tried cutting my own nails in front of him and he just watched with a :???: look on his face :shock: 

Anywayssss, sorry for the long post! It's my first experience owning a pet so I'm learning the ropes!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Welcome!

Sammy is adorable! I can't tell if he has big paws or he's polydactyl. I would take him to a groomer and get him combed out and his claws clipped. That way, he's all nice and fluffy and not sharp -- and doesn't hate *you* for it. You can work on him getting used to you touching his paws slowly.

I don't think he was necessarily abused, most cats are very skittish and shy the first few days after being adopted. Some don't even eat or drink for the first 24 hours, so Sammy's doing really well.


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## olywhizz (Mar 25, 2014)

enjoy your new cat im sure he will be an awsome friend


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## sheiladoreen (Jul 11, 2014)

Very cute! You have your food and water dish backwards though!

And I second the groomer suggestion. When you take him to the vet for vaccinations etc you can also get his nails trimmed there but if he's coming from HS he's probably up to date on everything.


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## Valentine's Heart (Mar 18, 2011)

He's so cute! And so lucky to have found a home! I wish all the HS animals could find a home. February to July is a long time to have been there. It's been my experience that an animal coming into a second home is so grateful to have been given another opportunity to be loved,


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## wallycat (Nov 10, 2012)

What a lucky little fur-boy he is!! To have someone pick him to have a forever home.
It breaks my heart to walk into a shelter...even the best, well-run, efficient and "good" shelter because I want them ALL to have forever homes.
He looks beautiful! I can't wait to hear more from you as he continues to relax and realize that he never has to be caged again.


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## NebraskaCat (Jan 15, 2013)

The beginning of a beautiful long friendship. Congratulations. He's a great looking cat.


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## Speechie (Dec 2, 2013)

Sammy is so pretty!! Sounds like he is settling in well, keep going with the gentle encouragement, sitting on the floor and talking to him or reading a book aloud. Maybe try a little gentle brushing for 2-3 strokes, then a treat, then slowly he may associAte brushing with good things. 
I adopted a 6 yo kitty and it has taken a while for him to acclimate and trust us. 
Enjoy your new friend!


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## Gandalf&Endor (Jun 9, 2014)

Very cute kitty! Thank you for saving him from the humane society.


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

He is very cute, and soooo relieved to be out of the shelter. You are his hero right now, and he will never forgive you for it. 

I love the furminator. I have no doubt you will get a lot of old, yucky hair out with that. Most cats are not crazy about the furminator though. I usually have to use it on one of my cats when he is eating. Maybe after he's more comfortable, in a week or so, you can find someone who is a cat owner, and knows how to trim nails, and they can help you with that. I always like to wait until they are relaxed and sleepy to do the nails. And definitely start touching his feet when he is near you, and he's in his sleepy cat mode, that will get him used to having his feet touched. 

I think his coat is probably not in good shape right now, from being a stray and then being at the humane society in a shelter for a long time, and he's probably been eating cheap, dry food for a long, long time. If you put him on a decent diet, you will be amazed at change in his coat, his eyes and his overall health. I have seen it firsthand. My latest stray, I took in last February, on a really cold night, and she had oily but course hair, the shed like crazy and you could tell she was totally accustomed to cheap dry diet only. I have managed to get her to eat wet food now, and she is a different cat already. My other cats eat only a good quality wet food and they have the most amazing coats that are soft as velvet. You may want to look into why wet food is better for cats, how they get way more moisture in their diet vs. what they get in dry (virtually none). 

He is very sweet, and you just wait to see how he transforms. It is such a beautiful thing to see them transform from shy, shelter cat to sweet, grateful house kitty


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Awww!! THANK YOU for saving a life! Poor little guy is just so adorable, he looks quite small, and it will be a wonderful journey for you both now that he is in a home. 

I think hard won love is the sweetest, myself!! My Abby took almost a full year before she trusted me enough to rub her belly - after that first year she was so bonded with me! We only had her 2 1/2 years because of her poor health, plus she was 11+ when we took her in. 

Love and patience will win this guy over.

As far as the shelter, I have empathy for them. Our colonies each have over 10 cats in them (about 11 female and up to 14 males in separate rooms not much larger than large bedrooms). On occasion, after 2 or 3 of them poop, the smell can get bad. The ventilation is not great in those rooms so it does not take long for it to reek. Once scooped it goes back to normal. 

These places are usually supported by volunteers that are spread thin. If you think that it is general bad housekeeping and not just a moment of too many stools that have not been scooped right away, then leadership needs to be informed of the deplorable conditions.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

howsefrau32, I think you mean to say "he will never FORGET you for it", not forgive!


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## R2CATS (Jul 11, 2014)

Welcome , he is adorable ..
He looks a bit like my boy Philippe ..


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Welcome to you and your new addition Sammy. He is lovely and will with time come around. At 2 this could be his 3rd or more home so that may account for his nervousness. I am hopeless at nail cutting, I get too worried about cutting too short and hurting them. I think that makes them nervous too so to save us all I have a groomer cut them. To get Sammy off to a good start maybe see if you can find a groomer to come to you or if he has a vet check and they have a groomer there ( as mine does) maybe treat him to a good groom and that will start you both off well. He may never need to go again and you can then slowly build him up to enjoying a brush. Look forward to hearing how he progresses with you


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

He is a beautiful kitty.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Aw, congratulations! He's adorable and has such a sweet little face. 

Definitely try to keep his claws trimmed - my cats have gotten their claws stuck on things before, and then you try to help them and they panic, which just makes things worse.  

You could probably get his claws trimmed at the vet too - mine charges $7. If we're already there for a visit, no charge.


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## Nibs (Jul 10, 2014)

Hmmm....stupid me I could have sworn I posted in the introductions section! So I've been refreshing and checking to see if my post was approved haha.

Thanks everyone! He's definitely starting to adjust, I'm so glad!


marie73 said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Sammy is adorable! I can't tell if he has big paws or he's polydactyl. I would take him to a groomer and get him combed out and his claws clipped. That way, he's all nice and fluffy and not sharp -- and doesn't hate *you* for it. You can work on him getting used to you touching his paws slowly.
> 
> I don't think he was necessarily abused, most cats are very skittish and shy the first few days after being adopted. Some don't even eat or drink for the first 24 hours, so Sammy's doing really well.


His paws are big, bigger than most cats I've seen! I am going to get his nails trimmed at the vet for the first few times. I don't wanna risk damaging our very young friendship haha :lol:



sheiladoreen said:


> Very cute! You have your food and water dish backwards though!
> 
> And I second the groomer suggestion. When you take him to the vet for vaccinations etc you can also get his nails trimmed there but if he's coming from HS he's probably up to date on everything.


Lmao, thanks for noticing! When I got home I was so eager to make him feel safe and offer food that I didn't even notice. But either way I'm gonna get some ceramic bowls for him. He doesn't seem to like the tray very much, so I tried using a soup bowl for water and he really likes it. 



Speechie said:


> Sammy is so pretty!! Sounds like he is settling in well, keep going with the gentle encouragement, sitting on the floor and talking to him or reading a book aloud. Maybe try a little gentle brushing for 2-3 strokes, then a treat, then slowly he may associAte brushing with good things.
> I adopted a 6 yo kitty and it has taken a while for him to acclimate and trust us.
> Enjoy your new friend!


Yup I've been doing this every time I give him a treat so he can get accustomed to it. 


howsefrau32 said:


> He is very cute, and soooo relieved to be out of the shelter. You are his hero right now, and he will never forgive you for it.
> 
> I love the furminator. I have no doubt you will get a lot of old, yucky hair out with that. Most cats are not crazy about the furminator though. I usually have to use it on one of my cats when he is eating. Maybe after he's more comfortable, in a week or so, you can find someone who is a cat owner, and knows how to trim nails, and they can help you with that. I always like to wait until they are relaxed and sleepy to do the nails. And definitely start touching his feet when he is near you, and he's in his sleepy cat mode, that will get him used to having his feet touched.
> 
> ...


He's actually not shedding very much....I'm thinking the fur has "packed on" over the past few months.


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## Nibs (Jul 10, 2014)

Marcia said:


> Awww!! THANK YOU for saving a life! Poor little guy is just so adorable, he looks quite small, and it will be a wonderful journey for you both now that he is in a home.
> 
> I think hard won love is the sweetest, myself!! My Abby took almost a full year before she trusted me enough to rub her belly - after that first year she was so bonded with me! We only had her 2 1/2 years because of her poor health, plus she was 11+ when we took her in.
> 
> ...


I'm honestly not too sure what to make of the conditions there. I mean it smelled BAD....even in the hallways and the lobby. It was dirty and I don't want to sound pretentious or anything but I felt disgusting after getting out of there. It's weird because it's in a really nice place in town. The building and the grounds are so well up-kept (word?). I picked sammy out and immediately went and let them know who I chose. I didn't even ask many questions. Plus there was a dog without a leash so I was terrified lol (dog phobia haha). 



spirite said:


> Aw, congratulations! He's adorable and has such a sweet little face.
> 
> Definitely try to keep his claws trimmed - my cats have gotten their claws stuck on things before, and then you try to help them and they panic, which just makes things worse.
> 
> You could probably get his claws trimmed at the vet too - mine charges $7. If we're already there for a visit, no charge.


Yup I have an appointment tomorrow at the vet for a wellness visit, I'll have his nails trimmed then! 

Guys I also have a question: the past few days he's been very affectionate towards me. He gets really close to my face and gives me a little nose kiss haha. But he seems to want something...and I can't figure out what it is. He doesn't want to play, doesn't want to eat, he definitely doesn't want me to pet him too much. I'm not sure what to do, because the poor guy just starts meowing and looking at me with those adorable green eyes.


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## Joe711 (Jan 4, 2013)

maybe he wants to go outside...


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

It sounds like great progress. I just think it is a settling in thing. Everything is different. It will be good to get clean bill of health at the vets. My cats talk to me a lot. 
I just went to out Humane Society to donate and there was no smell in the front and they did allow people in the back. I didn't go because I wasn't there to adopt but the age of the people in the front helping were all seniors.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Nibs, don't you just wish they could talk?  

Does Sammy like to be held? Or does he like to sit with (or on) you? It sounds like he wants to be close to you, even if he doesn't want petting. Or you could try head or cheek scratches - I have one cat who doesn't like being touched anywhere except on her head and around her face, and she LOVES that. 

Or maybe try getting up when he meow and looks at you to see if he'll lead you somewhere.

Part of the fun of developing your relationship is learning what each meow and expression means. I always felt so proud of myself every time I figured out what a certain kitty look meant. LOL.


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## meggie (Mar 13, 2014)

What a handsome guy! I'm sure his fur will be looking better after a few weeks of good quality food, a nice bath (I agree with the groomer suggestion) and daily brushing. 

As for the condition of the shelter, most shelters are staffed by volunteers and with this being vacation season it's possible that you visited during a time when they were very short staffed. At least I hope that's the case.

Congratulations on your new fur baby !


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## Cheddar (Jul 11, 2014)

I love his eyes!! So happy that he's coming around.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Joe711 said:


> maybe he wants to go outside...


He might, but don't let him. DO not open that door or you will have a hard time breaking him of constantly wanting to go out!! DON'T DO IT!!

Maybe he just wants you to talk to him - or give him the remote! Maybe he wants you to sing to him, or just adore him from afar?? Maybe he just want to worship you as his hero? :worship

NOSE KISSES???? Be still my beating heart!! :luv


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

Marcia said:


> howsefrau32, I think you mean to say "he will never FORGET you for it", not forgive!


I swear, I don't know what is wrong with my brain sometimes. I really don't, lol!


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## Nibs (Jul 10, 2014)

Joe711 said:


> maybe he wants to go outside...


Haha no way josé!! He is completely terrified of "the outside". If I open the blinds he runs and hides haha. He is interested in the noises but I can't seem to show him that he's completely protected by a window/screen. 



spirite said:


> Nibs, don't you just wish they could talk?
> 
> Does Sammy like to be held? Or does he like to sit with (or on) you? It sounds like he wants to be close to you, even if he doesn't want petting. Or you could try head or cheek scratches - I have one cat who doesn't like being touched anywhere except on her head and around her face, and she LOVES that.
> 
> ...


He most definitely doesn't like to be held, or forced to do anything. But when he does want to do something he needs me to tag along. 



Marcia said:


> He might, but don't let him. DO not open that door or you will have a hard time breaking him of constantly wanting to go out!! DON'T DO IT!!
> 
> Maybe he just wants you to talk to him - or give him the remote! Maybe he wants you to sing to him, or just adore him from afar?? Maybe he just want to worship you as his hero? :worship
> 
> NOSE KISSES???? Be still my beating heart!! :luv


Yup yup, nose kisses!! ALL the time. Let me tell you guys, this cat is SPECIAL. I don't know why or how but he's the most adorable thing in the world. Yesterday i stood on all 4s and got my face really close to his and he just came at me and scruffed my head and neck. 

Well, despite the sheer cuteness of this manimal, when I did that I caught a whiff of his smelly face. Smelled bad, like a garbage or his litter box (although he hasn't gotten into either). So I had to do something. I know this might sheem cruel or unorthodox but I got a warm soaked washcloth and put some of my LUSH (natural ingredients) soap and gently washed his face and neck. I made absolutely sure he didn't ingest any. I know I might get flamed for doing this but I could not find any shampoos or soaps specifically for dogs in my local stores (it was late evening). Anywaysss his face is nice and clean now and I think he actually liked it lol! 

The BAD part:

I had an appointment with the vet on friday at 4:15pm. I picked up a carrier at Walmart for him and brought it home, added a comfy towel and threw in some food/treats. For the life of me I couldn't get the boy in there! He was wayyy to skeptical. But I didn't worry about it because we had plenty of time to accustome ourselves to this little cage. but NOPE! Sammy is a big non-compliant smarty pants! I tried everything; including picking him up in a towel. But I couldn't maneuver him properly because it is a side entrance.

I ended up calling the vet and rescheduling.  Too bad, I was so upset but I can't blame Sammy....it was my fault for not giving him time to acclimate to the cage.

I feel stupid because I bought the carrier because I didn't wanna seem inhumane by using the HS's box, but it would have been easier to just pop him in there from the top opening.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Some carriers are just not cat friendly! I have two that I love, courtesy of the shelter. I have swapped 2 of my carriers for a couple that are almost completely open either all the way around or all over. I love them and the cat's don't mind them.

Suncast Deluxe Pet Carrier with Snap-on Food and Water Tray - Walmart.com

Next time try standing the carrier on end with the opening at the top.


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## 21inCostaRica (Aug 18, 2013)

Maybe I've missed something Nibs, but cats don't usually smell bad unless there is an abscess or something like stomatitis.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Unless he got food in his beard.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Oh, I've had that experience too, of having to cancel a vet visit because of an uncooperative cat who disappeared when the carrier came out...

Nibs, if you have the kind of carrier I do, with the opening on the short end, you can kind of pour him into it: stand the carrier on end, scruff him while holding his back paws together with your other arm and then let him down making sure his back paws are inside the carrier. 

Since the smart little guy now knows the carrier, you'll need to prepare before the next vet visit.  I'd put the carrier in the bathroom and make sure all other doors are shut before luring him in there. Good luck!


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Hope all is well. 

I've had the carrier vanishing act pulled on me too!!


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## Nibs (Jul 10, 2014)

Marcia said:


> Some carriers are just not cat friendly! I have two that I love, courtesy of the shelter. I have swapped 2 of my carriers for a couple that are almost completely open either all the way around or all over. I love them and the cat's don't mind them.
> 
> Suncast Deluxe Pet Carrier with Snap-on Food and Water Tray - Walmart.com
> 
> Next time try standing the carrier on end with the opening at the top.


I didn't even think to stand the carrier on end! Great idea! I'll report back with the results! For now I set the carrier on the couch with a comfy towel have been throwing in treats about twice a day; which he's been taking thus far. But if worse comes to worse and I have to "pour" him in there I need to wrap him in a blanket because his claws are very sharp. 



spirite said:


> Oh, I've had that experience too, of having to cancel a vet visit because of an uncooperative cat who disappeared when the carrier came out...
> 
> Nibs, if you have the kind of carrier I do, with the opening on the short end, you can kind of pour him into it: stand the carrier on end, scruff him while holding his back paws together with your other arm and then let him down making sure his back paws are inside the carrier.
> 
> Since the smart little guy now knows the carrier, you'll need to prepare before the next vet visit.  I'd put the carrier in the bathroom and make sure all other doors are shut before luring him in there. Good luck!


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## Nibs (Jul 10, 2014)

21inCostaRica said:


> Maybe I've missed something Nibs, but cats don't usually smell bad unless there is an abscess or something like stomatitis.


Yeah I think it was from the food cause it was only around his mouth. The rest of his body is fine.


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