I adopted a cat from a shelter (most definatly a main coon) she was 6 months old and declawed ans fixed. They only had her there for 2 weeks. I have had her now for a little over a year and am experiencing problems. She will be affectionate but at times she gets this glazed look in her eyes and will attack you to the point sometimes of drawing blood. You can be petting her and she will purr and seem like she's enjoying it then she will lash out. She seems to do this more to my fiance then myself. Also when people come over she will either hide or be around but will his and meow really nasty. Same thing when I took her to the vet they needed 3 people to hold her and then had to sedate her to even look at her because she was so violent. I really love her when she is being friendly but I'm afraid that I will never be able to trust her. Im afraid to even put her by my face sometimes any suggestions??

-- Anonymous, July 27, 1999

Answers

i think it's more of a question if your cat trusts humans. she may have not been handled before weaning and is wary of people. she may have been abused by humans as a kitten _way_ before she was placed in the shelter. unfortunately, she may always distrust humans. from your description of her behavior..she's an extremely nervous cat. this leads to alot of stress and like any stressed out person, can make her irritable and violent.

i wouldn't try to pet her too much or pick her up. just leave her alone and let her be. in this case, less attention is better than more attention. i'm sure it's not exactly the lap cat you were hoping for but over time she may learn to trust you.

i've heard that carefully introducing a _kitten_ to a nervous cat brings out maternal instincts in cats and alleviates alot of stress. you should ask your vet about this. introducing adult cats is a bad idea cuz they might stress out your cat more with territorial disputes. a kitten is not as threatening. obviously, you'll have to monitor the situation for awhile until the kitten has grown up.

Ed

-- Anonymous, July 28, 1999

I have a 2yr old M/N maine coon he is a red tabby and he came from a trust worthy breeder. He does the exact same thing. Any more, I just smack him on the head and he knows he is doing wrong and saunters out of the room out of my reach. From what people tell me, it is part of their personality. Hope this helps you .

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

Sandy, all you've taught your cat by hitting him on the head is that he should be afraid of you and consider you a possible threat and/or aggressor. No wonder he acts the way he does, he's trying to defend himself from perceived threat. By the way, whoever is "telling" you these myths about maine coons has no idea what they're talking about. Responsible breeders try to raise maine coons with friendly temperaments.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2000