CARMEN – A1104585

Brooklyn Center

Carmen A1104585 – 10 month female long haired brown tabby/white kitten, stray:

Basic information:

Carmen was found as a stray and trapped on 2/23/17. Her finder described her as fearful but sweet. He stated when he first met her in a home setting she ran and hid under a bed and didnt come out to interact. After he trapped her she hissed and swatted when he came close to her. But once he gave her a blanket she was calm and fell asleep.

Behavior during intake:

Carmen hissed and swatted when approached. She allowed me to take her pictures and ate right away when offered food. She had a low tense body and her ears were back.

BEHAVIOR:

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES:

_x_ Fearful – Carmen has displayed fearful behavior during their stay in the care center and has displayed distance-increasing behavior with extended handling. Fear aggression can occur when a cat perceives a threat and may escalate if they cannot escape. A fearful cat will feel more relaxed when given options, so provide her with the chance to move closer, investigate, or interact with you. Be sure to offer incentive such as treats or play time whenever the cat makes a small positive step. Please speak to an adoption counselor for additional information on methods to desensitize your cat to their fear stimulus.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

_x_ Experienced, adult home only – Carmen tolerates attention and petting but may be fearful or stressed in the shelter, and may be intimidated by small children. Due to the behaviors seen in the care center, we feel that this cat will do best in an experienced, adult only home who understands this cat may need time to warm up to her new home and family at her own pace.

KNOWN HISTORY:

Carmen was brought in as a stray, so we cannot speak to her behavior in her previous home. Her finder described her as a fearful cat, but is sweet. He stated when he first met her in a home setting she ran and hid under a bed and didn’t come out to interact. After he trapped her she hissed and swatted when he came close to her. But once he gave her a blanket she was calm and fell asleep.

MEDICAL BEHAVIOR: Tried to bite

ENRICHMENT NOTES: 02/26/17

Hiding in litter box when I approach. Allows me to give head rubs, doesn’t get out of box. When I speak softly to her from outside the kennel, with the door shut, her body posture eases a little and she slow blinks a little. Needs time to adjust.

02/26/17

Hiding in litter box when I approach. Doesn’t move when I open kennel door and slowly approach. Allows me to give head rubs, doesn’t get out of box. When I speak softly to her from outside the kennel, with the door shut, her body posture eases a little and she slow blinks a little. Needs time to adjust. Added a screen cover to one side and sprayed Feliway. Gave some treats and a plush catnip toy.

02/27/17

Observed that she had moved out of her box and was lying on a blanket, quiet. When she was aware that I was going to be interacting with her, she moved back into the litter box. Looks up at me with wide eyes, lying flatly in box, when I pull screen cover back. With a slow approach she lets me give head rubs and some soft gentle passes over body, doesn’t move or get up from the box, but pulls ears back a little, stays quiet. When I offered a fresh bowl of food, she leaned out of the box to smell, but didnt’ come out to eat. Let me give some more head rubs. When I rearranged some items in her kennel, she hissed and swatted, uncomfortable with this. I ended the interaction. Sprayed Feliway, left some treats and left the screen on one side of the double kennel (she does seem more at ease with that hiding spot).

EVALUATION:

Cage Condition: Cage is neat

Reaction to assessor: Carmen was lying down by the front, peeking out from the covers and becoming alert when approached.

Reaction when softly spoken to: Carmen looks at the assessor for a brief moment with dilated eyes and then her eyes dart around from to her surroundings. Her ears tilt sideways and she appeared unsure.

Reaction to cage door opening: Carmen becomes stiff and alert, but remains motionless.

Reaction to touch: Carmen pokes her head forward to sniff the assessor’s hand, but nips and hisses when petting was attempted. She retreats to the back and wraps her tail against her body, growling. She will allow gentle petting with an extremely slow approach, lip licking and blinking throughout.

ACTIVITY LEVEL: Mellow

VOCAL: Quiet

CHARACTER TYPE: Timid, Independent

MEDICAL:

limited exam in cat nabber

young adult female approx 10m

tried to bite

s/o:

no uri

heart and lungs wnl

abd not assesed

een wnl

no oral exam

a:

healthy

p:

ohe

For more information on adopting from the NYC AC&C, or to find a rescue to assist, please read the following: http://urgentpodr.org/adoption-info-and-list-of-rescues.

If you are local to the Tri-State, New England, and the general Northeast United States area, and you are SERIOUS about adopting or fostering one of the animals at NYC ACC, please read our MUST READ section for instructions, or email [email protected]. Our experienced volunteers will do their best to guide you through the process.

* We highly discourage everyone from trusting strangers that send them Facebook messages, offering help, for it has ended in truly tragic events.*

For more info on behavior codes and ratings, please click here: http://information.urgentpodr.org/acc-placement-status-descriptions.

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions, please see: http://information.urgentpodr.org/category/frequently-asked-questions/.

You can call (212) 788-4000 for automated instructions.

Previous | Next