Cat Abuse
by Michael
Abandoned or Stray Cats - Japan - sign says, "Do not abandon animals!! It is against the law to abuse or to abandon animals" - photo by kelvin255
Cat abuse, in one form or another, is fairly widespread. It doesn't have to be the kind of abuse that hits the headlines, such as air gun shootings. It can be day to day neglect or the occasional beating by an irresponsible owner. The owner could be depressed or ill and therefore irritable and passes that on through neglect and violence. Or the person could just be plain bad. It is sadly part of the human condition.  Cat abuse and general animal abuse is a precursor to possible abuse of a violent kind against people. This makes it very important to us as well as to the cats and animals. In the USA counseling orders can be made as abusers are often mentally disturbed people. Cat abuse takes the form of neglect or violence. Specifically it might be that the cat was weaned too early causing maternal deprivation, or social isolation, a failure to experience proper learning experiences, physical restraint (e.g. caged), verbal or physical punishment (e.g.yelling or beating), improper care and maintenance and deliberate, reckless or careless infliction of chronic stress or pain. When this occurs against a kitten it may well cause permanent psychological damage as would be the case if it happened to a young person. These cats may never bounce back and integrate into human society; the world into which the domestic cat must integrate if it is to survive. Abused adult cats can be rehabilitated. They will be nervous of people, withdraw and become depressed. They can become overly defensive, hissing at almost any approach (my stray cat did this at he outset, for example). What to do? From personal experience, patience is probably the number one requirement. I made a post on taming wild feral cats which is along the same lines. A damaged cat should be dealt with gently and we should make him/her feel needed. A quiet voice is an obvious starting point. The cat should be given plenty of time to become used to the environment and us. They use smell extensively so they should be given time to get to know our smell and for them to deposit theirs on surrounding objects and us by rubbing against them. The surroundings should be safe and secure and the cat should be able to achieve a positive result, e.g. asking and a receiving food. Toys, teases and catnip can create a friendly and fun environment. Sometimes teases can be frightening to a frightened cat, however. Dr. Jon of PetPlace advocates what he calls "a reverse dominance" program, which the cat becomes the boss and gets his way. This builds confidence and makes the cat more relaxed. In fact cat clicker training can be employed when appropriate. The rest is really a patient non-intrusive approach to gently build a bond and a friendly pleasant environment, where the cat feels comfortable. Once the basics are in place therapy to acclimatize him/her to feel comfortable with the things that caused discomfort in the first place, can be introduced. Rehabilitating cats that have suffered cat abuse is all about patience and time. See How to Tell Cat Abuse. One last point. Cat abuse can be entirely legal and authorized. That is another controversial story:
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