How to Care for Physically Abused Cats - Creating a Safe, Calm Environment

Rehabilitating a physically abused cat is an immensely satisfying undertaking, but it requires vast amounts of patience. If you home a cat that has been abused, it is unlikely the cat will voluntarily socialize with people. From her past experiences, association with human beings means pain, and so she copes as best she either by hiding away to avoid them, or by becoming aggressive when approached.

1. Get the cat checked out by a vet as soon as you bring her home. When you first bring an abused cat home, it is a good idea to get her checked by a veterinarian.
- Ask the vet to check if her physical injuries are fully healed and if there are any areas that are still tender or painful for the cat.
- This allows you to judge her medical needs and ensure any courses of treatment are complete. It also helps you to understand if there are any parts of her body that you should avoid touching.

2. Provide the cat with everything she needs. Bring the cat home and set her up in a quiet room that has everything she needs in it. This includes: food, water, a bed, and a litter tray. Do provide toys but don't feel hurt if she ignores them for several weeks.

3. Give the cat time to adjust to her new environment. At this early stage it is about getting the cat to feel safe in her new environment, even if that space is relatively small to start with.
- It is fine to leave the door open, as long as there aren't boisterous pets around who will intrude in her space and upset her. If this is the case, close the door.
- As her confidence builds then she can freely investigate the rest of the house in her own time.

4. Make sure the room has plenty of cat-friendly hiding places. Cats feel safe if they are protected on all sides but can see out, which is why cats love cardboard boxes so much. Provide a variety of dens, perhaps boxes in different sizes lying on their sides, and make them comfy with the addition of a blanket or fleece.

5. Let the cat hide. It may take days, weeks, or months for her to come out of hiding, but remember that you are following her timetable and not yours.
- However, once she realizes that this environment is very different to the abusive household, you should start to see a change in her.
- The first step is for her to realize that there is definitely one place where she is safe (her hide-out), and once she has confidence in that she may start to explore more widely.

6. Make sure the cat can easily access food and water from her hiding place. Resources such as food and water are high value assets to a cat. It is likely that in the abusive household these were either withheld or it was too dangerous to seek them out.Therefore, the cat's stress is greatly reduced if she has these resources easily available.
- If she hides beneath a bed, put a saucer of biscuits near the edge so that she can snack without having to cross an unfamiliar, scary room to get to them.

7. Always leave the cat with an escape route. If the does creep out from her hiding place, take care not to stand between her and the safe place. If it appears to her that her escape route is cut off she may panic.

8. Don't force the cat to socialize with other people. If you figure out that the cat is wary of people, never force her to socialize. Either put her in her safe room when friends come round, or make absolutely sure they know not to look at or approach the cat. This at least will minimize the threat as she perceives it.