DiD

So....we don't own a car, never have done. But we have a cleaner who visits, by car, once a week. She comes exactly during the times that the controlled parking zone will apply to. (she comes 9:30 - 12:30 -- restrictions seem to be from 11 - 1). Buying a pass once per week gets awfully expensive. As she doesn't live here, we can't buy her an annual pass, + she would presumably need that somewhere else. And while the is quite a pain for us, I can't imagine what it will mean for people who have carers who come, say, to give them lunch, for example. Is it possible to get any exemptions? What do people suggest?

'Social' in Copeland Park. Its a large space, and not busy before lunch. Doesn't open til 10 though.

Loving the cat behaviour expertise on here. Haven't ruled out hyperthyroidism, but she's less than 2 years old. Would it be possible? As she settled a bit, (mostly only angry with me, it seems -- she can smell my fear) we haven't brought her back to the Vet. We'll see how the next few weeks go. She is certainly territorial at times, but she also wants to be around us -- she follows us and rarely stays on her own anywhere except when she's sleeping, and at night we can see she's been in our room as we find her soft fluffy balls in the room. And oddly, her favourite space isn't up high its on a cushion on the floor. I'm really really really missing my kind loving Burmese cat who died early last year :(

Thanks Gaynor, we play with her, and she plays well on her own....she has a couple of balls that she carries and throws everywhere. She was a single cat before. She also has access to the outside.... This morning's shenanigans involved her sitting on the kitchen table (not allowed) and hissing at me when I told her no, get down, calmly and persistently. Defiant.

That's a very good question...her previous owner fed her on demand, apparently, though I don't really know what that means in practice. We feed her morning and night and leave a bowl of dry food for her to nibble on, so there should be no insecurity. Its probably too much food, and we need to wean it down somehow. But she is always asking for food even with the bowl of dry food always there, which she does eat, but the crack cocaine version of wet food we're giving her (Sheba) -- only because that's what she was fed before -- may indeed be contributing to her demands. But I'm loathe to wean her off of it right now for fear of causing further stress.

urgh, she was getting much better, then annoyingly seemed to turn again, attacking me twice yesterday, including chasing me up the stairs! Big problem seems to be that she senses my fear, but yes I'm scared! She seems fine with the husband.... How long do I give this?!

Wow, how can we teach her how to do that?! It would certainly endear me to her more....

Good question. If I can get her on video doing it, I'll share it here!

Thanks @Gaynor Hill for asking, I really appreciate it. She's definitely getting a bit better, and she seems more relaxed, though she did try and prevent me from leaving the house the other day, as she stood by my bag and hissed whenever I tried to take it... But I'm hopeful that she'll settle in. We do still put her in another room if anyone is coming over (husband does this, and she won't let me lift her). She is, however, very good at opening doors, as she jumps up and swings on door handles until they open for her. (that being said we can't seem to get her to use a cat flap, no matter how many treats we seem to use to entice her...she would prefer to swing on door handles). We had originally named her 'Kangaroo' because she was so jumpy but now because of her slightly split personality, we have taken to calling her Jekyll-Roo.

Thanks @Fishbiscuits. I appreciate that. Yes, I don't feel morally obliged (though others may disagree with me). Trying to be patient, though, as I know it will traumatise her to move her again. But if she doesn't chill and stop attacking me then that option will indeed need to be considered, as I'm not prepared to live in fear in my own home....

@Yard, what a lovely story! But how did you manage to take his paws if he attacks?

thanks @Jules-and-Boo, that's really helpful, especially the idea of wrapping her in a towel to clip her claws! She seems to trust my husband more than me.....he endeavours to pick her up regularly to get her used to it. I'm far more nervous about it, and I think she knows that, as she hisses at me a lot more than him. If we can get her to use the cat flap, that might help, so she can come and go as she pleases. Now she relies on us to open the door.

Thanks @Kiera. She is hungry a lot....we feed her wet food twice a day, but also leave dry food on hand for her to munch on. But that is a lead -- I think her previous owner fed her on demand. And she also attacks us sometimes shen we leave the room, as you experienced, in the very same way. There are no other animals in the house. We don't think she had any kittens. I think safety is the key element. How do we make her feel safe? At times she seems very relaxed, but more often than not, she seems on high alert.

@Blah Blah, yes from what I've read that sounds to be the case -- that she was probably taken from her mom too young. Funny thing is I was offered a kitten at 8 weeks and asked the owner if she would keep it with its mum and the litter until 12 weeks, and she refused, so I knew not to take that kitten. Stupidly, I agreed to rehome this adult cat without asking for information about her kittenhood. But the owner insisted she was a lovely cat, but that she simply wasn't around enough to give her the attention she needed... I'll reach out to the charities mentioned.

thanks @Monkey and @IlonaM. Seems like next step is back to the vets.

Thanks @IlonaM, yes, we have toys for her...play using a fishing rod/feather thing, string and other stuff, including a flashlight, balls. She's definitely kept busy, and they do play together. But, for instance, my son and I were doing some play chasing each other, and she decided to attack in a VERY SCARY WAY, even though we were nowhere near her. It wasn't play, I can assure you. It was fear. Another time, she was in another room and I was in a kitchen, but I dropped something and let out a small yelp and she ran in and attacked me. Her claws broke right through the skin via my trousers. (we have tried to keep them trimmed but its a dangerous endeavour). At other ties, she's sweetness and light.... So now, we find we have to prance lightly around the house which is pretty difficult! We locked her up safely in a room with her bed and and litter tray when we had a party recently, but she knows how to open door handles, so she got out and attempted to attack some small kids who were here. They were extremely frightened by her. It sounds like you are really familiar with cats, though! We thought we were too, and did a lot of research before I took in an adult cat, but this one is exceeding my worst expectations. I'm quite angry at the previous owner for not revealing all about her.

Sound advice @Monkey and @IlonaM. But the attacks do leave us quite traumatised and my son (and me at times) can be quite frightened. If I knew that over time (a few months, say) the attacks would stop, we would be fine -- but can't live with these for 10 years! We've had cats before and never had these problems. Vets is the next step, it sounds like.

She's almost 2 years old.

She has plenty of space -- can climb, go outside, climb a wall, etc... she seems pretty comfortable with her environment, in fact when she goes outside, she is pretty quick to come back and cuddle up on her bed. Re: Fellway, I read a lot about them, and the only research that shows they actually work is research that's sponsored by the company. There is virtually no evidence that they actually work. (and a lot of stuff online that seems to show it doesn't work) It seems an expensive outlay for something that's not proven. We will try and take her to the vet again, but its not when we touch her, it could be walking past and she decides to attack, which is why we think it's psychological rather than physical. She was at the vet a couple of months ago and was given the all clear. We've watched lots of Youtube videos. Tried all of the advice! Tried catnip too -- doesn't seem to be interested in it.

I know about the petting...as I read a lot of info on this. No, this is when we're walking past her! Or even just nearby. No stroking involved if she hasn't asked.

We took in a cat about 3 months ago. Unfortunately, she's like Jekyll and Hyde. She can be very sweet and affectionate, gently playful, but then if out of the blue she turns -- hissing and she will actually attack us with her claws. (sometimes its because of a sudden noise, other times there is no reason that we can see). She seems comfortable here -- she has the places she likes to sit, she goes outside (though she can't seem to figure out a cat flap), she follows us around, etc... But because of her unpredictable nature, we don't know what to do. We can't live with her in this state as we have a lively house with people coming and going. We've looked into getting a behaviourist, but a) its expensive and b) there are no guarantees that she will change (and we can't really change the way our house works!). I assume the previous owner gave her away for the same reason, though they denied it. And I know it will traumatise her again to be given away again. Does anyone have advice about what we can do? Or does anyone have the patience to home and work with this cat? She's quite beautiful....a British short-haired grey, we think. She's spayed and litter trained and vaccinated. And as I said, she has some great qualities, too. (she can be quite funny...though she can also open doors with levers!) Help!

This makes me so angry. There should be something we can do locally to help protect local businesses. Are there any premises near the Bussey building where they could re-locate to in Peckham? (and is there any way to get 100grams of starter to preserve the bread line?!)

@Mary123, We just got a table for 3 at the Rye for 3pm, which suits us well. The Prince Regent had some space as of a couple of days ago, but we opted against as its a bit further afield and we want to waddle home. Also, not as much choice on the menu.

Thanks. @Beaky, is the food and atmosphere good at the Prince Regent? Never eaten there.

thanks @Melihoople