i want to preface this by saying that this forum has helped me tremendously when i was thinking about adopting my cats, and the subsequent weeks afterward. so thank you for that, and i hope you can help me with this problem as well.
some quickie background: i adopted cj (maine coon mix) 4 months ago when she was about 2 years old - she was a semi-feral cat who was found with her newborn litter. she is by no means a lap cat, and does not like being held, but has been affectionate to me but very shy/timid/skittish around others. she HATES being in carriers or being scruffed (with me supporting her body, of course).
over thanksgiving, i visited my parents for 4 days. all my friends and neighbors were out of town so no one could check up on her, and i didn't want to leave her alone so i brought her along for the 50 mile trip to my parents. she was her usual skittish self, but acclimated somewhat at my parents' place. i think the presence of my other cat (unrelated male 6 month old) helped.
the trouble began when i tried to bring her back to my apartment. she was very unhappy when i tried to put her in her carrier to come back home. she escaped the first time i tried to put her in her carrier by wrenching herself out of my grasp - i had her by the scruff while supporting her weight, then wrapped her in a towel.
i waited about an hour so she could calm down, and tried again, this time with success. she was still very squirmy when i tried to hold her/put her in the carrier - i was aware of injuring her, so i tried to be as gentle as possible while remaining firm. when i got back home and let her out, she bolted and hid. this was a week ago, and she still hides much of the time.
her eating/drinking patterns are normal (as long as i'm not too close), and she still responds very well to treats. she uses the litterbox normally without any accidents/spraying. she plays with her brother and will be on my bed when i wake up in the mornings. she occasionally will let me pet her, and can be very affectionate at times, but for the most part, she hides. when i think she's coming around, she'll run off and hide again.
my question is, can her hiding be attributed to fear/stress/mistrust etc, or could she be injured? if she is just stressed, i don't want to aggravate it further by another trip in the carrier/car. on the other hand, i don't want her to be in pain if she's injured.
help please!
ps: in her most recent trip to the vet about 5 weeks ago, she was declared to be in great shape. she has been fixed and is not pregnant. i also got a feliway plug-in diffuser, but i'm not sure if that's helping.
some quickie background: i adopted cj (maine coon mix) 4 months ago when she was about 2 years old - she was a semi-feral cat who was found with her newborn litter. she is by no means a lap cat, and does not like being held, but has been affectionate to me but very shy/timid/skittish around others. she HATES being in carriers or being scruffed (with me supporting her body, of course).
over thanksgiving, i visited my parents for 4 days. all my friends and neighbors were out of town so no one could check up on her, and i didn't want to leave her alone so i brought her along for the 50 mile trip to my parents. she was her usual skittish self, but acclimated somewhat at my parents' place. i think the presence of my other cat (unrelated male 6 month old) helped.
the trouble began when i tried to bring her back to my apartment. she was very unhappy when i tried to put her in her carrier to come back home. she escaped the first time i tried to put her in her carrier by wrenching herself out of my grasp - i had her by the scruff while supporting her weight, then wrapped her in a towel.
i waited about an hour so she could calm down, and tried again, this time with success. she was still very squirmy when i tried to hold her/put her in the carrier - i was aware of injuring her, so i tried to be as gentle as possible while remaining firm. when i got back home and let her out, she bolted and hid. this was a week ago, and she still hides much of the time.
her eating/drinking patterns are normal (as long as i'm not too close), and she still responds very well to treats. she uses the litterbox normally without any accidents/spraying. she plays with her brother and will be on my bed when i wake up in the mornings. she occasionally will let me pet her, and can be very affectionate at times, but for the most part, she hides. when i think she's coming around, she'll run off and hide again.
my question is, can her hiding be attributed to fear/stress/mistrust etc, or could she be injured? if she is just stressed, i don't want to aggravate it further by another trip in the carrier/car. on the other hand, i don't want her to be in pain if she's injured.
help please!
ps: in her most recent trip to the vet about 5 weeks ago, she was declared to be in great shape. she has been fixed and is not pregnant. i also got a feliway plug-in diffuser, but i'm not sure if that's helping.
