A friend of a friend took in a stray cat and cared for it few a month or so and did all of the vet stuff. He was looking for a permanent home so I decided to take it and surprise my boyfriend since we had been thinking about getting one. It's a male, 6 year-old. Note: He had an accident on the way to our place and so we had to give him a bath when we got home. My boyfriend did the bath and I think it's causing problems now...
We have had the cat for about 5 1/2 weeks now and it seems that he is progressing normally for most strays... he hide for about 3 weeks and then starting coming out earlier at night and now comes out in the mornings too. This has only been for me though. He pretty much lives under the beds on the second floor unless you coax him out. He will not come out from under the bed for my boyfriend though, even with treats. I have had him put the food in his dish in the mornings and the cat comes down but jets back upstairs as soon as he sees him. I have to get up and talk the cat down the stairs. He trusts me and seeing and hearing me helps. My boyfriend says he hisses at him sometimes too. I was fortunate to have to spend my nights in the same room as him while I was studying for a test which really helped him make progress with me, but it has hindered the progress with my boyfriend.
The cat if still skittish overall, even with me. If I sneeze (allergies!), he will jet. Car's and people will cause him to go back under the bed too. But all of that sounds normal according to other threads. But I need help getting him used to my boyfriend. Is he still scared of him from the bath?? He has not done anything to him since except try to connect. This is very frustrating for my boyfriend and he's ready to get his own cat! He does not want to take care of this one if he's going to get any response from him.
I have lived with cats, but I don't think I realized the work involved in taking in a stray/feral cat if you are not patient (which I am, he is not).
We are starting to make the decision on whether to give the cat away or not. I do think he might do better in a small, quiet apartment; but I hate to have someone, and cat, have to go through this process again!
We have had the cat for about 5 1/2 weeks now and it seems that he is progressing normally for most strays... he hide for about 3 weeks and then starting coming out earlier at night and now comes out in the mornings too. This has only been for me though. He pretty much lives under the beds on the second floor unless you coax him out. He will not come out from under the bed for my boyfriend though, even with treats. I have had him put the food in his dish in the mornings and the cat comes down but jets back upstairs as soon as he sees him. I have to get up and talk the cat down the stairs. He trusts me and seeing and hearing me helps. My boyfriend says he hisses at him sometimes too. I was fortunate to have to spend my nights in the same room as him while I was studying for a test which really helped him make progress with me, but it has hindered the progress with my boyfriend.
The cat if still skittish overall, even with me. If I sneeze (allergies!), he will jet. Car's and people will cause him to go back under the bed too. But all of that sounds normal according to other threads. But I need help getting him used to my boyfriend. Is he still scared of him from the bath?? He has not done anything to him since except try to connect. This is very frustrating for my boyfriend and he's ready to get his own cat! He does not want to take care of this one if he's going to get any response from him.
I have lived with cats, but I don't think I realized the work involved in taking in a stray/feral cat if you are not patient (which I am, he is not).
We are starting to make the decision on whether to give the cat away or not. I do think he might do better in a small, quiet apartment; but I hate to have someone, and cat, have to go through this process again!
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