Fostering a semi-feral cat

tmatchett said:

Sammie is at the vet now. She's there overnight and will have IV fluids and is being treated for a urinary infection.
I spoke with the shelter and they agreed that she needed to be taken in and I offered to pay for a portion of the bill.I pick her up tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Hoping the vet can help her turn around.
Who knows, but after the vet, she could see you as her safe house.

I am happy the shelter agreed to pay part of the bill. This treatment would have been necessary even if you had returned her there.

tmatchett said:

Sammie is at the vet now. She's there overnight and will have IV fluids and is being treated for a urinary infection.
I spoke with the shelter and they agreed that she needed to be taken in and I offered to pay for a portion of the bill.I pick her up tomorrow.

Click to expand...

I hope she will be feeling better soon.  This should really perk her up after fluids and antibiotics.  Hopefully you will notice a different cat when she starts to feel better.  So glad you took her in.

tmatchett said:

Sammie is at the vet now. She's there overnight and will have IV fluids and is being treated for a urinary infection.
I spoke with the shelter and they agreed that she needed to be taken in and I offered to pay for a portion of the bill.I pick her up tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Glad that you brought Sammie in and at least she is being treated now rather than not knowing what is wrong with her and glad that you did not return her to the shelter.

Strange that initially the shelter said that there's nothing wrong with her but at least they agree to bear part of the bill but that's beside the point. The point is that you took her in and keeping her.

Hope she recovers well and soon and once that is done, it should be easier for both of you. Take good care of her at this moment and keep the bond strong.

I have Sammie back from the vet. She hasn't come out of her carrier but I'm spending time in the room with her now. I hope the sooner she gets used to me the sooner she'll eat. I've also positioned myself in the room so she has no choice but to notice me I hope she chooses to use the litter box as well,I'm sure her little bladder is full from the IV.

In my eyes I've got only a few days to make this work b4 we're repeating history. Fingers crossed that it goes better this time now that she is feeling better.

Just concentrate on the now.  Did she get or eat anything at the vet?  I would continue to offer her yummy foods and always warmed.  Leave her a few choices tonight.  

If she does not use the litter box and instead pees elsewhere, just sop up the pee with a paper towel and bury it in her litter.  This will then attract her later to her own scent.

I certainly hope this will work for you.  Returning her to the shelter does not sound like a good idea.  

UTI's can sometimes take awhile to treat.  They also can sometimes need a second course of antibiotics?  Are you having to give her antibiotics or did she receive  a shot?  If you notice her not eating again, please call the vet and not the shelter.  She is your cat now.  You need to find a vet that will help you.

The antibiotics she recieved is one time and works over a course of two weeks. Small success this morning, she used her litter box overnight! It doesn't appear that she has touched her food though This is a cat that is obviously not motivated by food in the least, so the only thing that I can think to do is spend lots of time with her to make her more familiar/comfortable so that she will eventually eat. I know she's probably still not feeling 100% so that could also be why she hasn't eaten.

I have the feliway plugged in in the room, which she has been exposed to for 24 hours so I'm really hoping that the combination of this and everything that I'm trying equals her eating her food soon. 

tmatchett said:

The antibiotics she recieved is one time and works over a course of two weeks. Small success this morning, she used her litter box overnight! It doesn't appear that she has touched her food though This is a cat that is obviously not motivated by food in the least, so the only thing that I can think to do is spend lots of time with her to make her more familiar/comfortable so that she will eventually eat. I know she's probably still not feeling 100% so that could also be why she hasn't eaten.

I have the feliway plugged in in the room, which she has been exposed to for 24 hours so I'm really hoping that the combination of this and everything that I'm trying equals her eating her food soon. 

Click to expand...

It's good that she's using the litter box. But the main concern now is her food intake. Did you inform the vet that she is not eating? What did the vet say?

If she's not eating, just like what ShadowsRescue mentioned, call the vet or find another vet that will help you with this situation.

The vet knew she wasn't eating. She didn't offer any suggestions, but she did say that the stress of her new surroundings and the discomfort of the infection may have contributed to her not eating. So I'm hoping her feeling better=her eating.

Let's hope so too and that she gets over it fast. But it has been many days that she has not been eating.

Can you get close to her? If you can, try enticing her with her food on a spoon and see if she will eat. I presume it's wet food you are feeding her?

It is quite a concern that she is not eating.  I would watch her very closely today and if she has still not eaten by tomorrow morning, you need to take her back or find a new vet.  

Last night I put a dish inside her cat carrier with her with warmed up soft food. It is literally inches from her and she didn't eat it. I don't think feeding her with a spoon will make her eat, she's very afraid and will only look at me from time to time from the inside of her cat cave inside of her cat carrier. The vet was very thourough with her and aside from the infection, she's a very healthy cat. I beleive her not eating stems from her fear of being in a new place. I have set up a very safe, quiet environment for her. But she is definately not comfortable there.

T tmatchett
Wow, this sounds as if you're still in a critical situation.

Stupid question -- does the carrier/cave face away from the door? Maybe if it faced closer to a back wall or corner she would feel safer. Maybe putting a cardboard box near that to make a kind of wall.... Just make sure you announce your presence in the room with a gentle "hi kitty, I'm here to feed you".

I don't know if this will help, but it might allow her to feel safe in a visually "smaller place". If she's been caged for 13 months, maybe the prospect of a whole room overwhelms her.

I'd try bits and pieces of whatever food you have in the house, but on a small plate so you can see if anything looks tempting to her.

Do you have whatever they fed at the shelter? Maybe that kibble next to stinky wet food could get her to eat something.

For right now, I think I would not stay in the room too much. If she's that scared, she may just need alone time to convince her she is in a safe place

I hope she eats something for you sooner rather than later

I guess that I was thinking the more time I spend with her now the better, but she definitely seems scared to have me in the room. I'm very confused as to what to do with her. Do I leave her alone or be around her? What will make her more comfortable and make her want to eat? Again tasty treats are not a motivator for her.

tmatchett said:

I guess that I was thinking the more time I spend with her now the better........

Click to expand...

Yes, please do spend as much time as you can with her. She really need to have her confidence up and trust you. More time means faster acclimatization. Get her to associate food with you. Whenever you enter the room, keep yourself as low as possible and call her name and talk softly to her. Try sitting as close to her as you can but not scaring her. Watch the ears and eyes and tail. These are signs to tell her confidence and fear level.

It may take awhile but it'll pay off. Just don't give up. Please keep us posted and if you can, snap some photos of her and the surroundings and post it for us to see. It may help to see why she is not comfortable. It could be the surroundings or it could be her underlying condition.

I think it is also important that you spend as much time as possible with her.  She needs to know you care.  Just sit on the floor and keep your eyes low.  Talk to her in a very soft voice.  I often recommend that if you don't know what to say that you just read aloud from a book/magazine in a very soft voice.  Tell her over and over that she is safe and that you will take good care of her.

What exactly are you leaving for her to eat?  At this point you need lots and lots of options.  Try lots of tuna juice with just a few fleck of tuna.

If she is still the same tomorrow morning, it is a must you contact a vet.  The shelter is not who you should call.  She is your cat now and you must take responsibility for her.  She may need to be force fed at some point.

I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing. But to encourage her to eat I threw a few treats into her cave with her. It kinda of seemed mean because she wouldn't look at them and although I tossed them in softly they still hit her. I know that I couldn't use my hand to do this but I still feel like I got too close.i keep feeling like I'm doing the wrong thing with her...

Trying to make her like me is scaring the hell out of her..

I have asked you a few times, but what exactly are you offering her to eat?  It needs to be something very enticing.  Cat treats will not do it.

Are you offering wet food, chicken, tuna, etc....  Along with tuna water for her to at least get liquids?