Hi,
We have taken in a seven year old female cat for fostering almost a month ago. She was taken out of an outside cat colony by the shelter because she seemed "adoptable". The vet seems to think she has spent most of her life outside, as she has teeth missing, a scar, she had ear mites upon entering the shelter, etc, and seems absolutely not used to human contact. The vet says she is not aggressive at all, just very frightened. Her reaction to her feeling fear is to freeze completely, and walking (crawling) with her belly on the ground.
Since we have brought her home she has stayed hidden, except when she is very sure we are sleeping, when she eats and uses her litter box. She does have a good appetite, and eats her wet food, dry food, and treats, but she will never approach when I lay it down for her; it takes several hours for her to come eat it. We try talking to her in a soft voice, and show her signs of appeasement such as blinking slowly, as we were taught to do.
Other than that, we don't know what to do to have her come out of hiding and interact. Any suggestions? Has this happened to any of you and how long did it take for the cat to socialize? Thank you very much for the help, we feel so bad for her being so frightened, still after almost a month of being with us.
We have taken in a seven year old female cat for fostering almost a month ago. She was taken out of an outside cat colony by the shelter because she seemed "adoptable". The vet seems to think she has spent most of her life outside, as she has teeth missing, a scar, she had ear mites upon entering the shelter, etc, and seems absolutely not used to human contact. The vet says she is not aggressive at all, just very frightened. Her reaction to her feeling fear is to freeze completely, and walking (crawling) with her belly on the ground.
Since we have brought her home she has stayed hidden, except when she is very sure we are sleeping, when she eats and uses her litter box. She does have a good appetite, and eats her wet food, dry food, and treats, but she will never approach when I lay it down for her; it takes several hours for her to come eat it. We try talking to her in a soft voice, and show her signs of appeasement such as blinking slowly, as we were taught to do.
Other than that, we don't know what to do to have her come out of hiding and interact. Any suggestions? Has this happened to any of you and how long did it take for the cat to socialize? Thank you very much for the help, we feel so bad for her being so frightened, still after almost a month of being with us.