Hi everyone, first post.
I am a long established "dog lover". I have two wonderful boy boxers, my prides and joys.
Well, a week ago, my husband and I were viewing a home to buy, and the sweetest little cat came up to us and wanted us to take her home. We believe the cat belonged to the old owners of the house and when they moved, they removed her collar and left her. She was obviously hungry and skinny. We took her with us. She's 2 years old.
She has been friendly and loving towards us and we adore her. We kept her away from the dogs until we could get her shots and checked for parasites.
Yesterday she got the "all clear" so I brought her into the house properly and introduced her to my two boxer boys.
There was much hissing and growling on the cats' part. The dogs, by and large, were just interested in her, not aggressively interested, but wanting to check out this new cat. She wanted no parts of them. I didn't expect her to.
After their initial meeting, we had the boys in and out of their crates to give Tiger a rest from them. She was in the windows for a bit, then she has moved behind the TV and stayed there for at least now, going on 8 hours. She hasn't eaten, hasn't used her litter box or even gone to the bathroom, and is just sleeping. She won't come when we talk to her, (she was doing this before) and when we gently wake her, she turns hissy and upset. I am worried she will starve or get sick from not going to the bathroom.
She wasn't even active last night, just sleeping behind the TV.
I am very worried about her that we have scared her and she'll stay back there until she starves to death or something. We've put her food back there but she hasn't touched it either. I want her to come to an understanding with my boys that they won't harm her (they won't, they're not aggressive, just curious) and we can co-exist peacefully. I love Tiger very much, she's a beautiful cat and has been a mommy's girl in the past.
How can I help coax her out from her hidey-hole and start eating and using her box again?
Thank you
I am a long established "dog lover". I have two wonderful boy boxers, my prides and joys.
Well, a week ago, my husband and I were viewing a home to buy, and the sweetest little cat came up to us and wanted us to take her home. We believe the cat belonged to the old owners of the house and when they moved, they removed her collar and left her. She was obviously hungry and skinny. We took her with us. She's 2 years old.
She has been friendly and loving towards us and we adore her. We kept her away from the dogs until we could get her shots and checked for parasites.
Yesterday she got the "all clear" so I brought her into the house properly and introduced her to my two boxer boys.
There was much hissing and growling on the cats' part. The dogs, by and large, were just interested in her, not aggressively interested, but wanting to check out this new cat. She wanted no parts of them. I didn't expect her to.
After their initial meeting, we had the boys in and out of their crates to give Tiger a rest from them. She was in the windows for a bit, then she has moved behind the TV and stayed there for at least now, going on 8 hours. She hasn't eaten, hasn't used her litter box or even gone to the bathroom, and is just sleeping. She won't come when we talk to her, (she was doing this before) and when we gently wake her, she turns hissy and upset. I am worried she will starve or get sick from not going to the bathroom.
She wasn't even active last night, just sleeping behind the TV.
I am very worried about her that we have scared her and she'll stay back there until she starves to death or something. We've put her food back there but she hasn't touched it either. I want her to come to an understanding with my boys that they won't harm her (they won't, they're not aggressive, just curious) and we can co-exist peacefully. I love Tiger very much, she's a beautiful cat and has been a mommy's girl in the past.
How can I help coax her out from her hidey-hole and start eating and using her box again?
Thank you