So a few days ago, my husband and I adopted this little abandoned nine month old female cat, and I've named her Delilah. She's very friendly, very sweet, full of energy, and has an amazing little personality. She took to both of us immediately, and was snuggling up with us an hour after she got home. She was found by herself in a field, very thin and with ear mites, with just some cat food scattered around for her to eat.
As time has gone on, I've realized she has some problems, particularly of the emotional variety, and seemed to be triggered by common household items. It's led me to believe the people that originally had her abused her, as she becomes completely terrified (crouching down, ears back, shaking violently) if I grab a broom, a frying pan, the spatula, or any fireplace tools.
I have noticed that she's absolutely fine with water, to the point that she's jumped into a bathtub with me when I was bathing, then just sat there in the water like it wasn't a big deal. She even loves being bathed. However towels - that seems to be her biggest trigger. I've raised cats all my life, and I've NEVER seen a cat react to anything the way she reacted to that towel, the normally very quiet kitten became loud and panicked for her life in a split second.
I want Delilah to have the best life that she possibly can. It's impossible to avoid using these every-day objects, and I'm not really sure how I'd even begin to make her feel safe here if they're around all the time. Are there any suggested ways to help a cat adjust, or is it just a waiting it out kind of thing?
Thank you so much!
