Need Help - Brought Semi-Feral inside & now she won't pee

[needshelp91]

My boyfriend has been feeding a semi-feral (this is a best guess; she's ear-tipped, sits very close and even accepts petting during feeding, occasionally meows but is otherwise totally uninterested/scared of contact that doesn't involve food) for ~5 months. He made the decision to bring her inside 2 nights ago (combination of the weather/getting worried about her fairly obvious dependence on him for food with him moving in a few months) and based on her behavior.....we're not sure if this is the right call.

She's being housed in a fairly large walk-in closet and she's climbed to the highest shelf and has basically not moved since for two days. To some degree I'm sure this is normal since she's pretty obviously never been inside/she's definitely scared & needs time to adjust, but we're most concerned that she hasn't been to the bathroom in 48 hours now. She ate for the first time this AM (1 day after getting her in - we put the food up on the shelf with her just to try and get something in her system) and she ate without hesitation. Other than that though, she hasn't really moved. We've been leaving her alone but adjusted the shelves a bit so she has a clear "step" system down to where the litter box is. We've put dirt etc. from outside to get her adjusted to the box but...nothing. I saw her fairly vigorously cleaning herself tonight, so she seems like she feels OK physically, but other than that she just curled up and went back to sleep.

We assume she just feels more comfortable up there and away from us, but we're getting worried that we're doing more harm than good here. We also obviously are ready to bring her into a vet tomorrow if nothing changes/her physical condition changes, but is it better to wait her out? To bring her to the vet? To put her back outside?

Any advice/wisdom/etc. would be much appreciated!!

 

[zed xyzed]

Bless you for helping this poor cat. I think it would be best to let her get more comfortable with this huge change. Please don't let her out, she has shown her dependency on your boyfriend she might not come back and get into a dangerous situation. I would say stay the course. When I adopted a cat I didn't see him for 2 weeks, be found some place to hide, eventually he came for water food and a littler box. My cat was living with a family and wasn't an outside cat. Cats are very cautious given your kitty had to survive outside it might take a little more time. Keep us informed on how things go. You and your boyfriend are good people for saving her.

 

[Jcatbird]

Can you place the litter box up high? They feel very insecure at first. Imagine that the whole world was suddenly different for you. You would be cautious about everything until you understood your surroundings. Please do not put her back out. That would just be more confusing to her. Time and patience. Giving her plent of privacy can help. Covered places and a feeling of safe sanctuary. Cardboard boxes down lower may provide extra hiding spots too. Thank you for saving her!

 

[poolcat]

If she hasn't been eating or drinking, that would explain why she hasn't produced any waste. It's great that she's started to eat--you certainly wouldn't want her going more than a couple of days without food. You could try mixing a little water in with some canned food if she continues not drinking water. Friskies makes some cat gravy in pouches that you could pour over her food. Though if you put it on kibble, be sure not to leave it out for more than a half day since it can go bad.

Is this a closet that you and your boyfriend use regularly? I wouldn't expect to see much change in her behavior for at least a week or ten days, so you'll need to be patient. But you'll want to spend time with her to get her accustomed to your presence. Is there room for a small upholstered chair (if you have one) that could go in there? it would give her something to hide under . . . and a place for you to sit and keep her company when you have time--maybe read or listen to some soothing music. It's so kind of you to adopt her!

 

[Jcatbird]

How is she doing?

 

[needshelp91]

Thank you everyone for all the helpful responses!! She actually did go to the bathroom overnight and even came down a few levels to eat some food this morning. We're feeling super relieved and very thankful.

We purchased some bone broth to go over top of her food, so I think we'll try that today now that she's at least comfortable moving around a bit more. As for the closet - we cleared everything out to give her more space and have been largely leaving her alone since she seemed so much more shut down at first. She's pretty used to us hanging out and reading from when we fed her outside so I think we'll start back up with that again.

We're definitely going to stay the course and just give her time and space to deal with the big changes. Thank you again!!!

 

[zed xyzed]

How are you doing with her? I know a number of us would love an update

 

[needshelp91]

Thank you for asking!
Honestly, I'm not so sure. She's using the litterbox quite well & eating/drinking normally so we're very relieved about that. I know it can take some time to adjust to everything, but she just seems overall very unhappy. She keeps to one spot in the closet, up high where she feels safest, and other than to eat and use the litterbox she doesn't move. Additionally, she's becoming increasingly unhappy with our presence at all. The other day it kind of came to a head and she approached me (unusual) and got fairly aggressive. She spent the rest of that day hissing every time she caught sight of me. I just continued doing what I was doing on schedule (feeding, cleaning the box etc.) but for the last two days I've really just been ignoring her presence entirely when I have to go take care of her. That seems to have helped though, since that was the same night she finally starting burying her waste. I'm not sure what that means - but I think that's better than her possibly trying to assert dominance?

In any case, we have vet appointment (finally) this upcoming weekend to get a baseline on her health. It looks like she has very few lower teeth - if any - & kind of a wonky eye so I'm looking forward to getting her checked out to make sure we're able to do what's best for her comfort.

If anyone has any tips/tricks/recommendations to help get her acclimated I'd really appreciate it! I know the best thing for it will be time but I want to make sure I'm doing all I can. I also should mention that my boyfriend is gone for the month for work so it's just me with her for the time being. I don't live there but I go twice a day (usually for a few hours but since that incident for far less time) to refresh her food etc.

 

[Jcatbird]

So, she is mostly there alone? That can help give her time to explore her surroundings more but change is hard for cats and she may not be real young so it means she has kind of gotten used to having the place alone a lot. The aggression is not surprising because she is just trying to be careful about protecting her territory. You are going a good thing by maintaining a regular routine. Very good! The closer is cleared out for more space but does she have a few spaces in there to feel hidden while napping or relaxing? She really needs at least one sort of cat cave. A carrier is a great thing to use for that because any time you need to take her to a vet or any reason you need access to her, that is where she will go for sanctuary once she feels it is her private retreat. Not all cats like catnip but you can try using it with her. Some love the stuff! Place a shirt or something that carries your scent in her closet. It will help her to recognize that you are not a predator but the one who comes bringing love and good things. Has she had her vet check yet? She is such a beautiful kitty! I hope things are going smoothly.

 

[zed xyzed]

Thank you for asking!
Honestly, I'm not so sure. She's using the litterbox quite well & eating/drinking normally so we're very relieved about that. I know it can take some time to adjust to everything, but she just seems overall very unhappy. She keeps to one spot in the closet, up high where she feels safest, and other than to eat and use the litterbox she doesn't move. Additionally, she's becoming increasingly unhappy with our presence at all. The other day it kind of came to a head and she approached me (unusual) and got fairly aggressive. She spent the rest of that day hissing every time she caught sight of me. I just continued doing what I was doing on schedule (feeding, cleaning the box etc.) but for the last two days I've really just been ignoring her presence entirely when I have to go take care of her. That seems to have helped though, since that was the same night she finally starting burying her waste. I'm not sure what that means - but I think that's better than her possibly trying to assert dominance?

In any case, we have vet appointment (finally) this upcoming weekend to get a baseline on her health. It looks like she has very few lower teeth - if any - & kind of a wonky eye so I'm looking forward to getting her checked out to make sure we're able to do what's best for her comfort.

If anyone has any tips/tricks/recommendations to help get her acclimated I'd really appreciate it! I know the best thing for it will be time but I want to make sure I'm doing all I can. I also should mention that my boyfriend is gone for the month for work so it's just me with her for the time being. I don't live there but I go twice a day (usually for a few hours but since that incident for far less time) to refresh her food etc.

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I know it can be a little scary but see if you can spend more time in the room. Not necessarily engaging her but doing your own thing. She will learn over time that you aren't a threat. Keep up the great work!