About 4 days ago my partner found a cat hanging on a wire fence covered in about an inch of snow. It was just draped over the wire during a snowstorm. At first he thought it was dead but when he approached it opened it's eyes and meowed. He immediately picked it up and put it in is jacket where it cuddled in. He took it with him to the hospital, he's a doctor and kept it with him for the day in his office. It was a young female about 6 months. On his way home he picked me up and we took it to the vet. I was taken a little aback when I saw her for she was very thin her sides totally sunken in. The vet checked her, confirmed that she was around 6-7 months. She weighed 5lbs 14oz. Although she was given a clean bill of health we had her vaccinations done and a blood test taken to ensure she was indeed healthy. Everything checked out fine expect that she was starving.
We brought her home and isolated her in an empty bedroom we have that is carpeted. We set her up with a litter box and kitten formula Science diet. Science diet is what we feed all our pets. We have 2 dogs and 4 cats, hence keeping her isolated. We figured she needed time to recuperate and get her strength back.
Although she's friendly, the first day or so she always growled, not particularly at us but in general when she ate, walked around etc. After 4 days she's stopped growling and seems to be recuperating quite well. However, whenever I go to visit her, usually every hour or so from 10 to 30 minutes she's quite friendly by jumping into my lap nuzzling me and purring as I pet her. This lasts about 5-10 minutes until she seems to 'remember' "oh ya, your a stranger" and backs off a foot or so and swats me with her paw and tries to bite me. She did actually bite me already when I tried to pet her as she ate, although she drew blood I pulled back fast enough so she wasn't able to sink her fang in my finger.
If I try to approach her, she always attempts to swat at me with her paw and nip me. She doesn't growl or whip her tail in advance as a warning so it usually shocks me. Although we've already decided to keep her if we can't find her a good home(meaning with someone we know personally) I'm not sure when or how I can make her be 100% friendly. Any suggestions, or is it too soon and I should allow her more time? How much time should I keep her isolated? I certainly don't want to endanger my other cats but she does seem to want to come out. She gets glimpses of our other cats and dogs and doesn't growl or hiss. I definately don't believe she's feral, although skinny and starving she does have a friendly streak. I just believe she's been out on her own for a while and weary of strangers, not to mention hungry, scared and alone. How she survived at all is a surprise as this winter's been the coldest in years, with the temperatures around the -20C for the last couple of months.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
We brought her home and isolated her in an empty bedroom we have that is carpeted. We set her up with a litter box and kitten formula Science diet. Science diet is what we feed all our pets. We have 2 dogs and 4 cats, hence keeping her isolated. We figured she needed time to recuperate and get her strength back.
Although she's friendly, the first day or so she always growled, not particularly at us but in general when she ate, walked around etc. After 4 days she's stopped growling and seems to be recuperating quite well. However, whenever I go to visit her, usually every hour or so from 10 to 30 minutes she's quite friendly by jumping into my lap nuzzling me and purring as I pet her. This lasts about 5-10 minutes until she seems to 'remember' "oh ya, your a stranger" and backs off a foot or so and swats me with her paw and tries to bite me. She did actually bite me already when I tried to pet her as she ate, although she drew blood I pulled back fast enough so she wasn't able to sink her fang in my finger.
If I try to approach her, she always attempts to swat at me with her paw and nip me. She doesn't growl or whip her tail in advance as a warning so it usually shocks me. Although we've already decided to keep her if we can't find her a good home(meaning with someone we know personally) I'm not sure when or how I can make her be 100% friendly. Any suggestions, or is it too soon and I should allow her more time? How much time should I keep her isolated? I certainly don't want to endanger my other cats but she does seem to want to come out. She gets glimpses of our other cats and dogs and doesn't growl or hiss. I definately don't believe she's feral, although skinny and starving she does have a friendly streak. I just believe she's been out on her own for a while and weary of strangers, not to mention hungry, scared and alone. How she survived at all is a surprise as this winter's been the coldest in years, with the temperatures around the -20C for the last couple of months.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.