Hi, my fiance and I just took in a stray kitten and need some advice and/or help.
We found her literally hiding under a rock. She's a gray and black tiger striped tiny thing, with the most delicate little paws. I took her to the vet, who puts her at about 10-12 weeks, though she looks about 6-7. She did have a case of worms, but other than that, appeared to be surprisingly healthy, if thin. Put her through shots, deworming and she will be spayed shortly. We've decided to keep her as she stole our hearts the moment we saw her.
Here's my question/concern: Lila (what we named her) is the saddest little creature I've ever seen. She's very beautiful and very lost, I think. We kept her separate from our dog, a GSD till she was vet cleared and have now let her explore a little, which she hasn't done. Jaeger is excellent with cats as he was raised with them and in fact, his best friend was my old tom who was starting the last leg of his life when Jaeger was just a little furball. So far, he's been Mr. Gentleman with Lila, checking her out carefully, then leaving her be. There was next to no reaction when he checked her out, she lifted her head slightly but that was it. The rest of the time, she'll lay on the floor, paws tucked under her, head slightly tilted, eyes staring into nothing. We've both had strays since we were kids but have never had one as young as this or as apathetic.
She eats (the one and only time she shows any energy), she goes into the litter box without hesitation, so my feeling is she was in a house at some point. My fiance and I have taken turns picking her up and holding her, which she usually responds to with a slight tensing of her body and eventually the slighest tremble. Sometimes she squeaks but it's not a happy sound. She rarely meets your gaze, and seems almost out of it when you try to interact with her.
We're not sure how to help her at this point. We've had cats that have freaked, have scurried and hid and not come out for days, who went into hissing fits, or would just start wailing but never this. How can we help Lila? We don't want to push her but at the time say, we don't want to let her become anymore of a loner than she already has, if that makes sense. She has made a step with Jaeger, I found her curled up his side this morning, which was so beautiful. Any ideas or tips on how we can maybe loosen her up or make her more comfortable?
Thank you and apologies for being so long-windeded!
We found her literally hiding under a rock. She's a gray and black tiger striped tiny thing, with the most delicate little paws. I took her to the vet, who puts her at about 10-12 weeks, though she looks about 6-7. She did have a case of worms, but other than that, appeared to be surprisingly healthy, if thin. Put her through shots, deworming and she will be spayed shortly. We've decided to keep her as she stole our hearts the moment we saw her.
Here's my question/concern: Lila (what we named her) is the saddest little creature I've ever seen. She's very beautiful and very lost, I think. We kept her separate from our dog, a GSD till she was vet cleared and have now let her explore a little, which she hasn't done. Jaeger is excellent with cats as he was raised with them and in fact, his best friend was my old tom who was starting the last leg of his life when Jaeger was just a little furball. So far, he's been Mr. Gentleman with Lila, checking her out carefully, then leaving her be. There was next to no reaction when he checked her out, she lifted her head slightly but that was it. The rest of the time, she'll lay on the floor, paws tucked under her, head slightly tilted, eyes staring into nothing. We've both had strays since we were kids but have never had one as young as this or as apathetic.
She eats (the one and only time she shows any energy), she goes into the litter box without hesitation, so my feeling is she was in a house at some point. My fiance and I have taken turns picking her up and holding her, which she usually responds to with a slight tensing of her body and eventually the slighest tremble. Sometimes she squeaks but it's not a happy sound. She rarely meets your gaze, and seems almost out of it when you try to interact with her.
We're not sure how to help her at this point. We've had cats that have freaked, have scurried and hid and not come out for days, who went into hissing fits, or would just start wailing but never this. How can we help Lila? We don't want to push her but at the time say, we don't want to let her become anymore of a loner than she already has, if that makes sense. She has made a step with Jaeger, I found her curled up his side this morning, which was so beautiful. Any ideas or tips on how we can maybe loosen her up or make her more comfortable?
Thank you and apologies for being so long-windeded!