I rescued Ailish in 8/2016. She was then about a year old (according to my vet) and just finished raising a litter. Allegedly she was turned in to a kill shelter because her owner died. She was pregnant at the time, so I suspect other motives.
Anyway, she and the babies were fostered by a rescue until I came along looking for a non-kitten but still youngish black cat. I got my bedroom set up for her and brought her home. She hid behind my cabinet for about 2 months. She came out at night and to eat, she was a bit underweight when I got her. She would also come out if coaxed because despite her scaredness she LOVES to be petted. Generally my idea was to take things at her pace and that's what we did.
After a very long time she would leave the room and even go downstairs briefly during the day. She is now very loving (to me) and opinionated. She will lie on me for hours when we read at night, but does not like to be picked up. She loves her cat tree and to be brushed. She has nests in other upstairs rooms, is a total climber and a stone killer when it comes to small furry creatures and long skinny reptiles. The house is quiet, it's only my mother and I, and there is also a dachshund who moved in the same day she did. I work all day and my mother is in and out. She makes overtures to dog, but the dog ignores her. During the night, she's a vampire, she is all over downstairs, but during the day she rarely comes down except when it's mealtime and she wants to remind me of that. She remains afraid of all strangers.
The reason this bothers me is that I feel like she's scared all the time and I wonder if she's happy. I mean, she jumps under the bed if I crinkle a bag and jumps at any noise that is unusual. Weirdly, the one thing that doesn't faze her is the ear-splittingly yappy dog. She doesn't blink when the dog goes off. I look at her sleeping in her nest in the closet while I'm doing things on a weekend, and I think "Why does my cat feel she needs to sleep in a closet all day?" I don't ever try to coax her to do anything. If she's happy, I'm good. I love her the way she is, but I just hope she's not running around under stress. She's been with me for a year and a half. Will she get more outgoing still, or is this her personality. If other people have cats like this, do you feel like they are stressed?
Anyway, she and the babies were fostered by a rescue until I came along looking for a non-kitten but still youngish black cat. I got my bedroom set up for her and brought her home. She hid behind my cabinet for about 2 months. She came out at night and to eat, she was a bit underweight when I got her. She would also come out if coaxed because despite her scaredness she LOVES to be petted. Generally my idea was to take things at her pace and that's what we did.
After a very long time she would leave the room and even go downstairs briefly during the day. She is now very loving (to me) and opinionated. She will lie on me for hours when we read at night, but does not like to be picked up. She loves her cat tree and to be brushed. She has nests in other upstairs rooms, is a total climber and a stone killer when it comes to small furry creatures and long skinny reptiles. The house is quiet, it's only my mother and I, and there is also a dachshund who moved in the same day she did. I work all day and my mother is in and out. She makes overtures to dog, but the dog ignores her. During the night, she's a vampire, she is all over downstairs, but during the day she rarely comes down except when it's mealtime and she wants to remind me of that. She remains afraid of all strangers.
The reason this bothers me is that I feel like she's scared all the time and I wonder if she's happy. I mean, she jumps under the bed if I crinkle a bag and jumps at any noise that is unusual. Weirdly, the one thing that doesn't faze her is the ear-splittingly yappy dog. She doesn't blink when the dog goes off. I look at her sleeping in her nest in the closet while I'm doing things on a weekend, and I think "Why does my cat feel she needs to sleep in a closet all day?" I don't ever try to coax her to do anything. If she's happy, I'm good. I love her the way she is, but I just hope she's not running around under stress. She's been with me for a year and a half. Will she get more outgoing still, or is this her personality. If other people have cats like this, do you feel like they are stressed?
