I adopted my Molly 5 months ago from a rescue organization. She is 4 and clearly had some trauma in her previous 'home,' and she was thrown from a car at age 3 and fortunately rescued.
When she came home with me, she hid for just over 2 weeks, but since she emerged, she is an adorable and loving lap cat. However, she is fearful of anyone else and hides if anyone comes into the house.
That's not a problem for me, as my first cat behaved similarly, and it was several years before she 'showed herself' to anyone but me. My concern is that at the end of April, I will be going away for a week. I have a wonderful sitter who actually slept in my house with my two previous cats because they were incredibly human bonded and wanted human company.
That's obviously not the case with Molly, and my plan is for the sitter to come twice a day to feed her and clean the box. It's likely the sitter will never see her (which bothers my sitter, as she fancies herself a 'cat whisperer'). I am concerned that this week may be too stressful for Molly. When she arrived, I used Feliway plug ins for about 6 weeks, and I will put them in again before I leave.
What's adding to my concern is her recent behavior. I'm retired, so I don't have a 'set schedule,' and during our awful winter, I was home a lot. Recently, I've begun some physical therapy, and have generally been going out more. With these absences (rarely more than 3 hours, often about a single hour), Molly seems 'stressed' when I return. She will jump into my lap whenever I sit down and remains for (seemingly) endless petting.
Anyone have suggestions about anything I can do to lessen her stress when I leave?
When she came home with me, she hid for just over 2 weeks, but since she emerged, she is an adorable and loving lap cat. However, she is fearful of anyone else and hides if anyone comes into the house.
That's not a problem for me, as my first cat behaved similarly, and it was several years before she 'showed herself' to anyone but me. My concern is that at the end of April, I will be going away for a week. I have a wonderful sitter who actually slept in my house with my two previous cats because they were incredibly human bonded and wanted human company.
That's obviously not the case with Molly, and my plan is for the sitter to come twice a day to feed her and clean the box. It's likely the sitter will never see her (which bothers my sitter, as she fancies herself a 'cat whisperer'). I am concerned that this week may be too stressful for Molly. When she arrived, I used Feliway plug ins for about 6 weeks, and I will put them in again before I leave.
What's adding to my concern is her recent behavior. I'm retired, so I don't have a 'set schedule,' and during our awful winter, I was home a lot. Recently, I've begun some physical therapy, and have generally been going out more. With these absences (rarely more than 3 hours, often about a single hour), Molly seems 'stressed' when I return. She will jump into my lap whenever I sit down and remains for (seemingly) endless petting.
Anyone have suggestions about anything I can do to lessen her stress when I leave?
