Last october we adopted a stray cat.
At first I couldn't even get close to her but as time went by we've made amazing progress.
I can pick her up, play with her, pet her, she is comfortable at home, she's even learned her name (sheebah
) etc.
Its all fantastic! she's become a very special addition to our family.
I have to thank everyone from this forum since I've learned how to bond and treat her by reading countless posts over here.
Here's the problem:
Every once in a while she acts "freaky". I know its normal considering she lost trust in humans but I wish I could do something to help her more. I feel like all the things I've done have made her progress until "this point" but I need tips to help her progress even more.
She acts like a stray cat when she's eating. If she's eating and I come close or if she hears footsteps she'll run for her life! I think she thinks I'm going to yell at her or something (which is far from true). If I know she's eating and I have to get close to her (for whatever reason) I try to walk slow and sort of act as if I'm not looking at her.. it helps a little but not enough because she still gets very scared.
When she's inside our home she has no problem with me petting her but if we are outside (in our backyard) she starts acting like a stray cat again. She gets scared if I aproach her.
There are other issues too, in general the main problem is that sometimes, out of the blue, she acts like a stray cat again and I would like to know if anyone here has had a similar experience or if you have any advice on how I can help her.
.. or if someone could help me figure out why she goes back to "feeling like a stray cat"?
At first I couldn't even get close to her but as time went by we've made amazing progress.
I can pick her up, play with her, pet her, she is comfortable at home, she's even learned her name (sheebah
Its all fantastic! she's become a very special addition to our family.
I have to thank everyone from this forum since I've learned how to bond and treat her by reading countless posts over here.
Here's the problem:
Every once in a while she acts "freaky". I know its normal considering she lost trust in humans but I wish I could do something to help her more. I feel like all the things I've done have made her progress until "this point" but I need tips to help her progress even more.
She acts like a stray cat when she's eating. If she's eating and I come close or if she hears footsteps she'll run for her life! I think she thinks I'm going to yell at her or something (which is far from true). If I know she's eating and I have to get close to her (for whatever reason) I try to walk slow and sort of act as if I'm not looking at her.. it helps a little but not enough because she still gets very scared.
When she's inside our home she has no problem with me petting her but if we are outside (in our backyard) she starts acting like a stray cat again. She gets scared if I aproach her.
There are other issues too, in general the main problem is that sometimes, out of the blue, she acts like a stray cat again and I would like to know if anyone here has had a similar experience or if you have any advice on how I can help her.
.. or if someone could help me figure out why she goes back to "feeling like a stray cat"?