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I'm afraid I don't have great news to share, but the good news is that the cat is now safe and OK.
After 6 weeks of hiding in the inaccessible space behind our kitchen cabinets, the cat stopped using the litterbox. Then, she stopped eating. I knew that was a really bad sign, and I was worried sick about the cat. We set up a humane, baited trap in the hopes that she would get hungry enough and come out to eat at night, and when she did we could trap her long enough to cover up access to that hiding space. After several nights of baiting the trap with her favorite, smelliest food, she still wasn't going in the trap and hadn't eaten. After 5 days of the cat not eating, I had my handyman come over and cut a hole in the back of our cabinets so we could get her out. It was noisy, stressful, and INTENSE! She darted out, and the woman who gave us the cat took her back to her home, where hopefully the cat will be happier, more comfortable, and less anxious. Now, for us, is the cleanup! That space was FILLED with cat waste - I feel awful that the cat was living that way for 7 weeks. The cleaning is no easy task, but that's the least of my worries at this point.
This has been incredibly stressful, and I'm truly heartbroken that it didn't work out for me and my kid and that this poor cat was so unhappy in our home. There are TONS of additional strategies that we tried, in addition to the list in my original post. We talked to all sorts of people with expertise in helping former ferals be more comfortable and adjust to living w/ a family. I do feel that we exhausted every possible option and tried as many things as we could. But I still feel awful and guilty about the whole thing. (The woman who gave us the cat was REALLY mad at me that we cut the hole and scared the cat with the noise of the saw.) I'm just trying to send positive, healing prayers out to that cat, and her original owner, and I hope the cat will be OK and happier where she is now!
Thank you for checking in and for your support.
After 6 weeks of hiding in the inaccessible space behind our kitchen cabinets, the cat stopped using the litterbox. Then, she stopped eating. I knew that was a really bad sign, and I was worried sick about the cat. We set up a humane, baited trap in the hopes that she would get hungry enough and come out to eat at night, and when she did we could trap her long enough to cover up access to that hiding space. After several nights of baiting the trap with her favorite, smelliest food, she still wasn't going in the trap and hadn't eaten. After 5 days of the cat not eating, I had my handyman come over and cut a hole in the back of our cabinets so we could get her out. It was noisy, stressful, and INTENSE! She darted out, and the woman who gave us the cat took her back to her home, where hopefully the cat will be happier, more comfortable, and less anxious. Now, for us, is the cleanup! That space was FILLED with cat waste - I feel awful that the cat was living that way for 7 weeks. The cleaning is no easy task, but that's the least of my worries at this point.
This has been incredibly stressful, and I'm truly heartbroken that it didn't work out for me and my kid and that this poor cat was so unhappy in our home. There are TONS of additional strategies that we tried, in addition to the list in my original post. We talked to all sorts of people with expertise in helping former ferals be more comfortable and adjust to living w/ a family. I do feel that we exhausted every possible option and tried as many things as we could. But I still feel awful and guilty about the whole thing. (The woman who gave us the cat was REALLY mad at me that we cut the hole and scared the cat with the noise of the saw.) I'm just trying to send positive, healing prayers out to that cat, and her original owner, and I hope the cat will be OK and happier where she is now!
Thank you for checking in and for your support.
Maybe when that's finished, and your place is totally cat proofed, with zero tiny hiding places, you can look into adopting another kitty. 
