New Rescue Cat - Am I Doing The Right Thing?

rosegold

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I’m assuming she has no other symptoms then, besides the eyelid? If she’s eating, drinking, playing, grooming, and using the box as usual—and doesn’t seem lethargic—then I would probably watch and wait and see what the vet says. But you know her best. Sometimes if I’m worried about third eyelids in my cats, I will play with them or give them a treat (which wakes them up!) and then wait a while and see if the eyelids creep back up. Sometimes it will, indicating a possible health issue, or sometimes it won’t, leading me to assume they were just being lazy and sleepy/relaxed.

A vet visit might set her back, but it might not be too bad. And it’s worth it regardless, of course, if she’s in pain. Chai (who had a lot of medical trauma) used to hide for a while after a vet visit, but by next morning she was completely fine with no progress lost. In the last few visits she was so happy to be back home that she would start purring and rubbing on me as soon as I let her out. I hope Maggie is feeling okay—keep us updated!
 

calicosrspecial

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Great on the good news. that is fantastic. Startling easily is normal and nothing to worry about.

I would have a discussion with the vet and she what they say.

I would not worry about traumatizing her. Yes, they can get upset BUT she WILL recover. You have proven that you are a positive for her and she will trust you after that. Just build trust using the things we talked about using food and love after the vet visit not forcing any of it though.

The key will be to get her into the carrier and we do that using something positive like treats or food. So we tend to put treats up to and into the carrier and then get her used to it so when the carrier needs to be used she has a positive association (food/treats) with it.

Also, you may want to see about a vet that makes house calls which could be an option.

Please don't stress. The progress you have made will not be undone. There may be a step back but I think it will be recovered quickly. You have trust with her and love and that will not go away.
 
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thelittlewraith

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Thanks for your support everyone. I'm trying not to stress, although that's never been my forte. My gut says something is up, and I'm worried about getting her to the vet if it's needed. But I'll use the carrier and treats as suggested, and hopefully it will go well.

Her eyes look a little worse today, so I will call the vet tomorrow if I don't hear from them first. She seems mostly fine otherwise - eating and drinking well, using the litter box, spending time in the room with me. She's maybe a little more jumpy and hiding a bit more than she has been, plus what seems like a lot of blinking.

Will post updates when I have them.
 

calicosrspecial

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You are welcome.

Don't worry, the vet visit will be a blip with no long lasting impact. I capture ferals all the time and all my inside cats are former ferals. Trapped in a trap with the loud "clank" of it closing. They then are transported to the vet etc. If I am taking them inside then they get released in the house (or most of the time they get released into the wild). There is some effect but it gets smoothed over quickly using food. Food (something good and life sustaining is the ultimate healer - as is love). So please do not worry about a vet visit.

The more challenging part will be getting her into a carrier to get to the vet. So using something positive to ease the process is helpful. You might want to have her eat by the carrier, put treats leading and into the carrier. But it usually takes a little time to condition them which we may not have much of. We want it to be a more positive experience. Sometimes cats can be more difficult getting them into a crate. We want to make it as less stressful as possible.

I would definitely talk to the vet and explain the situation. Maybe even send them a picture. Let them know she is new to your house and you are unsure about how to get her into a carrier. You may want to ask them if there is a vet they can recommend that will make a house call.

Have you used any different cleaning products or had a fireplace on or anything changes lately? Could there be some environmental impact possibly?

Hang in there. We'll get through it.
 
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thelittlewraith

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I had to reschedule the vet appointment as she was hiding under the bed when I got home and I couldn't get her out. I tried to grab her a few times and push her out, but it became clear it wasn't happening - hissing, scratching, etc. The vet thinks she'll be fine for a few days until I can manage it.

I'm kind of upset about the whole thing, to be honest. It's been such a struggle to get her trust me and I'm worried this will set us back. Her foster mom was very surprised that she hadn't really cuddled me yet, which makes me worried she's unhappy and won't settle in here. Not to mention I'll now have to go through this whole thing again in a few days...
 

calicosrspecial

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Please do not worry. She will be fine and recover from a vet visit. I totally understand your feelings, I have been there before but have seen the results and I no longer worry. It will probably be a small setback but nothing to worry about.

I am not at all surprised she hasn't cuddled yet. Some cats are slower to cuddle. She does not sound unhappy at all to me. In fact, I think she is well ahead of where she would be. Just be your loving self and act normal around her and things will be fine. Cats respond to our energy so the more calm, confident and loving you are the more they will take that emotion on. I am not at all worried about her life with you.

Yes, this is very common. It is my fault that I did not mention blocking off any hiding areas ahead of time. I do want you to be very careful reaching under things to grab her or just grabbing her in general. A cat that feels threatened can do things out of character.

Does anyone know if there are any videos on how to pick up a cat on the site? A quick search I did not find it.

We never want to reach from above a cat or stand above. We want to get low. We want to stay as calm and confident and move slow but normally. It is a bit tricky. I will try to find some videos to help explain how to do it.

I would try to see about a vet that might make a house call. I know it can be hard.

It is good news that the vet isn't worried too much.

We all have been where you are emotionally etc. Don't worry, things will work out.
 

shadowsrescue

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I would ask the vet for some gabapentin. It can be given to cats in a very small capsule that you can give in a pill pocket or even put into a small amount of wet food or baby food. It makes the cat somewhat woozy or drunk like. It works well for helping to get feral like cats to the vet.

Last year I brought 3 feral cats into my house. I used a mobile vet when I first brought them inside. Yet once I moved, I ended up needing vet care for one of them. I used gabapentin prescribed from the vet. I gave 1, 100 mg capsule around 9-10pm. Within 90 minutes he was a bit wobbly. I could always pet him, but never pick him up or hold him. For the first time in his life, I picked him up and he just melted. My vet appointment was the next day at 10 am. I gave another 100 mg capsule at 7 am. It can take anywhere from 2-4 hours for full effects. I already had the carrier in the room and when it came time to go, I went into his room and just picked him up and placed him into the carrier. I was certain that he would need to be sedated at the vet. He was petrified of humans. Yet he did so well. No sedation necessary.

The key is using the double dose or making sure you wait around 3 hours for full effect. Too soon and the cat will scramble away. If you wait too long, it will start to wear off. I read an article about the double dosage ( night before and morning of) and spoke with my vet about it. He agreed and it worked well.
 

Furballsmom

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Along with the calming product already mentioned, can you obtain an over the counter calming product that's a spray? Spray your clothes, the carrier, the inside of the car, the car seat where the carrier will be...

You've gotten some incredible advice. Ignore the foster mom and the comments about you and the cat - there are SO many variables involved with a cat, its environment, and how it reacts to any one person vs another person.

My suggestion would be that when you arrive back home after the vet visit and you're inside your house, let the cat out in whatever it considers its safe room - that sounds like it might be your bedroom?, and then don't stress and let the cat do whatever it chooses to do.

It may try and hide for a bit. That's just fine, allow it to do that or at least to be in the room (it's been suggested to block off the underside of the bed, so assuming you've done that already, maybe have a cardboard box or something similar with blankets in it just to the side of the bed - somewhere the cat can go inside and feel tucked away and safe, in other words). Have food, water and litter nearby, and just walk away.

Walking away can possibly help for the cat to disassociate you from the stressful things, because cats live mostly in the now. Leaving your cat alone, without forcing anything and simply putting good things within reach and then going about your own business can go a long way towards helping your cat to emotionally rebound more quickly. --For as long as it might take, by the way :) and do NOT stress about it if it turns into a couple days. Allow the cat to figure out things. It will.

Try some music, there's classical harp music, there's an app called Relax My Cat, there's also MusicForCats . com.

Then, take a few minutes and read through this thread again. There is a LOT of excellent information, tips, thoughts and how-to's here, and while your cat is decompressing from the vet visit is a perfect opportunity to catch up again with the great advice you've received.

Hang in there, you're doing great :vibes::hangin: :heartshape:
 
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rosegold

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:yeah: All the replies above said it all. SO much awesome information and suggestions here!! Please try not to worry about a setback due to a vet visit—setbacks WILL happen, whether because of a vet visit or a stranger coming over or you dropped something noisy on the floor. And she WILL recover from them. That’s just life with these shy ones. Once I accidentally kicked Chai when she was underfoot and she transformed immediately back into that terrified, untrusting shell of a cat, looked at me with extreme fear, and ran and hid for maybe 9 hours. I just let her be. She eventually crept out. She was cautious of me and my feet for a few days after that, but in the end she came back around. Cats are remarkably adaptable, and forgiving.

Ignore the foster mom and the comments about you and the cat - there are SO many variables involved with a cat, its environment, and how it reacts to any one person vs another person.
This!! You’re doing an awesome job and giving her a safe, comfy home where she can play and rest and be a cat. She will cuddle in her own time. From the pictures you showed she is certainly NOT unhappy with you. Try to turn your focus onto her in the now—right here, with her—rather than her in the past at the foster mom’s house, or her in the future after a potential setback. Just offer her endless patience and love in the moment, every moment. That’s all she needs. Don’t put any additional pressures on her (or on yourself!!!) for things you can’t change or predict. Do look at all the suggestions offered in the above posts, but above all know that you’re doing great and you have lots of people here to support you!
 

Etarre

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I absolutely agree with everyone who's said not to worry about the foster mom's comments. Remember that cats are territorial animals, and their reactions may have more to do with their level of comfort with their surroundings than with you per se. So if she was willing to accept pets and treats at her foster home, it may just be because she'd settled into the space and felt comfortable there. So if the behavior was linked to the space, then the fact that she had to readjust to your home before interacting in the same way doesn't represent a behavioral regression-- it's expected.

My experiences with Juniper taught me a lot about how cats experience space differently from us. She was clearly overwhelmed by my (relatively small!) apartment and all of the sights and sounds that came with it, and had to get comfortable with her environment before she could come out and interact fully with me and my husband.

Regarding vet visits, I've had two cats-- one extremely shy, and the other very skittish. Both disliked the vet, but bounced back quickly after vet visits. I do think that my husband and I feel really stressed out about the vet, and they have picked up on that beforehand. I'm trying to be more matter-of-fact about it with Juniper, and I think that has helped her to take it more in stride.
 

misty8723

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I had a post written, but my cat (Austin) just deleted it. So I'll just say that she is gorgeous! And if your gut feels something is wrong, I hope you can figure out a way to get her to the vet. We had one who hid under the bed for the longest time after we adopted (a calico with similar coloring to yours) and had a heck of a trial when we had to take her to the vet. Once home, she would bolt out of the carrier and under the bed. But she was the sweetest, most loving kitty I've ever known, once she got comfortable with us. Hang in there.
 

Mamanyt1953

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And try to remember that we're talking about temporary setbacks. She may have one, but within a few days, she'll be over it. I've had Hekitty for...well. She'll be 11 this April, and came to me on a bottle...and she STILL shuns me for a few hours after a vet trip. That's perfectly normal cat behavior. SHE WILL RECOVER FROM IT AND BE FINE!
 

catlover73

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I have a very shy senior cat that has been in my household since she was a baby kitten. She was abandoned as a baby kitten by being thrown out a car window and is terrified of being in the car. She also hates the carrier. There is a product called Feliway that comes in a spray or wipes. You can wipe down or spray the inside of the carrier before putting her in it. I used the wipes for my cat and it made a huge difference. It only took one person to get her in the carrier this time. She did not scream like she was being murdered in the car or pee on herself. She was much calmer. She actually took a nap in her carrier in the car on the way home. When she was let out of the carrier she did not run and hide for the rest of the day either she came home and interacted with us instead of hiding. I tried this product after a vet gave me a sample to try for a future appointment. Hubby used the product and took her to the vet while I was at work my hubby said she acted like a completely different cat.
 

marriedwithkittens

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Brand new member here, who joined to respond and tell you... you're doing great! One of our kitties lived underneath our bed for several months before abruptly transforming into such a serious snuggler that we actually can't get him to relocate from my husband's legs at night. It's such an incredible reward when a formerly scared kitty trusts you!

A couple things seemed to work well for us:

Every morning, instead of putting the shirt we'd both just slept in in the laundry, we'd put it near the kitty. After a few weeks of doing that, we'd find him curled up on our shirts. It helped him get to know us.

We think Feliway also helped us.

Baby food - once a day, a special treat, it appeared for five minutes and left after five minutes - he just stared at my finger for a while, but after a few weeks, he was all about licking the baby food off my finger, which helped transition to under-the-chin light scratches.

I would spend an hour or so on the floor several feet away, just reading or working on my laptop, not making noise, not looking at him really. Occasionally if we made eye contact, I'd look away and yawn or close my eyes very slowly, like comfortable kitties do with each other.

And we tried a whole bunch of different types of toys and it turns out he's quite into catnip-stuffed toys. LOL.

Another thing that worked for us that our vet actually recommended: we sprinkled some kibble before bed intermittently closer and closer to us. An hour or so after we slept, he'd creep out and eat the kibble (just five or so pieces); gradually he jumped onto the bed to eat the kibble. Yes, we washed our comforter a lot. But gradually he took to sleeping near our feet relatively early on - maybe after two months of the above.

And meals only when we were in the same room.

He's such a lover now. I'm actually kind of excited for you because I know in a few months you'll be in disbelief that your kitty was once shy!
 
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