Newly adopted Rescue

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Thank you for this suggestion, maybe I should try a nightlight then instead of using the dimmer switch on the light. It will provide her with some light but not be as bright.
 

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Thank you, this is very encouraging to hear! I also stay very routined with her, to try and put her at ease with no surprises.
You're welcomed. Patience, love and routines are the keys to it.

Thank you for this suggestion, maybe I should try a nightlight then instead of using the dimmer switch on the light. It will provide her with some light but not be as bright.
Yes, night light will do fine. Get the LEDs night light as they don't consume that much electricity.
 
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You're welcomed. Patience, love and routines are the keys to it.


Yes, night light will do fine. Get the LEDs night light as they don't consume that much electricity.
Picked up a night light today for CeCe. She still lets me place treats right in the opening of her cubby and I left a little catnip for her. Hopefully she will come out tonight to stretch a bit, she spends the entire day in her cubby 😟
 

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Is she food motivated at all? If so, maybe something irresistible might make her brave enough to come out of her cubby when you're still in the room.
 
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Is she food motivated at all? If so, maybe something irresistible might make her brave enough to come out of her cubby when you're still in the room.
She is not motivated at all to come out while I am in the room. In fact she is under the bed right now and I tried to give her a bit of tuna, even with the bowl right in front of her she would not make a move to eat it until I left. Stayed there for about an hour just crocheting and across the room from her. If I could just get a little sign from her I would feel better. She is like a statue whenever I am in the room 😟
 

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Not sure if I've already posted this or not, but here's a TCS article on How To Help An Abused Cat Recover – TheCatSite Articles that might have some tips for you.

Other things, "announce" yourself when you're about to enter her room. Say her name, and something like, "it's mommy", or whatever you'll be referring to yourself as.

Is the room quiet all the time, or can you have music playing, or radio, or something..

Try "patting" her with a sock stuck to the end of a long ruler, something similar. So she can learn touching her won't hurt her.

When you sit in the room with her, try sitting with your back to her. When you do look at her, don't stare her in the eyes, or if you do, do the slow blink thing, so she knows you're not a threat.

She really is a sensitive little kitty, and it's clearly going to take time to gain her trust. But I know when you do, it will be so rewarding. :catlove:
 
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Not sure if I've already posted this or not, but here's a TCS article on How To Help An Abused Cat Recover – TheCatSite Articles that might have some tips for you.

Other things, "announce" yourself when you're about to enter her room. Say her name, and something like, "it's mommy", or whatever you'll be referring to yourself as.

Is the room quiet all the time, or can you have music playing, or radio, or something..

Try "patting" her with a sock stuck to the end of a long ruler, something similar. So she can learn touching her won't hurt her.

When you sit in the room with her, try sitting with your back to her. When you do look at her, don't stare her in the eyes, or if you do, do the slow blink thing, so she knows you're not a threat.

She really is a sensitive little kitty, and it's clearly going to take time to gain her trust. But I know when you do, it will be so rewarding. :catlove:
Thank you for the suggestions! I am doing most of what you suggested except for the music/TV. I did put it on once and she appeared to be very nervous, I had a calming cat music station on. I should try it again. I have pet her with a cloth on the wnd of a stick, she gets very nervous but doesn’t hiss or try to scratch/bite. I am stuck in this mode of being afraid to push her too far so consequently I think I am not doing enough. It was a big step for me to move the bed from the wall last week, felt so bad for her, she was so scared.
 

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I am stuck in this mode of being afraid to push her too far so consequently I think I am not doing enough. It was a big step for me to move the bed from the wall last week, felt so bad for her, she was so scared.
Don't worry so much, just keep working on her. Some cats just take a longer time. Don't give up and don't feel anxious. She can feel your emotions.

Remember, love, patience and routine.
 

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It was a big step for me to move the bed from the wall last week, felt so bad for her, she was so scared.
Another thing to try, especially since she has the cat condo cubby to hide in, would be to take the mattress off the bed, and lay it on the floor. Then you could lay on it, when you're in the room with her.

Some members have even tried sleeping on the mattress at night, and they'd had the cat come out to investigate when it was dark, and the human was still.

Can't remember, have you tried Feliway? Some members find it helpful, others not all. So it's not a guarantee, but a maybe.

Oh ... wonder if she'd like a Snuggle Kitty?

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Thank you for the support, I have the Feliway Optimum plugged in, so far hasn’t made much difference. Feeling a bit discouraged this morning, think it is overwhelming me. I think of her all day and feel so bad that she is like a statue all the time. She had no life until dark which is probably common in this situation. I feel like I am not knowledgable or experienced enough to help her😟. I have never had a cat like her, I even tamed a feral once that eventually loved us, she always lived outside but would come running to us when she saw us. CeCe seems to be so far behind where that other cat was even in the beginning. I have a small cloth bin where I store her litter box scooper in a plastic baggie, last night she climbed in the bin and peed in it on too of the baggie. Not sure what that was all about.
 

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Hmmm... not sure why she'd pee in the bin. But I think sometimes cat will pee on plastic. Make sure you clean it up well, so she won't make a habit of it.

I've never taken on the care and socializing of either a feral or scared cat, so I can't say I know how you're feeling, but I certainly can understand you feeling discouraged.

I did a quick site search for "hiding feral" and these are the threads it found. Maybe scan some of them, to see if there's any tips you could try with CeCe. .

Search Results for Query: hiding feral
 
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Bought some more supplies today. Laser toy- no reaction whatsoever. Catnip spray, sprayed on her kitty tree and scratching posts because she was laying under the bed along side it. Bought a baby brush, super soft and taped it to a stick, tomorrow I will try to pet her gently with it if she isn’t too nervous. No response to slow blinks today. Trying to keep a diary of sorts to track progress.
 

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Bought some more supplies today. Laser toy- no reaction whatsoever. Catnip spray, sprayed on her kitty tree and scratching posts because she was laying under the bed along side it. Bought a baby brush, super soft and taped it to a stick, tomorrow I will try to pet her gently with it if she isn’t too nervous. No response to slow blinks today. Trying to keep a diary of sorts to track progress.
Have you tried playing ball with her? Not all cats will play with laser or toys and not all cats will react to catnip.

Sometimes simple diy toys will keep them entertained or attract them even like an empty toilet roll. Don't invest to much on toys yet or else you'll waste the money.

Also try going on your belly and slowly crawl nearer and nearer to her while having a toy to play with her. If there's no reaction from her, don't be disheartened. Just lay on the floor and talk to her and keep the slow eye blinking going slowly reach out to her with your fist with a treat in it.
 
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Have you tried playing ball with her? Not all cats will play with laser or toys and not all cats will react to catnip.

Sometimes simple diy toys will keep them entertained or attract them even like an empty toilet roll. Don't invest to much on toys yet or else you'll waste the money.

Also try going on your belly and slowly crawl nearer and nearer to her while having a toy to play with her. If there's no reaction from her, don't be disheartened. Just lay on the floor and talk to her and keep the slow eye blinking going slowly reach out to her with your fist with a treat in it.
Yes, this is a daily routine with her ☺. So far I have not found anything that gets a reaction from her but I keep the routine. I almost always lay on my belly when talking with her or visiting her so she can see me better. I usually play with her toys or a crumpled piece of paper. Sometimes I will crochet with some colorful yarn (can cats see color?). She seems to love the catnip at night. I put some on a cotton cloth and she leaves it there until nighttime, when I wake up the cloth is all bunched up and toys are scattered 🤣.
 

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Yes, this is a daily routine with her ☺. So far I have not found anything that gets a reaction from her but I keep the routine. I almost always lay on my belly when talking with her or visiting her so she can see me better. I usually play with her toys or a crumpled piece of paper. Sometimes I will crochet with some colorful yarn (can cats see color?). She seems to love the catnip at night. I put some on a cotton cloth and she leaves it there until nighttime, when I wake up the cloth is all bunched up and toys are scattered 🤣.
Yes, daily routines till she gets use to it. She may be just taking a longer time to absorb what is in store for her. She's out playing at night is also a good sign as she she is not afraid of the things around her. Leave more of your clean unwashed non perfumed garments with her and place them around the room and sprinkle the catnips on it rather than use the cotton cloth. She needs to get familiarized to your scents and that is why she still have reservations when you are in the room.

Keep up the good work.
 
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Yes, daily routines till she gets use to it. She may be just taking a longer time to absorb what is in store for her. She's out playing at night is also a good sign as she she is not afraid of the things around her. Leave more of your clean unwashed non perfumed garments with her and place them around the room and sprinkle the catnips on it rather than use the cotton cloth. She needs to get familiarized to your scents and that is why she still have reservations when you are in the room.

Keep up the good work.
That is a great idea! I have left garments around but she avoids all of them, didn’t even think of outting the catnip on them! Will definitely do that. You are all so helpful and encouraging, I want this sweet girl to feel as comfortable and loved as possible here.
 

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That is a great idea! I have left garments around but she avoids all of them, didn’t even think of outting the catnip on them! Will definitely do that. You are all so helpful and encouraging, I want this sweet girl to feel as comfortable and loved as possible here.
Just be very patience with her. Sometimes, she's already very comfortable and know that she's being loved and it could be just her to behave this way when you are around and play at night when you are not around. We hope to see that she will come around soon as for her *coming out at night that she's confident and checking upon on you when you visit her in the day.

Every cat has their own characteristics. Not all cats are the same. So never compare cats with cats. For example, my boy could be quite hard to handle at times but it's just him. I cannot get angry with him and even if I do, it does not help much. So I always remember to talk nicely to him as not to aggravate him further. But I still love him very much even if he gets on my nerves.

Edit @ *. There was a auto spellcheck and it gave a different sentence and I had to figure out what I've typed and I managed to recall what I typed.
 
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Just quoting a couple sentences from your very first post.

I am a new adoptive parent of a 5 yr old female kitty. She spent most of her life as a feral but was taken in by a family with 13 cats.
After re-reading that, it's not surprising that she's taking a while to get comfortable around you. a) she was feral for 4+ years. Then b) was one of 13 cats. Unless the family had tons of time, its unlikely she had much interaction with any of them.
So you're really her first human. :petcat::hearthrob:
 
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Just quoting a couple sentences from your very first post.



After re-reading that, it's not surprising that she's taking a while to get comfortable around you. a) she was feral for 4+ years. Then b) was one of 13 cats. Unless the family had tons of time, its unlikely she had much interaction with any of them.
So you're really her first human. :petcat::hearthrob:
This is true. I know that before she was attacked by one of the cats she would at least be out and about although a little skittish. The grandfather in the house was able to get her to sit on his lap for ober an hour the night before we got her. I think he really took a liking to her and hated to give her up but she was so terrified of the other cat that they felt it was best for her to have a quiet home. They check in with us to see how she is doing☺. They said that if it didn’t work out to call them but I could not send her back there, that would be awful for her and I already love her. She will eventually find her comfort zone with us and we will accept whatever she chooses.
 
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