- Joined
- Apr 6, 2016
- Messages
- 22
- Purraise
- 1
Last week on Tuesday, we picked up our new family member "Sushi" at our local shelter. The paperwork said "stray" although people there said that she's most likely a "feral". She's a domestic shorthair, super adorable and they estimated her age to be roughly 7 months. We got her spayed and vaccinated at the shelter.
First day was a rough one. We had all the supplies and everything, and when we brought her home she jumped out of her carrying box and started looking around the bedroom right away. She soon found the bed and hid under it. The first day when we tried to feed her, she hissed at us and ran out of the room and tried to hide behind the refrigerator in the kitchen. We decided to give her all the space she needs. Sooner or later she was back in the bedroom under the bed, although she would still not eat for 2 days. Finally, on the third day we decided that we'll duct tape a spoon on the end of a broom stick and try feeding her with some chicken baby food. She seemed OK with us slowly pushing the spoon towards her. When it got very close to her she finally smelled it and dug in. This was our first breakthrough with her.
For the next day we started feeding her with some canned food: kitten formula, chicken, tuna, etc. She would only eat from her bowl when we were not around, but it seems like a week later she's finally eating with us being present on the other side of the room.
She's still very afraid of us, and I try to give her as much space as possible, but she's been under the bed for over a week now, and she won't come out even in the middle of the night. At least we don't know of her coming out. She might when we're not around, although I feel like she's just under the bed 24/7.
The room was cleared out from anything she might be scared of or she could break, and we have a new cat tree, scratchers, toys and water fountain for her in the room. I try to talk with her with a soothing voice whenever I'm in the room by laying on the ground with her level, and I also try to play some soft relaxing cat music. This makes her sleep like a relaxing kitty. But she won't nudge from under the bed. Maybe she needs a few more weeks?
Are we currently on the right path? Should we change something about how we take care of her? Any tips would be appreciated.
Thank you!
First day was a rough one. We had all the supplies and everything, and when we brought her home she jumped out of her carrying box and started looking around the bedroom right away. She soon found the bed and hid under it. The first day when we tried to feed her, she hissed at us and ran out of the room and tried to hide behind the refrigerator in the kitchen. We decided to give her all the space she needs. Sooner or later she was back in the bedroom under the bed, although she would still not eat for 2 days. Finally, on the third day we decided that we'll duct tape a spoon on the end of a broom stick and try feeding her with some chicken baby food. She seemed OK with us slowly pushing the spoon towards her. When it got very close to her she finally smelled it and dug in. This was our first breakthrough with her.
For the next day we started feeding her with some canned food: kitten formula, chicken, tuna, etc. She would only eat from her bowl when we were not around, but it seems like a week later she's finally eating with us being present on the other side of the room.
She's still very afraid of us, and I try to give her as much space as possible, but she's been under the bed for over a week now, and she won't come out even in the middle of the night. At least we don't know of her coming out. She might when we're not around, although I feel like she's just under the bed 24/7.
The room was cleared out from anything she might be scared of or she could break, and we have a new cat tree, scratchers, toys and water fountain for her in the room. I try to talk with her with a soothing voice whenever I'm in the room by laying on the ground with her level, and I also try to play some soft relaxing cat music. This makes her sleep like a relaxing kitty. But she won't nudge from under the bed. Maybe she needs a few more weeks?
Are we currently on the right path? Should we change something about how we take care of her? Any tips would be appreciated.
Thank you!