- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #21
That is true that having his food and box in there he still has to come out from under the bed. Maybe I should try that for a bit and just leave he door open giving him the option. This is so confusing for me as I have never encountered a kitty like this one for sure! I have had cats my whole life, but none of them were rescued from outside and were always just part of my household! Thanks for you advice and I will try a few of your suggestions. Any progress at this point will help! Very frustrating for sure!You will always get differences of opinion on how to handle this, so you need to go with the option you feel most comfortable with. But, even if his food/water and litter box are in the same room, he STILL has to come out from under the bed to use them. It just doesn't make him have to venture where he really isn't ready to go yet. So, he feels he is being forced to go places he doesn't yet find comfortable in order to eat and use the box. IMO, that is making him do things he isn't really all the comfortable with, and I would think that would extend the time it will take to gain his trust. When you are in the kitchen, he is not ready to come that close to you - away from safe zone - in order to eat. Forgoing eating to not have to get that close to you is a sign of discomfort. It is interesting that he plays with toys, though!
I am not at this point suggesting you lock him in that room by closing the door, I am suggesting that you put food/water and a litter box in there too, and just leave the door open. Maybe, you could even keep a food/water dish and litter box where they are at now, and have one of each in the bedroom too. That way, you might just find him using them all - when he is ready.
It is really up to you to decide which is better for the both of you. Not all cats will respond the same way to any one particular process. Some times, you have to experiment.