I adopted a cat in September. The night I adopted her, I (dumbly) brought her to my parents' house on Friday because I was planning to take her to our family vet on Saturday. When my mom and I tried to put her in her carrier Saturday morning, she freaked out and bit both of us. She then hid in my room there all day Saturday and Sunday. My sister got her in her carrier and I brought her to my apartment. She was all set up in the bathroom. At first, she hid in the bathroom, but then she let me pet her/talk to her.
After about a week, I let her out to start exploring the apartment. She was soooo skittish. I gave her treats in her hiding spots and talking to her in a quiet voice, sat and held a long toy out for her to play with. She sometimes did, but not really.
I also got a Feliway diffuser, a spray, and kitty "calm down" medicine to put in her water. It didn't really make a difference.
I wanted to put Bea back in her "safe room" (my bathroom) for awhile. She was in there for the first week and she never came to me voluntarily, but she let me pet her and purred when I did. But I literally could not catch her. She will not come closer than three feet to me.
Eight months later, she is still skittish, neurotic, and distant. I can't pick her up, pet her, or even get near her (she runs and hides). If I am laying on the couch, she will lay on the carpet in the middle of the room, but if I move too much, she will run and hide under the bed. I had to have a mobile vet come to my house in February to do her shots. She FREAKED OUT and ran all over my apartment, jumping on the lamps and everywhere, trying to get away. The vet and the vet assistant basically had to catch her in a big butterfly net-looking thing and trap her in the bathroom to examine her. The vet prescribed Cat Prozac, and I was giving them to her in those treats with a hole in them. She was eating them for a few days and then learned to eat around the pill. I've tried Feliway and a natural "calm down" medicine in her water.
I started cat-sitting my aunt's cat Guinness last week and will be watching him for several months. I'm keeping him and Bea separated for now. It's hard not to compare them. He's a pet. He sometimes wants to do his own thing, sometimes wants me to pet him, snuggles with me, and is generally affectionate. I want that. The vet said that being alone may be a part of the problem for her, so eventually, I'm hoping that having him here will calm her down a bit.
I'm crying as I'm typing this because it's sad. It's sad for me and for her. I don't know what the right thing to do is. The woman I got her from called me last night, concerned, because she didn't know Bea was still "like this". She basically offered to take her back (she's a huge animal rescue person who basically homes pets that can't go anywhere else) and let me "try" a new cat. The idea of that is really sad for me but it's also sad for me to live with an animal that I feel like is basically afraid any part of the day that I am home with her. Of course the internet has lots of things to say about this topic. I don't want to "give up" when she could still be making progress, but I don't want to spend (and Bea to spend) the next fifteen years fairly miserable with each other. She's not aggressive or angry towards me. She has hissed at Guinness under the door, but she also meows when I'm in the bathroom with him and reaches under the door with her paw and looks to see what's happening.
I need the Cat Whisperer.
After about a week, I let her out to start exploring the apartment. She was soooo skittish. I gave her treats in her hiding spots and talking to her in a quiet voice, sat and held a long toy out for her to play with. She sometimes did, but not really.
I also got a Feliway diffuser, a spray, and kitty "calm down" medicine to put in her water. It didn't really make a difference.
I wanted to put Bea back in her "safe room" (my bathroom) for awhile. She was in there for the first week and she never came to me voluntarily, but she let me pet her and purred when I did. But I literally could not catch her. She will not come closer than three feet to me.
Eight months later, she is still skittish, neurotic, and distant. I can't pick her up, pet her, or even get near her (she runs and hides). If I am laying on the couch, she will lay on the carpet in the middle of the room, but if I move too much, she will run and hide under the bed. I had to have a mobile vet come to my house in February to do her shots. She FREAKED OUT and ran all over my apartment, jumping on the lamps and everywhere, trying to get away. The vet and the vet assistant basically had to catch her in a big butterfly net-looking thing and trap her in the bathroom to examine her. The vet prescribed Cat Prozac, and I was giving them to her in those treats with a hole in them. She was eating them for a few days and then learned to eat around the pill. I've tried Feliway and a natural "calm down" medicine in her water.
I started cat-sitting my aunt's cat Guinness last week and will be watching him for several months. I'm keeping him and Bea separated for now. It's hard not to compare them. He's a pet. He sometimes wants to do his own thing, sometimes wants me to pet him, snuggles with me, and is generally affectionate. I want that. The vet said that being alone may be a part of the problem for her, so eventually, I'm hoping that having him here will calm her down a bit.
I'm crying as I'm typing this because it's sad. It's sad for me and for her. I don't know what the right thing to do is. The woman I got her from called me last night, concerned, because she didn't know Bea was still "like this". She basically offered to take her back (she's a huge animal rescue person who basically homes pets that can't go anywhere else) and let me "try" a new cat. The idea of that is really sad for me but it's also sad for me to live with an animal that I feel like is basically afraid any part of the day that I am home with her. Of course the internet has lots of things to say about this topic. I don't want to "give up" when she could still be making progress, but I don't want to spend (and Bea to spend) the next fifteen years fairly miserable with each other. She's not aggressive or angry towards me. She has hissed at Guinness under the door, but she also meows when I'm in the bathroom with him and reaches under the door with her paw and looks to see what's happening.
I need the Cat Whisperer.