Thanks everyone who has posted. I moved all her things into the computer room last night, then I went out with some friends. When I came back she was sitting on the window sill, had used her litterbox, and had knocked a stack of papers off my desk.
When I checked on her this morning she had eaten some of the kibble, nearly emptied her water dish and used the box again. So that’s a load off my mind - I was concerned because she hadn’t eaten or relieved herself.
She found a box in the closet to stay in on her first night, so I’ve pulled that out of the closet and put a towel in it for her.
Now, will I eventually be able to move her box and food back to the bathroom and kitchen, or should I resign myself to having my office be her base of operations? I’d prefer that stuff all be on a tile floor, but I can keep it all in the office if that’s what’s best.
She’s a pretty kitty! You should tell her that, at least once a day. Kitties need to hear that they are pretty kitties (or maybe they just like being talked to).
You will be able to move it back. I recommend doing so gradually- move them a few feet at a time, so she doesn’t have problems finding them in their new location. You don’t want her having trouble finding her litter box.
They do. The best cardboard boxes seem to be the ones that you’d think would be too small for them. They seem to like curling up in a small space.
Just throwing my own encouragment on the fire, as a cat owner who went through nearly a month of “OMG! I suck! My cats hate me!”. I collected my two little critters from a coworker who was moving to a new place and couldn’t keep cats. One of them spent the first two weeks walking around the house and meowing, while the other one first hid under the bed, then under the sofa, then found a way to weasel himself into a space between the finished wall and the foundation in the basement, and would hiss at me everytime I peered in. Kept food and water and litter in places where he could find them when he crept out, played a little NPR on the radio when I wasn’t around, and at the advice of a friend who’s a vet, left a couple of recently worn shirts down in the vicinity so he could get used to what I smell like. I’d also try to spend time in the vicinity just sitting, reading and trying to be as small as possible.
Eventually, he did emerge from isolation, and now, while he’s still skittish (an attribute that I blame on him being about as smart as the average cabbage.) he also loves affection (usually when people are “small” like in bed or sitting down, and in areas he has discovered are ‘petting safe’, like the sofa or the computer chair.). In fact, both cats have turned out just fine.
And it sounds like you’re doing a lot better than I did. Chin up. I’m sure she’ll love you.
That is quite a beautiful Tortie. Congrats on your new furbaby. You said she has a collar/tag/bell. Have you tried taking the bell off?
My tortcat hated wearing a bell. She would run around with the “someone is chasing me” look and hide under things if I tried to make her wear one.
My Katya started out very skittish, but she has mellowed and gotten friendlier with age. She also gets a lot friendlier when she gets to know a person. If someone she doesn’t know comes over, she will hide. But when she gets to know a person, she will rub against them, or even try to get into bed with them if they stay overnight and leave the bedroom door open (she did this with my dad recently).
Luna is less skittish, but she’ll still jump straight up if there’s a sudden loud noise or if someone moves too fast around her.
Katya has areas of the house where she likes to be petted, too, and doesn’t really want to be petted elsewhere. She doesn’t want me to pet her when I’m sitting or lying on the couch, but she loves being petted while she’s eating from her food dish or lying in the bathroom sink.
My cat was pretty skittish when I first got her as well. She still freaks out if I sneeze. She will be sitting in my lap, happy as a clam, but if I sneze, she is instantly across the room under the chair.
Well, yes, but of the two, the small black one is the one who runs and hides everytime I come home from work, only to peer cautiously down the stairs 5 minutes later as if thinking, “Oh. it’s -you-.” He’s definitely improved with age though, and has actually come downstairs in the presence of guests a couple of times as long as they weren’t being loud.
try narration. just tell her every thing you are doing, or if you are reading some thing, read it to her. it gets her familar with your voice and motions.
stuff like: let’s go to the kitchen! who wants to go to the kitchen! cobweb wants to go to the kitchen! let’s check out the magic food box! ohhhh, yummies in the magic food box. etc.
yes, it is a bit dorky, but makes your movements less threating.
When I got my cat his previous owners had been feeding him roast pork, so he went hungry for 2 days waiting for some roast to magically appear. Day 3 he ate the cat food, all is well. I put it on a paper plate and shoved it under the couch where he was hiding out He ignored it 'til he couldn’t.
Chin up. I’m sure she’ll love you.
He ignored it 'til he couldn’t.