Cat determined not to like us :(

[krazyaboutkatz]

Well in my opinion you're doing everything right. Some cats just take a lot longer to adjust than others. I remember you also saying that she lived with the woman ever since she was a kitten so this may also be a huge factor of why she's so shy around other people. The woman probably didn't have many visitors and even though she was a show cat and around people at shows, she was in a cage most of the time. Remember my Ziggy. Well even though I adopted her as a kitten, she wasn't a very loving and friendly kitten. She was a loner most of the time. It took her several years before she even wanted to come to me for pets and scritches. Now she can't get enough of me. She would also freak out if people came over and would run and hide. If I did bring her out to people, she would be so nervous she would growl and hiss like she was a feral cat. She was exposed to 2 roommates which she was fine with but they could never touch her. She will now let my live-in boyfriend pet her when he's in bed and she jumps in between us. This was a major break through for her. I would say give her at least another month with allowing her to roam throughout your home. At least she's getting along well with Phinehas. Good luck.

[wolflady]

Thanks Karen and Tracey. I really do want her to like us and our home here and for her to be happy, so I will give it another month now that I've let her out. For the past month, I went into the "cat room" and I read 3 novels out loud - hoping to get her used to my voice. I've left toys and treats in the room, but with her being squished behind the washer and dryer, I figured it was time to just open up the door since that really was to keep the kitties apart until she adjusted. She she wasn't adjusting to me, I just figured maybe opening the door would be better since she seemed ok with Phinehas when I started simply letting him in the room. Since she seems ok with Phinehas, we'll see if he can coax her out to be more comfortable. I am a little worried with how big our house is, I'll just never see her - but we'll see.

Karen, in her previous home she seemed to be a lap cat with her original meowmie. She did say that the cat liked toys and treats and attention...but not overly in your face about it. She mentioned that she wasn't overly fond of having her nails trimmed, but her meowmie usually got around to that when she was sleeping in her lap. She was a protective mother of her litters of kittens, but was fine with her meowmie handling them. Her meowmie seemed to think that the kitty would warm up to Sylvia...since that was a concern I had. Phinehas is extremely good with Sylvia and Sylvia is rather good with animals, but I know toddlers in general can be a bit overwhelming if kitties aren't used to them.

Thanks for the POV, Tracey - I had forgotten that about Ziggy and you're right about maybe not being exposed to other people in the home. I don't know how many visitors her meowmie would have...but that's certainly possible. This is a new and strange change for her too, especially since she's been in one place all her life and suddenly she's uprooted and relocated to someplace new. I was worried about just letting her loose in the house, but hopefully that was the right thing to do. I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks again for the support!