People & Family

Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

Update on my new cat

The cat I was hoping to adopt wasn't available, so I picked Wildfire, a four-month-old female who, I find, is appropriately named.

She is very, very skittish, so no pictures yet. I brought her home yesterday afternoon and transferred her from the carrier to a comfy bed I had prepared for her.

She immediately, literally in the blink of an eye, shot off to hide in another part of the house... a part I wasn't able to discover until a couple of hours ago.

Her history isn't a happy one, so I'm guessing it is going to take time for her to trust me, or from what the staff at the Humane Society said, to trust or socialize with anyone. Her siblings were much friendlier but I decided on Wildifre as the kitty that was most in need of a permanent home.

Pictures will come when Wildfire decides to grace me with her calmer self.

Top | Newest First | Oldest First

OogieBoogie · F Best Comment

Wow....you picked a challenging one by the sounds of it.

Buuut.....you did say you had heaps of patience - and it sounds thars exactly what shes gonna need .
I admire your optimism and courage commiting to one that's evidently got issues .

You might wanna get some boxes and scatter them around .
Maybe even make her a lil fort or something from them .

I forgot to tell you last time I found the best toy for cats, and it's something you can make .

The cats here have a whole box of toys ....yet they hardly play with them .
What they love the most are:
- Peanuts in their shell ...I think it's because they kinda rattle a bit .
- ping pong balls ...coz they bounce .
- and these balls I make from a scrunched up half page of newspaper , that I then wrap in tin foil .
I give them a good right roll iny hands to finish them off , and the cars seem to LOVE them .
They are light , so they can bat them around , but not so small they get lost under the furniture .

Keep us updated on how you are both going 🤗

View 6 more replies »

Ontheroad · M

@OogieBoogie Nah, that grown-up shit ain't worth knowing... you're golden 🤣

Poppies · 61-69, F

@OogieBoogie I'm going to try your home-made cat toys for our cats, too!

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@OogieBoogie

Neural pathways are stronger when they are self learnt ....self realized .
You can try and try and to teach something , but it's never as good as if the subject comes to the 'realization for themself'.

True for humans as well. I always told people, don't push me because I am going to become resistant, wondering what your true objective is. Pull me in, get me interested, and I will remain open to learning.

My son is the main cat psychologist and so we have used most of the things. But every cat is an individual and what works for one doesn't for another. His cats love the ping pong balls, mine do not. Dinky takes middling interest in the usual fake mouse toys that his cats love; Cooper could care less. I have two different scratching post/gym structures. Cooper uses it for scratching; both occasionally for the high perch to nap on. My son used a couple of different size boxes connected with hole cut on the side, connecting them, and one on top. Both prefer that. But I put down a simple open box, with another smaller, empty box turned sideways at one end on the floor, and Dinky loves that. It provides that fort security, but is open enough for her to stick her head up like through a submarine hatch opening to see what's going on. The crushed up paper balls will keep their attention for awhile. I will have to try the wrapping them in aluminum foil.

You never know what will be their go to security blanket. Dinky has this little raggedy ann doll -- I have no idea where it came from -- that she turns to when she is frustrated or upset. Carries it all over the house, and will let out these sorrowful wails, as if it reminds her of the kittens she had in a previous life.

Ontheroad · M

Finally able to get a quick pic. She still has her collar on, so not a great shot, but here she is!

View 9 more replies »

Onestarlitnight

@Ontheroad
It usually takes about a week for the incision to heal, after the stitches are removed the collar can come off most of the time

Ontheroad · M

@Onestarlitnight Thanks! They told me on Friday to leave it on for a few days, but I'm just not sure... if I can't get her in to set my vet by Wednesday, I'm going to take it off and just watch her closely.

Onestarlitnight

@Ontheroad
If there are stitches that haven’t been removed then leave it on because she will try to get them out.
If the stitches are already out, then three or four days should be enough.
Call the adoption center where you got her from Monday morning and ask them

Ontheroad · M

Update: Night 2... she continues to hide in different places, but as advised by @OogieBoogie, I stayed calm and patient with her, and by offering her food and treats and talking to her, I finally got her to eat.

I didn't see her eat, but the bowl was empty this morning, the treats were gone and now she has found another hideaway.

One step at a time.

View 5 more replies »

OogieBoogie · F

@Ontheroad wow...really ?
She didn't run?

Oh that's awesome ! That's so good.

You're doing great , you really are 🤗

Ontheroad · M

@OogieBoogie Yep, she just watched what I was doing and didn't move a muscle.

I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I knew it was way too soon for that.

I swear, I'm acting like a kid on Christmas morning! I can't wait for us to be buds! 😂

OogieBoogie · F

@Ontheroad 😂🤣.
Ah, every bit of that patience you have os going to pay off leaving her to make tje first move.
Trust is hard to earn , but so easy to break .
It's SO gonna be worth it .

GLITTER · 36-40, F

Some things are just meant to be, I’d take it as a good sign. You took a kitty a lot of other people would not. She’s gonna keep you busy and love you forever once you guys have gotten used to each other

Onestarlitnight

Give her space to adjust to her new surroundings and by all means change her name!
Something that has an E sound at the end such as the sound of hippy, zippy, dippy .,.,
Cat’s respond better to such names, the high note is soothing and non threatening. Most other sounds can be interpreted as a type of growl or aggressive.
May sound weird but it can make a difference to her personality over time.

Provide plenty of food and water but try not to overstimulate her , toys should be interactive such as a wand with a long string and a toy at the end you can flick around for her to play with.
You want to associate yourself with play, food and comfort to gain her trust

Ontheroad · M

@Onestarlitnight You and Oogie think along the same line... it's important to make those calm, patient, and positive connections/associations for and with her.

It makes a lot of sense and it's the direction I'm taking. Thanks so much for adding your thoughts and ideas.

Coralmist · 41-45, F

Aww she is a lil Spitfire ☺️ She just needs time to settle in for a bit and acclimate. Ty for having a caring home for her. 🙂😺

SW-User

Aww....

She immediately, literally in the blink of an eye, shot off to hide in another part of the house... a part I wasn't able to discover until a couple of hours ago.

It's normal she's skittish... and she was telling you in her reactions. What you have already, she's curious... trying to find parts you don't even know in your own home.. (that takes skill)

She's making her own home, like my cat, who goes on walks with me... when I had him hidden in a room away from the other cat, that other cat you know, they get all damn jealous.... and he leaped 8 feet in the air, to then fly forward five feet, defying laws of phyics if he had not pushed off the "dutch ceiling."

SW-User

You will give her a loving home I'm sure. Can't wait to see photos of her.

Ontheroad · M

@SW-User I'm dying to get some photos of her, but I need to let her settle in before I start taking pictures.

SW-User

@Ontheroad That is completely understandable

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

How do you keep the collar on? My two were supposed to wear collars after their surgeries -- spaying for one, repair of a nasty gash on the other. Both fought them like crazy and would get them off in less than a minute. Fortunately, neither licked or chewed on their stiches.

Ontheroad · M

@dancingtongue Excellent question - it was on her when I got her from the Humane Society and it has a rather intricate locking mechanism and is sized for kittens.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@dancingtongue I find it depends on the cat. Layla won't wear a collar of any kind, and rubs herself against every available surface until it's off. Hairy gives zero fucks about a collar.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@LordShadowfire They are individualistic and I find that is true with most things with my two--except the collar. Now with Cooper all I had to say was no once when he went to lick, and that was that. He knew it was off limits. I expected huge battles with Dinky because that is her, but aside from a reminder once in a while, she seemed to realize the trade off was fighting over the collar again and so was pretty good about licking or chewing.

Scribbles · 36-40, F

Very good of you to take in a kitty who needs a home. My sister in law has a rescued cat. When they first got him, he was very skittish, they felt like the cat thought he was a hostage. He definitely has some issues. Now he climbs everything in their condo apartment and is king of the place. Lol.

Oogie and a few others here have some good advice here, it helps to gently and calmly gain the cat's trust. Helping with anything they are scared of helps too. My old childhood cat was very afraid of the basement at night and vacuum cleaners.

Hopefully you'll see your cat's personality emerge more and you'll get to know her likes and dislikes, etc.

I had a cat for some years growing up that had been wild for the first six months of his life. Consistently putting food and changing out the water every day was huge even years in. He wasn't big into playing at first. Until we played with the homemade cat toys we had made and he slowly grew interested and played.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

She immediately, literally in the blink of an eye, shot off to hide in another part of the house... a part I wasn't able to discover until a couple of hours ago.

Yeah, that sounds about right. Day one: "Thanks for giving me a place to live. I'll just hang out here in this corner, and you'll never see me or hear from me, ever. I'm just so grateful to be here." Day 100: "Where is my servant with pets and tuna!?"

Ontheroad · M

@LordShadowfire It's honestly what I expected and I'm just backing off and letting her decide when she is ready to socialize.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@Ontheroad Very smart. Don't force her. Just keep bringing her food and water, and it will happen naturally.

Prince Hairy was like that at first. Just sat in one corner of our multipurpose room, wouldn't let anyone close without a hiss. Now we're not allowed to enter the room without petting him.

AntisocialTroll · 56-60, F

It's expensive but there is a product called Feliway, it helps calm nervous cats and can be very useful for the first month or so to help a really nervous cat to settle.

Ontheroad · M

@AntisocialTroll Thanks, I'll read up on it.

meggie · F

I had a cat like that once who used to hide. I used to stalk him and peer round the corners at him and he started stalking me back and that's how we ended up bonding when he finally jumped at me

Ontheroad · M

@meggie How cute is that! I'm afraid though, that Wildfire is too scared to respond in that manner.

Lilymoon · F

Yeah they always hide the first few weeks.... give it some time and don't force it.. ...She'll come out eventually. Talk softly to her she's just scared. 🫤

Ontheroad · M

@Lilymoon Yep, you can see the fear in her eyes... it's sad, but I know she'll come to understand she is in a safe place now.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

Wildfire. Love the name. What I should have named my Dinky, because she is difficult to contain or control and has spurts where she runs around like her tail is on fire.

JustNik · 51-55, F

It’s just beautiful that you opened your heart and home where it was needed most. She’s in good good hands. 💞💞

Ontheroad · M

@JustNik Once I saw her and heard her story, I didn't have a choice. The fear in her eyes and her skittishness... yeah, just no choice but to bring her home.