Cat gone into hiding

dollparts

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Nope, but surely its only common sense only to breed from animals with exemplary temprements. From the description of the cat, I assumed she was an ex stray/feral - has she been a house cat before?

Please dont get angry, I am genuinely surprised that she has been used for breeding, but is so scared of human contact - has she always been like this do you know? Understanding why she is like this may be helpful in working out what to do. Has she always been with other cats? - I guess this may make the transition much harder for her

She is not afraid of human contact-I observed her with her previous owner and her family, her temperament was very friendly, no cause for concern at all. The owner did say she could be shy around people she doesn't know initially. She is just timid since being at home with us, As she lived with many cats at her last home she is taking time to adjust to being the only cat here. She divided her time between the family home and the converted cat house where the cats were kept at night.

I am not angry at all, I just felt your post was a bit of a parachute and you came across as presumptuous.

LittleTinker

dollparts wrote: »

I can see the logic in what you're saying but I cannot get close enough to her without her bolting! I made the mistake last week of making her think I was going to pick her up and she scratched my neck and ran away-I was only picking something up she had knocked over in the night and I wanted to make some space for her in her hidey hole!

Still don't understand what is with the loud miaowing though, just seems strange she's so noisy at night yet we do not see now hear her all day long.

The loud miaowing might be her calling.......as she is in heat?

Has she been speyed?

I just read that she hasnt been speyed......and it is likely the cause of the loud miaowing, as she may have come into heat.....it should stop after a couple of weeks.

I know what you are saying about wanting the cat to know you wont hurt her and that it doesnt seem fair to keep her in a situation where she is scared.......its awful when you cannot explain to them.
Staying in the bedroom is too quiet.....there is nothing for her to get used to in there as there is no passing traffic.......and she will find herself getting more stressed as she will be bored and lonely.

It really is a case of being cruel to be kind......she needs to be in your most used rooom. It would have been a good thing had you left her behind the TV.

Try get her into your most used room.........leave the litter tray where she can find it and her food some place else and just let her take things at her own pace. If she comes out while you are wactching TV, for example, just leave her....dont make a grab for her.......but you can talk to her. Say something like "There you are you silly thing. Decided to join us have you?" in a typical silly talk voice......she might then run or she might not. But bit by bit she will get to know that you are not going to hurt her.

Take it slow and let her make the moves......but honestly, she cant get any better in a room that is quiet.

yalik

Zylkene capsules, 75mg once daily orally or sprinkle on the food is working very well for these things. You can get it from any on-line pharmacy, and can compare prices at CompareVetDrugs.com. You can also look at theblog to learn more about it. it is safe and works well.

dollparts

Just thought I'd add an update. Mrs Tibbs has settled in lovely and is much more comfortable around us. She is always out and about the house and has made her favoured spot on a basket in the lounge. It's hard to believe she is the same nervous cat she once was........

The above is what I would have posted a few days ago. Sadly all is not well again.

It's been clear to me that she is in heat and from past posts on this thread you will know she's a shy girl. I have spoken to the vet about having her spayed and he advised to leave it a little longer as the trust she is building would suffer if I was to take her in for the op.

Unfortunately after our militant-like efforts to keep her from getting out to find a fella (and trust me, she has tried her hardest) she gave me the slip Sunday morning when the back door was opened for a moment to take some stuff to the shed. She appeared from nowhere and bolted out to the garden. We heard her howling in a nearby garden just metres away and caught sight of her over the fence but as soon as she saw us she hid under a bush.

She eventually came back in yesterday morning, I checked her out and she seems fine physically, still rolling around on the floor and miaowing.

I phoned the vet straight away and told them about her night out and booked her in to be speyed this morning. Got up at 5:45 to get her there for 8am and as if by magic she has morphed back into the shy cat and has refused to come out from behind the ONLY piece of furniture I am not able to move and will not come out.

How unlucky can I be? I now have a potentially pregnant cat gone back into hiding. I was quite persistent in my attempts to get her out and she ended up hissing at me. I'm so upset that all the good work has been undone and she will no longer trust me.

Just feel really upset now and unsure of what to do.

easyken

I always find that pointing the hairdryer behind those hard-to-reach places that cats hide in helps to get them out of hiding! Obviously it's a bit late for that now mind...!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Grit your teeth and hoik her out. She'll be a much nicer, friendlier cat once spayed. For a start, she won't have her hormones making her think of boy cats all the time.

dollparts

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Grit your teeth and hoik her out. She'll be a much nicer, friendlier cat once spayed. For a start, she won't have her hormones making her think of boy cats all the time.

So you don't think she will mistrust me and be right back where we started? I've got to say the howling and constant attempts of escape can be trying at 4am!

wannabepennypincher

Did she hid as soon as she got the crate out? Lots of cats know exactly what the crate means!

We keep a cat crate out in the open with the door off, it sits under the coffee table so the cats are used to its presence and don't bolt as soon as the crate comes out. To get my scaredy cat in I sit a bit away from the crate and hand out treats, then get a little closer and put out more and give him a gentle shove in and shut the door.

It takes my scaredy cat about 2-3 days to forgive me for taking him to the vet (he is semi feral) but I find prawns and weebox help. It took 2-3 months for him to trust me properly so I wouldn't say its ever gone totally backwards from a trip to the vet.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

dollparts wrote: »

So you don't think she will mistrust me and be right back where we started? I've got to say the howling and constant attempts of escape can be trying at 4am!

My youngest mog was like that (she was a private rescue). Once she was home from the vet (I had been promised that she was spayed already - well, after a few nights, it was pretty darn clear she hadn't been), her personality changed almost instantly for the better.

It has to be better than letting her have a litter of kits that will most likely be unsocialised and if she has problems during birthing, you won't be able to get hold of her.

Short term pain for long term gain - you'd do it if she had been injured by a car, so do it for her now.

Good luck. I'd happily come and hoik her out for you, but I'm nowhere near you