New very nervous puddy Cured ???

[Janeyk]

that's good news 

[Millys Mum]

Time is of the essence 

[Dawn F]

awww what good news!  I knew she'd come out in the end!

[nicter]

  Maisie has finally ventured out !! She came out from under the sofa briefly yesterday to eat while we were in the room and today after much stroking and to and froing by her she came right out into the room and stayed out for a good 20 minutes exploring the immediate area. ( Seems to be fascinated by the tv ) Shes such a sweetie and loves being stroked so Im hopeful shes going to be a snuggle cat. Thankyou all for your advice and Maisie says Hi lol

[Millys Mum]

Hopefully having feline friends will help boost her confidence, when i first got simon he was very nervous and scurried along the walls, he became best friends with George and the change in him was easily seen 

[Bazsmum]

I have heard that ignoring is the best policy

I agree in this situation, even try to keep the eye contact down to the very minimal! Try and act like she isnt there! 

[Dawn F]

I have heard that ignoring is the best policy

[nicter]

Well I cant make this Maisie out lol !!!  Shes still firmly esconsced under the settee although she does now come out in the daytime if we.re not around (telltale bits of food on the carpet ). Our other 2 cats have been introduced to her and amazingly Maisie will come right to the front of the settee to rub noses with Willum and has done since the 1st introduction but wont come forward for us. Shes more than happy for us to stroke and pet her under the settee ( we.re all developing stiff necks from it lol ) and purrs like a steam train but no signs of her coming out yet. Feliways in situ but no luck so far. We talked to the vet who treated her at CP who suggested we give less snuggles and maybe then she will come out but a) that doesnt seem to be working either and b) dont want her thinking we dont love her ! Do you think we worry about our feline friends more than we did our children ??? lol

[Millys Mum]

Im glad shes been 

[Dawn F]

what a relief for everyone!!!!

[nicter]

Ok shes been lol   

[nicter]

Well not much progress so far. Shes still hiding under the settee and only venturing out when we.ve gone to bed. Is perfectly happy for us to stroke her while under settee and purrs happily. My concern now is she hasnt had a poo since she arrived last Saturday. Shes eating ok and we.ve given her a covered cat litter tray so she feels safer ( shes used it to pee ) Last thing we want is to have to drag her out to take her to the vets. How long is it ok to go without a poo ??? 

[Catbird]

Dot hid behind the futon in the spare room for about a week when she came to live with me. One morning I was woken by a pair of green eyes and an industrial-grade purr machine sitting on the pillow next to me    Hope your experience is similar.

C.

[Janeyk]

Your other cats are both lovely too  you sound like me for old, needy ones.

So sorry to hear about Buttons we had to have our other old cat pts in March and I can understand how you feel 

[nicter]

This is our clan.
Whisky is aged around 10 and came from a cat rescue around 5 years ago. He has only half a hip joint so has a very odd walk lol. Doesnt seem to cause him any distress ..apparently femur ball encapsulates and they adjust ( its genetic ) Then we have Willum ( approx  9 ) who was abandoned around where I used to work. He came to live with us about 18 months ago and is the gentlest most placid cat Ive ever had. In winter he develops an amazing coat and a wonderful rough so we,re thinking hes possibly part Norwegian forest cat.
 Sadly we lost Button a black and white long haired cat 2 weeks ago. She was nearly 15 and had to be pts. She had lost an awful lot of weight ate minimal amounts and drank very little. Despite numerous blood tests and ultrasound apart from an enlarged spleen the vet couldnt find what was wrong with her. When she appeared to be in a lot of pain we decided she,d had enough. My dear little girl is now buried in her favourite sunning spot in the garden. Does the pain get any better ?? I miss her so badly

[Janeyk]

Hi Nicter 

Maisie is just gorgeous  it's lovely to hear of people adopting older nervous cats, you sound to be doing fine with her and as everyone else says she should soon gain confidence and be very happy with you.  Our last cat took ages to come round but it was so rewarding when he did. 

You'll have to post some pics of your other cats and tell us about them too.

[fluffybunny]

 Mine were similar when we adopted them age 8.  It took several days before they really came out.  A feliway plugin worked wonders and I just sat on the floor in the room with them, completely ignoring them - reading a book, doing the crossword etc.  They got used to my smell I think, and nosiness brought them out eventually 

Good luck and congratulations on your beautiful new arrival!

[nicter]

Thankyou all
Going to see if I can tempt her out with a fishy supper !! Will keep you posted

[Christine (Blip)]

  to Purrs, Nicter: glad you found us and decided to join    It sounds like you're doing all the right things for little Maisie: our Blip hid under the sofa at first too.

She's beautiful, of course 

[nicter]

Lol Angie ........let me get Maisie settled then will see if I can find room for your 7 !!!!

[nicter]

She started out in a carboard box but I made the mistake of opening the lid to fuss her and she got scared so Im guessing doesnt feel safe in there now though have left the box near her in case.

[Bazsmum]

Aw she is beautiful.....yep tis very early days yet...give her a few more days getting used to the different noises, smells etc and Im sure she will be feeling more confident! 

Well done you! 

[Mark]

She is gorgeous   - Do you have a cardboard box that she can use to hide when she needs to - I'm sure she will come round in a couple of days  

Well done for taking her on  

[Millys Mum]

Shes gorgeous  another well done to you, adopting an older, nervous and earless cat 
With time she will come round, the best thing you can do for her is what your doing, not pushing yourself on to her and letting her take her time 

[nicter]

This is a picture of Maisie while still at CP. As you can see shes lost her ears. Apparently they were badly damaged and vet was concerned they could turn cancerous so they were amputated. I  think she looks cute .....teddy bearish !

[Angiew]

sounds as though you are doing all the right things. One of my fosters took 2 months before sticking his head out to me and now a couple of weeks later will sometimes come out to be fussed.
You may want to try the plug in feliway - not sure how effective it is but its use did co-incide with the first head pop out.

well done you for adopting a nervous cat, I wish more people would. It takes time but is very rewarding and they are usually very loyal cats. (not that I have 7 scardy cats in my house looking for new homes!)

[nicter]

Hi there.
We.ve picked up a very sweet 8 year old cat ( Maisie )  from cats protection yesterday who had been there 6 months and had been picked up as a stray. On getting her home she went straight into hiding and has now taken up residence under the settee.!!We left food litter etc in the room for her and she obviously popped out overnight to eat and use the loo. Today shes not been out at all so far. ( She has the room to herself we just pop in from time to time to fuss her )  She allows us to stroke her under there and purrs quite happily. Gave her her breakfast under the settee and she allowed me to stroke her while eating. I know its very early days and poor little things probably terrified of her new surroundings but wonder if theres anything else we can do to make her feel at ease. We do have 2 other cats one of which she met when she 1st got here but there was no animosity between them and at present we arent allowing them into "her" room so they shouldnt be an issue  Any advice gratefully recieved