She's here - and I have questions!

[QueenieMum]

We lost our cat in August and adopted a rescue cat this week. She is very different to our previous cat, which I expected, but I almost feel like we're having to rehabilitate her. She's still quite skittish and cringes sometimes when you go to stroke her so I'm careful to let her come to us. At the beginning of the week she slept at the opposite end of the sofa to anyone else but tonight she's quite happily slept right next to me so we're making progress!

I recently found out that certain disinfectants can be poisonous to cats, what floor cleaners do you guys use?

I was also mildly allergic to my old cat but it's really flared up again, anyone got any recommendations? I bought a nasal spray but that only seemed to work for the first day. I'm hoping it will calm down again but help with the symptoms would be most welcome!!

Disinfectants that go cloudy when water is added are the ones that are toxic to cats. You are OK with alcohol or bleach based.
No advice on allergies I'm afraid as I don't suffer personally.

Sorry, should have mentioned that she's very cute!

That makes sense Weeds, thanks. I was beginning to think I'd only be able to mop with water!

She is beautiful, photos don't do her glossy coat any justice. Black & white cats are some of the most difficult to rehome, no idea why but maybe I'm biased

Take it slowly - it took three years before I could even hear one of my rescue cats purring!
You never know what they've been through before they come to you.

I use Method to clean my floors and I have four cats. There's also a special spray you can get called safe4.

If she's still feeling worried, doing things like avoiding eye contact and slowly extending your hand to her whilst looking away so she can investigate you, before you stroke her, can help. It's just a less threatening approach than going straight up to her and stroking her.

She looks lovely though and sounds like she has a lovely home.

She is beautiful. I'm laughing at the position of the birdfeeder outside the window. That windowsill will be reverberating to the utmost in excitement.

Poor girl - god alone knows what the furry darlings go through before rescue, although she doesn’t look massively traumatised in that first picture 😁.

Slowly but surely... definitely try the hand out without looking at her, and try the slow blink with her too.

I clean my floor with a floor cleaner spray, but then I go over it with plain water afterwards. I don’t have shiny floors, but they’re furry most of the time anyway 🙄.

Queenie I don't get the aversion to black an white or black cats either, they're beautiful!
My black boy hid in his box for a good two months before coming out as a trans-dog - he follows me around everywhere, sits, comes and gives a paw. He's the best cat I have ever had.
Early days for yours, she'll get there.

Thanks for your replies. I do withdraw if she cringes and let her sniff my hand but haven't averted my eyes so I'll try that too. I washed my hair yesterday & came downstairs with a tshirt wrapped round my hair, her eyes were on stalks and she took a while to decide it wasn't a threat!

Cailleach1 our old cat was never interested in birds when he was outside but I think QueenieCat will be very different so we may have to move it! It's definitely her favourite window

Weeds a trans dog, ha ha ha!! It must've been very rewarding to see his behaviour change like that.

Give her time; mine took months before I could stroke them without them panicking. Now they both have an addiction to having belly rubs, and lie on their backs writhing with pleasure (and in Boycat's case, dribbling yuk). He still runs & hides in the back of the wardrobe if I have visitors though.