Helping a timid cat

[Hemskis]

My two rescue cats have been with me for a week now. They are about 3 years old and came to the rescue because they didn't get on with the other cat in the house. I wonder if more might have gone on though.
Jas is a tiny little thing and a little skittish but she is settling in really well.
Lucy the elusive one is very very timid. To start with she hid behind the fridge but we've blocked it off and provided alternative hiding spots that are better. She won't come out from her box under my desk while she can hear us but I know she prowls the house at night. She and Jas are very close and get on really well.
Feliway and pet remedy does nothing really.
I spend time sitting by the desk every day talking to her and she had started eating bits of chicken from my hand. She won't take good from anyone else. There's no aggression in her, she just cowers or runs away if something is scary and almost everything is scary.

I feel so sorry for her and I'm willing to give her all the time she needs. Has anyone else successfully helped a timid cat become settled? I'm sure she will never be an outgoing cat but I'd love to see her more comfortable and happy.

Any tips would be gratefully received. I've been watching lots of Jackson Galaxy videos :)

A week in cat time is 5 minutes. She’ll see if you murder the outgoing one before she makes any decisions about leaving her box.

She might be the more dominant cat out of the two, sending the other one out to test the waters.

A week is not very long! I have vivid memories of my rescue cat spending the whole day under my bed at that point. Now a couple of months in she is totally shameless and likes lying on my lap for hours and interrupting my Zoom meetings.

They are both beautiful.

We had a rescue cat that hid behind the fridge for ages. ...she turned into the most lovely cat. They just need time to settle

That's really reassuring. 29 cats from the rescue were rehomed last week and I keep hearing how settled and cuddly they all are!
At the moment both get scared when we come home so my girls have been instructed to offer treats when they get back from school.

My rescue spent 3 months behind the toilet. Only came out at night for food and the litter.

Then she moved into the covered dog crate and stayed there for 3 months, but started to accept dreamies.

Then she would come out and wander around when we were about, but only if we were really quiet.

3 years later and she’s still learning and gaining confidence. Still hates loud noises and hides if the door goes or I get the hoover out. She does hang around with us most of the day but is still gradually learning she can sit on laps and get cuddles.

Give it time :).

For anyone interested the above is what happens when people use cats as kitten farms.

Mine took a VERY long time to gain confidence. Girlcat wasn't too bad and emerged into the daylight from behind the sofa after about a week, Boycat took longer. 6 months for me to stroke Girlcat, nearly a year for Boycat. That's what you get for adopting cats who were feral until a year old!

They are still very shy around strangers, but when it's just me in the house they are very demanding of my attention and strokes, Boycat in particular.

My cat is 11 now. I found her in the middle of the road when she was 4 weeks old. She was terrified. I immediately took her to the vet, who told me that she'd always be a very scared cat and not to expect her to change. I couldn't understand how she could be so sure and I thought I could ensure she wouldn't end up like that. However, 11 years later, she's pretty much scared of everything. I have to be really cautious around her. She's happy in her own way and does have a certain quality of life, but she spends most of the time upstairs on her own. She sleeps with me at night. There's only 2 people she can cope with and I'm one of them. I've had other cats during this time, and most of them haven't liked her. She's my baby and I absolutely adore her, even though it's been a challenge and a bit of a bind, as I struggle to leave her to go away anywhere. Hopefully, your puss will gain confidence in time.

I rescued my two cats when they were 11 years old. Both were fairly timid, with one that didn't come out from under the sofa for 3 weeks, other than at night to eat and use the litter tray. I gave them both their own space and didn't push them to interact with me, letting them come to me in their own time. I also blocked off their view of outside, so they wouldn't be spooked by other cats/foxes. They're both now total lap cats - for the one that used to hide, it was like a switch flipped, she just suddenly decided that I was ok and a suitable human pillow.

Our rescue spent a week wedged in a tiny gap in a bookshelf. He would only eat, drink and toilet at night or when we were out.

It took him three months (or more) to tolerate being stroked and even now (four years on) he doesn't like strangers and will go and hide on top of the fridge

He's confident with me but still wary with DH (he was abused and we with the perpetrator was male). He gets on well enough with our other cats but he's still a solitary creature and spends most of the day hiding in a corner sleeping.

He's sat on my lap less than 15 times in four years - the longest period being about 20 minutes. However, he loves having his head and ears scratched and will jump up at your chest and rub his face all over yours -first thing in the morning when you're half asleep

Thank you for the lovely cat stories, it really helps with having more realistic expectations. All my previous cats have been confident so this is new to me
This morning the elusive Lucy was relaxing in the window sill behind the curtain and didn't retreat back upstairs until everyone else had woken up and it got noisy so that was really nice to see.