Nervous rescues

[RosesAndHellebores]

Two Greek girls who are 7 months old. Dreadful start in life and have spent the last three months in a pen at a rescue. One is bold the other is very shy and anxious and presently under the dresser. Comes out for food when we are not around. They have been here for a week.

Does anyone have any tips for encouraging the very shy one.

Tax attached.

Just have patience and wait. Don't try and pets over out before she's ready. One of mine hid for a week when I first got her.

Persuade her that should say. They are both still babies and have been through a lot.

Thank you. I know but it doesn't stop me worrying about her. Her sister wolfs the food.

Just make sure shy one has access to food and drink and just wait. It's good that she comes out for food when you are not around, that's a start after only a week. I have 4 rescues (got them in pairs) and one of my first two was like that - she came from a feral colony. I've had her 18 months now, and it took her 2 months to come out from her hidey hole at all. We gave her food and water under the stairs and she hissed every time, and she would only use the litter tray at night.

Now she comes and goes as she pleases, has favourite spots in the living room, loves being petted when in her favourite spaces and plays chase the little red dot. She's still reserved and will never be a lap cat, but I can catch her to go to the vet for checkups and vax boosters, and she never bites or scratches. Patience is everything. They will settle.

Ah bless, at least they have a nice home now. We took in a dog from dogs trust. For 3 years he’d been kept in a kitchen, abused, underfed. It took time and patience for him to trust us. We’ve had him 8 years now and he’s an absolute joy.

time, love and patience- works wonders.

Thank you @pointythings and @Mrsherdwick that sort of advice means a lot.

Honesty, just leave her be and she'll slowly grow in confidence. A week is nothing. My cat hid behind the kitchen cupboards for 2 MONTHS. Then he gradually started appearing for a minute or 2 before hiding again. He now rules the roost! He's very bold and bossy and is the most affectionate cat. He follows me everywhere like a puppy and is always on my lap.
Just lower your expectations and let her come out of her shell in her own time, even if it takes a few months.

I took in 2 feral rescues who had spent a year at the rescue with nobody wanting them they were so shy. Took days for either of them to appear, only knew they were alive because of food & water going, and tray being used. Took months before I could touch even the bolder one. After a few years, my life was being organised around the cuddles that their schedule demanded - including getting up 30 minutes earlier each day for Boycat's "bed" cuddles"!

Time, patience, let them come to you. A Dreamie trail getting an inch closer every day (once shy one appears at all), starting at the hiding place.

No advice apart from what’s echoed above-but what a beautiful cat. Best wishes to you all-they’ve finally landed on their paws😊

What a little beauty!!
Mine was a street cat, and hid under the table for weeks. I used to sit on the floor near him not looking at him, and read to him, so he got used to my voice. 6 years later he's still here. Will never be a lap cat, and occasionally still growls if scared, but generally so much better. I don't push him at all, just leave him to come to me. He was a feral, born on the streets.
Good luck

@RosesAndHellebores - we had a similar problem. We already had a six year old cat and decided to get a kitten. The kitten lived in a spare bedroom for the first few weeks with a litter tray, food, water and cat bed. Every time we went in, she hid under the bed and wouldn’t come out. After a couple of weeks we started to leave the bedroom door open in the evening - very gradually she started to creep down a couple of stairs. Finally she ventured into the living room and started spending more time downstairs.

She ended up as being the softest lap cat - she thought she was brave and did tease our older cat but I don’t think she ever left the garden and preferred to follow us around the house.

have you followed #SophieFromRomania on Twitter? That dog has been WEEKS in the UK and still struggling to relax & be brave. At least a cat can spend its whole life being timid in your home.

Thank you all. Surprisingly when we were all joshing in the kitchen last night she came out for food. Was also out earlier and I caught sight of her speeding back to the cupboard as I opened the door.

It was a relief to see her.

A quick update. She's no longer living under the dresser but on a dining chair. Both girls now fly towards me at feeding time. Haven't been allowed to stroke shy girl yet, but she has come along in leaps and bounds. It's such a relief. Her sister has discovered she likes to snuggle on a lap.

Lovely update! Possibly should have been accompanied by an updated tax payment :)

That's an excellent update and that's actually really fast progress. She'll learn from her sister that humans are OK.

Here we go:

They're gorgeous!
Have some tax from me as well.

It’s great she is thawing.

My shy rescue still darts away from sudden movements, hides if people walk up to her to stroke her but is currently sat on my knee purring away. It took a couple of months for her to jump up on the sofa and approach me, she still won’t sit near DH or teen, but she’s a very happy cat.

So lovely your two cuties get to have a lovely life with you after their rough start.

Yours are lovely too Pointy

@RosesAndHellebores thank you, I love all of them. The black one is my reserved girl - but even almost 2 years on she is still progressing, gaining in confidence, interacting with us more and enjoying petting. The big tabby is Mr Friendly but is actually a very anxious boy, he's had the toughest life out of all of them. The two ginger and white boys are total characters.

It's awful what they go through. Found out through the Greek rescue that they were trapped at about 4 weeks so in a pen since then until we got them, notwithstanding a two day journey overland with no food. They have Greek passports.

About 4 weeks old if the 22.7 dob is correct. It's heartbreaking. They are safe now.

Oh those babies!
My tabby boy was a lockdown kitten, thrown out onto the streets when his owners realised cat = vet bills. He's very anxious around food, cars, dogs barking, big plastic bags - the list is endless. I'm his emotional support animal.

I love rescue stories with happy endings.