Hi all I was wondering if you could give me some advice about my cat. She's 7 and I've had her for 6 years. She's a rescue and is very savvy but also very nervous, shy and skittish around humans. We lived in the countryside which she loved, she was out all day every day and is very copped on.
Now though I've moved in with a housemate to a terraced city house with a garden and I'm worried about how best to let her out.
We've been here for 3 weeks and although she's made the house her own she's also very nervous of my housemate who's a really quiet gentle person and a good friend. I think this is just my cats way: despite living with my ex for 5 years she never warmed to him, I think she's really a one person creature.
I'm just wondering when to let her out because she's going to love exploring the garden but if I wait until she's fully comfortable with my housemate I could literally be waiting years! But right now she won't even come downstairs if my housemate is in, or she tiptoes down warily :(
I'm also wondering when to introduce her to the cat flap (she's never used one before). Would it be better to show her it straight away or get her used to the garden first and then have the cat flap come in after?
I just wish she could relax with my housemate but like I say, she just seems to have always had an ingrained fear of people :(
Housemate is going away for a week on Thursday which is why I thought this would be a great time to introduce her to the garden, when she's relaxed in the house without housemate there.
Any advice at all would be welcome