At the risk of asking a silly question, have you tried dangling a toy for her play with? Kitties have a hard time resisting shiny things and jerky motion.
Posted on 12/06/2014 10:53:26 AM PST by Slings and Arrows
FR's own Monkey Face has just welcomed a new feline family member. Congratulations on your new furbaby Sparkle!
Thanks!
I have photobucket and snapfish, and the problem is not in posting per se. It’s getting the pics off the phone to post them.
You can’t get your pics off the phone to your pic storage site?
Correct. I don’t know how. *blush*
Please ping the kitty list to this post.
An update on Sparkle for those who are not in the know.
I rescued her from the vet’s office where she had been caged for six months. When I first got her, I thought a few days of TLC would make a big difference, but she hides in the closet. She will allow me to hold her a little longer each time I get her out, but when she gets uncomfortable, I put her down.
She is black, DSH, with orange (gold?) hairs along her flanks and a tiny gold boomerang on the top of her head, facing her nose; the gold also goes along her jaws, so that if the light hits it just right, she looks bald there.
She is 18 months old and has had two litters. I keep her in the bedroom with the door closed so she doesn’t panic. The ride home was traumatic for her even though it was only about five minutes long. They put her in a cardboard carrier with only small holes and she couldn’t see out, so she panicked when I got her home. As soon as possible, I will invest in a fabric carrier so she doesn’t get scared...but on a fixed income, that could be January.
I am determined to give her a forever home, and I’m also determined to help her overcome the phobia she has of large spaces. I’m doing the best I know how, with what little formal training (veterinary office assistant) and practical experience I have at my disposal, but if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can help her transition, I am open to them.
In the meantime, please understand that I wept when I learned no one wanted her...for six months...I want to make up for that, but I don’t want to scare her. Anyone?
I know what you are going thru. I rescued 2 kittens from a garage of a friend where they were born. They were feral kittens and didn’t take to my kindness. I only was prepared to take one of them, but her brother seemed interested so I took the two of them. I had a box, but they weren’t having that, they rode in the back window of my car. Got them home and put them in my b/r. Mind you I have 2 grown cats and 4 dogs. I left the kittens in my room and let them come out when they were ready. They tore the bottom of my boxspring open and hid in there for weeks. Little by little they came around. It’s been 9 mos. now and they come out of the room and join in the fun with the other dogs. The cats (older) are not too fond of them, but oh well, they will adapt. They just growl alittle. You are right to give her TLC a little at a time. Rub her head, behind her ears and when you see her tag wailing you know shes had enough. A little bit at a time and in short time she will be your best bud. My two critters sleep all over me! LOL I love my furkids more then some of my family members. Sad but true.
Thank you for your input. In my heart, I know that she needs TLC on her terms, but my eyes water when I think of how long she was confined...24”X24”X24” for six months doesn’t give a cat a lot of room to just be a cat. I won’t push her, that much I have decided. It will all be on her terms, but I will see that she WANTS to be with me. That’s my job as I see it!
She was confused by the flap on the litterbox (which I have subsequently discarded) and ended up peeing on my bed...my new quilt, my only blanket and a set of flannel sheets were the recipients of her distress. I took the top completely off the box, but now I need to invest in clumping litter, which is what I thought I got.
I have problems with my lungs, and the dust bothers me, but I don’t want her to have respiratory problems, so I’m going to look for some “green” litter. For both of us!
At the risk of asking a silly question, have you tried dangling a toy for her play with? Kitties have a hard time resisting shiny things and jerky motion.
Hey, you’re quite welcome!
Sparkle has been very tense, and though I have a couple of toys for her (not enough, to be sure) I need to get her something with a large dose of catnip.
A fellow FReeper sent her a gift of a “play station” (for lack of a better word) with two sisal scratching posts, a “hammock” strung between them, a “rug” on the base, and a swinging pompom. I just put it in the bedroom today, as I didn’t want too much stimulation, in view of her confinement.
I was actually able to spend about 10 minutes with her today, talking to her and stroking her, and trying to reassure her, and I got some purrs. Best of all, she seemed to relax a little, but as soon as I put her down and took my hands off her, she headed for the closet.
Tax chick suggested a wad of paper for a diversion and as soon as I think Sparkle is ready, I will do that. I have lots of paper things to wad up and throw away! LOL!
LOL! Thanks!
Black, she is! But with “gold” hairs in strategic places on her body, which makes her “sparkle.” So that is her name!
Time and patience.
We got two lovely 5 yr-old blue-cream sisters a couple of years ago. They’d been adopted as kittens by a newly wed couple. When the couple decided to have a baby they thought the cats would be a problem & asked dad to take them. Dad had a rescue dog that didn’t like cats, & they couldn’t go outside as coyotes lounged on the deck. He took them to the Humane Society, but after two weeks he was told either take them back or they’d be euthanized. We heard of them through a friend & took them. They were both hyper-paranoid, particularly fearful of men, loud noises, other cats (we had three already), you name it.
The transition has been slow, but they are now very affectionate lap kitties. One sister is the ‘hall monitor’ & bosses the other cats. The other is the sweetest girl you’ll ever want to meet.
For a while there I wasn’t sure they would adapt. But they’re okay now & we’re their forever family.
I second the wadded-up paper - cats love that.
Ping to post #91 - basement kitty lion!
Thanks! That’s encouraging. I know Sparkle has been traumatized by her confinement, and that’s what she is used to and comfortable with. Which is why she is still in the bedroom and doesn’t have the run of the house. She knows there is MORE to her world, but I doubt she is ready for it, yet.
I will try that wadded up paper before I give her the kitteh toys. The Great PV preferred tight (he weighed 22 pounds) boxes and paper grocery bags to almost anything else we could give him. Except maybe a slot car on a track...
Just be very calm with her.
When the girls first arrived we locked them in a bathroom & went in periodically to pet & talk to them. Then we let them out with the other cats. After a few days they were back to hiding from us, so we rounded them up & put them in the bathroom again. We went in & out constantly, petting & talking to them until they were used to us.
When we let them back out into the house, whenever I passed them I made a point of speaking to them & stroking them if they’d let me. They preferred to be up high, like on the back of a chair. Somehow we weren’t as intimidating if they could look us in the eye. :-)
Another kitty we got from the HS named Montana was very calm, but wasn’t particularly affectionate & never purred. I thought something was wrong with her purr box, but after two years, we suddenly got purrs out of her. She just didn’t trust us fully, but now she’s another lap kitty. She summons me from my office to throw balls for her. And if I cough or sneeze, she makes a concerned little meow & gets in my lap to make sure I’m okay.
It’s sad that they’d all been so traumatized. But time & love works wonders.
nice story
Prozac for kitties. Seriously.
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