opera142: (crayons)
[personal profile] opera142
The adjustment period with the kitties is not going well. They pretty much hide while we are home. Sophie hides in the furnace vent. -_______- Idek where Mazy goes. They come out to eat and stare at us a couple of times during the evening.

They are destructive. I suppose, it's Mazy just being a kitten. I come home from work, and stuff is scattered, knocked over, and broken. Also, someone is not covering her poop.

Sophie gets another week of hiding in the furnace, then a citrus air freshner is getting put near the vent. I really don't want to take away her "safe space", but I don't think her hiding there is good for her or the furnace.

We're going back and forth about trapping them. We haven't been able to give them a health check or even a good look over. Trapping them will freak them out, though, and erase all the minor gains we've made. idk, idk.

Date: 2011-05-07 03:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] topknot.livejournal.com
Is there any way you can isolate them to just one room of the house? A room that isn't too big without much they can get into? Like a bathroom or a study? Then you can go in, sit down on the floor, and read or something in there with them on a regular basis so they'll get used to seeing and smelling you. That's what a friend of mine does when she traps feral cats and socialises them.

Date: 2011-05-07 04:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] idleleaves.livejournal.com
I second the rec to isolate them if you can. That's what I had to do with Stevie when I brought him home, because he was so terrified of everything and everyone. The room I chose was my bedroom (this was not ideal, but my only choice at the time) and I spent most of my time in there at the time; he'd still mostly jam himself into dark corners but at least he had to look at me and listen to me. After a while I started letting him out around the house when I was home, and I kept an eye on him, but I'd put him back into my room with his food and box and safe places when I wasn't there.

I don't know if that works for all cats, but it worked wonders for him. It might work with your two, if you have a room that'd be okay for that.

(Stevie's now one of the most affectionate, loving cats I've ever known. He's still afraid of most people beside me, and he's 100% indoor kitty, but his recovery's kind of remarkable considering the state he was in when I adopted him.)

Date: 2011-05-07 07:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] opera142.livejournal.com
Yeah, they have the basement as their area. We go down there and hang out with them, talk to them and try to engage them in play. We also do non-cat stuff: laundry, bathroom, daily life there so that every trip down there doesn't seem aimed directly at them.

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