Cat adopted us, but won't let us get near

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planetman
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Cat adopted us, but won't let us get near

Post by planetman »

Hello,

My family had cats and I've had or lived around cats most of my life.

Recently, a not fully grown up cat showed up in the parking lot of my repair shop. It's not unusual to see cats around my shop as I've seen and occasionally fed what were obviously feral cats, but this one is different.

I had some chicken spread in the fridge and I left some out for him/her before I left that night and I didn't see the cat at all the next day.

That night after all the doors were closed, I was shutting off the lights when the cat ran past me into the back of the shop. The cat was already inside before I closed the doors. We don't have cats at the shop and we didn't want him/her inside for the night so we tried to usher the cat out of the large garage door. The cat didn't like us getting near so by just getting close he/she would move so it wasn't necessary to yell or make loud noises to scare the cat. And we noticed that the cat wasn't slinking around like a feral does, but was almost playing with us.

Every time the cat would run around us and avoided going out the open garage door. We're in Los Angeles county and it's not that cold outside. So after 3 tries, we gave up and I went out and bought a liter box and liter along with some proper cat food and left the cat locked in the shop. To our surprise, the cat used the liter box and was obviously eating the food.

It's been 3 weeks now and the cat does not display what I've seen as typical feral behavior as the cat will hang out nearby and has even come into the carpeted office area in the shop and has laid down, rolled around, stretched along with what I interpret as a happy tail wag just a few feet away from us. The cat found some items laying on the floor of our shop and it bats them around and plays with them. I bought a laser and the cat will usually chase it.

The cat will go outside during the day and sometimes comes back in before we close and sometimes we've seen the cat after we closed the doors and we've opened the door and it'll come inside. The last 2 days, the cat didn't show up before we left, but was sitting outside the door waiting for us in the morning.

However, the cat won't let us touch him/her. You can get close, sometimes walk within a foot or 2, but if you make a move towards him/her, it takes off.

A couple of days ago, I was tossing the cat some treats and decided to lay down on the floor and I stretched out 1 arm and wiggled my fingers. The cat approached eating some of the treats nearby and eventually came close enough to tap 1 of my fingers with a paw, but immediately ran away.

My brother's theory is someone mistreated the cat. I think the cat might be deaf or partially hearing impaired as I've been able to sneak up on him/her and it seems I startled him/her by the reaction to my proximity in comparison to when the cat can easily see us coming.

Anyone have any suggestions on how help the cat feel more at ease with us? The cat seems to like being around us and is playful, but only at a distance.
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Mollycat
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Re: Cat adopted us, but won't let us get near

Post by Mollycat »

Sure. Don't try too hard, relax - it's early days.

My Henry was just like that when he turned up and decided he was coming to live with us, but it still took a long time before he stopped being so skittish. And another visitor before him. In both cases the decision that we were ok and safe was sudden and permanent.

Try not to worry about an abused past, it puts you in a stressed or anxious state of mind, when you need a calm relaxed mind to win the cat over.
planetman
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Re: Cat adopted us, but won't let us get near

Post by planetman »

Okay, we'll be patient. How long did it take for Henry to settle in?

The 1 experience I can relate of a cat choosing someone and the cause of my confusion is that of an old friend named Brad. He and another friend were working at a record store back in the late 1970's when a stray cat came into their store and started rubbing on his leg and then jumped into his lap and started purring.

Figuring the cat belonged to someone nearby they made sure the cat was out of the store before they closed. But the cat kept returning even though Brad didn't feed it. They repeatedly put the cat out, but he would sneak back in when a customer opened the door.

Then both of my friends quit their jobs because they found out the manager was doing and selling cocaine out of the store.

Fearing the cat might be abused by the manager and because the cat at this point didn't seem to have a home as it was at the store well before they opened, Brad took the cat home and he, his future wife and their children had the pleasure of living with Captain for the next 15 years.
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Mollycat
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Re: Cat adopted us, but won't let us get near

Post by Mollycat »

I don't remember, it was in 2006, but it was weeks, possibly the whole summer.

My current cat Molly wasn't a walk-in she was deliberately adopted and it took her months to get half settled.

And yet same as your friends' cat all those years ago, some do just walk in and settle instantly as if they had lived here their whole life. I don't think it's a sign of past abuse, just difference of personality, confidence and the situation.
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