he only sees them and me Friday Saturday and sunday as he works and lives in Hertfordshire and I live in London.slightly worried!!!!!!!!
slightly worried!!!!!!!!
I adopted two rescue cats last august , they live with me I work full time but obviously feed them play with them and look after them all the time , they have gained confidence to a certain extent ,and have come along , but still very nervous if anyone comes through the garden which is a communal garden to the flats,they dash in the window looking very scared ,also not very friendly with my boyfriend which is upsetting to him and me he tries his best with them but they tend to run away ,I am a bit alarmed as he is looking after them for 3 days over easter ,any tips ???please he loves animals as I do and really one of them is his though they live with me, he only sees them and me Friday Saturday and sunday as he works and lives in Hertfordshire and I live in London.
he only sees them and me Friday Saturday and sunday as he works and lives in Hertfordshire and I live in London.-
Lilith
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Re: slightly worried!!!!!!!!
Ah. A friend of mine has an elderly widowed father who has a cat who avoids her, very pointedly.
As she is prepared to take the cat on in the event of her father being unable to, she often worries about how they will get on.
She got her answer a while back, when her father had to go into hospital for a few days. That cat was delighted to see her. Rubbed round her legs, made a big fuss. 'Cats,' I said, 'always know which side their bread's buttered on.' Lol! Could be that this is a good opportunity for yours to bond with your boyfriend, although some cats just are shy, and there's no doing anything about it.
I wouldn't worry too much about the shyness though, especially when they're out; there are some nasty people out there and although now I have a secure garden, I always preferred my cats to be wary of strangers when they did roam.
I do hope they get bolder with your boyfriend though - all he can do is feed them etc and talk to them nicely and maybe, just maybe, they will deign to notice him and realise this is a really nice guy who deserves a few purrs and headbutts. Do hope so
As she is prepared to take the cat on in the event of her father being unable to, she often worries about how they will get on.
She got her answer a while back, when her father had to go into hospital for a few days. That cat was delighted to see her. Rubbed round her legs, made a big fuss. 'Cats,' I said, 'always know which side their bread's buttered on.' Lol! Could be that this is a good opportunity for yours to bond with your boyfriend, although some cats just are shy, and there's no doing anything about it.
I wouldn't worry too much about the shyness though, especially when they're out; there are some nasty people out there and although now I have a secure garden, I always preferred my cats to be wary of strangers when they did roam.
I do hope they get bolder with your boyfriend though - all he can do is feed them etc and talk to them nicely and maybe, just maybe, they will deign to notice him and realise this is a really nice guy who deserves a few purrs and headbutts. Do hope so
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Mollysmummy
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Re: slightly worried!!!!!!!!
You don't mention how old the cats are, but I presume they've had previous owners? Perhaps they had a bad experience with a man. When I was growing up we adopted a mother cat and her kitten; the mother was terrified of my dad for at least a year, but with perseverance she came around.
Our oldest cat is also not as fond of my husband as she is of me, maybe he's a bit louder etc. I know you said he only sees them a few days a week, and maybe this is an issue for them. Maybe try leaving an old jumper out in your house so they get used to his scent in what they consider their territory. Also a feliway plug in might help ease their anxiety generally, we find it really works for our cats.
Our oldest cat is also not as fond of my husband as she is of me, maybe he's a bit louder etc. I know you said he only sees them a few days a week, and maybe this is an issue for them. Maybe try leaving an old jumper out in your house so they get used to his scent in what they consider their territory. Also a feliway plug in might help ease their anxiety generally, we find it really works for our cats.
Re: slightly worried!!!!!!!!
the cats are around 18months old and like I said where rescue cats they where found in a box with 6 kittens last august and taken in by celia Hammond rescue,we adopted the adults and the kittens where adopted too.Mollysmummy wrote:You don't mention how old the cats are, but I presume they've had previous owners? Perhaps they had a bad experience with a man. When I was growing up we adopted a mother cat and her kitten; the mother was terrified of my dad for at least a year, but with perseverance she came around.
Our oldest cat is also not as fond of my husband as she is of me, maybe he's a bit louder etc. I know you said he only sees them a few days a week, and maybe this is an issue for them. Maybe try leaving an old jumper out in your house so they get used to his scent in what they consider their territory. Also a feliway plug in might help ease their anxiety generally, we find it really works for our cats.
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Mollysmummy
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Re: slightly worried!!!!!!!!
Poor things. So they've probably had a pretty traumatic time. Placing your boyfriends scent in the house will help them get used to him. When he's there maybe get him to do all the feeding/litter changing etc so they know they can rely on him.
Feliway are really good for reducing stress and anxiety, our cats get much more skittish when it's running out.
Feliway are really good for reducing stress and anxiety, our cats get much more skittish when it's running out.
Re: slightly worried!!!!!!!!
where can I purchase these feliway things please I have heard of them ?? he does feed them when he is with us Friday Saturday and sunday and does clean out the litter tray and give them treats but one in particular mine actually ouzo just looks so scared its awful .Mollysmummy wrote:Poor things. So they've probably had a pretty traumatic time. Placing your boyfriends scent in the house will help them get used to him. When he's there maybe get him to do all the feeding/litter changing etc so they know they can rely on him.
Feliway are really good for reducing stress and anxiety, our cats get much more skittish when it's running out.
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Mollysmummy
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Re: slightly worried!!!!!!!!
You can get them cheapest on eBay or zooplus, but pets at home sell them too. You can get a spray too but I think that's more for travelling. We use one upstairs and one downstairs, it's really made a difference to our eldest Molly.
When we got her she was scared of literally everything. She wouldn't come near us for the first month or two. She still gets a bit scared of my husband but she's such a gentle little girl and he's a bit boisterous! You can also use Bachs flower remedies in their food which are completely natural flower extracts if you wanted to use a more holistic approach. We tried them with Molly but I'd be hard pressed to say they made a visible difference.
When we got her she was scared of literally everything. She wouldn't come near us for the first month or two. She still gets a bit scared of my husband but she's such a gentle little girl and he's a bit boisterous! You can also use Bachs flower remedies in their food which are completely natural flower extracts if you wanted to use a more holistic approach. We tried them with Molly but I'd be hard pressed to say they made a visible difference.