How can I make this cat like me? :)

I have informally referred to "my cat" in a few post, but she belongs
to friends who are out of the country for several months and have asked
us to care for her. If they had lived in another city or even part of
town I would have officially brought her to my home. But they live two
houses down with connected yards and the cat, being indoor-outdoor, has
always gone back and forth. That has made the transition very smooth
for her.

I tried to feed her at "her " house but I would seldom find her when I
went and didn't want to leave kibble. So with some effort, I have
taught her to come to me for food. This is working smoothly: she is
outside all day, comes to my house in the evening to eat and sleep (she
has slowly started spending the night in our living room), wakes me up
at 5AM to eat, and then she goes out. Great, except for 5AM.

The funny part is, she is very dry and business like.

If she is still hungry, she just looks at me like "more".

When she is satisfied, she walks past like I was transparent and goes
straight to her chosen couch in my living room.

When she shows up to wake me up at 5AM, there is no other interaction
besides "give me food and open the door".

She is ok to touch but won't let us pick her up for more than a second.

My friends had adopted her recently and told me she was very friendly.
Well, not to me in the sense I understand the term!

Maybe she is missing them...but...is there anything I can do to make
her like me?

Oh, and she doesn't drink water as far as I can see. I hope that's ok
because I am feeding her 100% canned diet.

Thanks for any thoughts!

On Oct 23, 5:04 am, RPSinha wrote:
When she is satisfied, she walks past like I was transparent and goes
straight to her chosen couch in my living room.

Uh.... yeah.

When she shows up to wake me up at 5AM, there is no other interaction
besides "give me food and open the door".

My Big Mama is the same way.
She has her breakfast, then she wants to go out to use the bathroom.
The nature of cats domestication is to keep a "buffer zone" between
human
and cat...they stay close, but not too close.

Read my post on domestication of the cat for further understanding:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.p...970309b1fb8dd7

Maybe she is missing them...but...is there anything I can do to make
her like me?

Be very gentle with her, pet her softly, whisper to her, play with
her,
brush her, protect her...and she will like you.
You have to be patient and build trust first...this can take time, but
you
are on your way.

Oh, and she doesn't drink water as far as I can see. I hope that's ok
because I am feeding her 100% canned diet.

Make sure she has clean fresh water and some kibble daily anyway.

studio wrote:

: Make sure she has clean fresh water and some kibble daily anyway.

She always has water, and she might even be taking a few sips, what I
meant was that I haven't seen her drink.

But why kibble? From all I have read, it is bad for cats and should be
avoided.

On Oct 23, 6:59 am, RPSinha wrote:
studio wrote:

: Make sure she has clean fresh water and some kibble daily anyway.

She always has water, and she might even be taking a few sips, what I
meant was that I haven't seen her drink.

But why kibble? From all I have read, it is bad for cats and should be
avoided.

You are very sweet to want affection from a cat. I dont think the
kibble is a good idea healthwise. But the other ideas people have
given are good ones. You must appeal to her pleasure centers of
course, selfish as cats are. Daily brushing with a rubber brush is
one good way. Play toys for the evening and catnip are other ways.
Plopping her on your lap at night while youre reading or watching tv
and then scratching her ears and neck are pretty good too. You also
could sing to her close up when she is trying to sleep while your
scratching her ears.

RPSinha writes:

I have informally referred to "my cat" in a few post, but she belongs
to friends who are out of the country for several months and have asked
us to care for her. If they had lived in another city or even part of
town I would have officially brought her to my home. But they live two
houses down with connected yards and the cat, being indoor-outdoor, has
always gone back and forth. That has made the transition very smooth
for her.

I tried to feed her at "her " house but I would seldom find her when I
went and didn't want to leave kibble. So with some effort, I have
taught her to come to me for food. This is working smoothly: she is
outside all day, comes to my house in the evening to eat and sleep (she
has slowly started spending the night in our living room), wakes me up
at 5AM to eat, and then she goes out. Great, except for 5AM.

The funny part is, she is very dry and business like.

I think that's about all you're going to get out of an outdoor cat.
She has a very interesting world outside. You're just an easy
source of food.

At least that's my experience.

honeybunch wrote:

: You are very sweet to want affection from a cat. I dont think the
: kibble is a good idea healthwise.

Everything I have read says to avoid kibble, except maybe rarely, just
to keep her used to accepting kibble for those times when she may have
to. I was thinking one meal every two weeks or so.

Another idea, thanks to a friend, was that bad as kibble is, it is
probably better but certainly no worse than "treats"! So if it is not
part of her regular diet, it could function as "treat" for her. Haven't
tried that yet.

: But the other ideas people have
: given are good ones. You must appeal to her pleasure centers of
: course, selfish as cats are. Daily brushing with a rubber brush is
: one good way. Play toys for the evening and catnip are other ways.
: Plopping her on your lap at night while youre reading or watching tv
: and then scratching her ears and neck are pretty good too. You also
: could sing to her close up when she is trying to sleep while your
: scratching her ears.

Thanks. I am also trying to see it from her view point. If she was
indoor only, she would want/need to play. However, she comes exhausted
after a whole day's of running around, wants to eat and falls sleep.
Then she does sleep soundly all night until 5AM.

So I should think in terms peaceful interactions while she is going to
sleep, or when she wakes up...

She would certainly be ok with me sitting next to her and interact
gently while she is going to sleep. In the morning she is more rushed
because she wants to eat and run out (maybe has to go to bathroom, I
don't know, but she has never used the litter-box we put here); I am
also barely sleepwalking at 5AM. So some lullaby and brushing in the
evening would seem to be the best start!

Thanks.

"RPSinha" wrote in message
...
honeybunch wrote:

: You are very sweet to want affection from a cat. I dont think the
: kibble is a good idea healthwise.

Everything I have read says to avoid kibble, except maybe rarely, just
to keep her used to accepting kibble for those times when she may have
to. I was thinking one meal every two weeks or so.

Another idea, thanks to a friend, was that bad as kibble is, it is
probably better but certainly no worse than "treats"! So if it is not
part of her regular diet, it could function as "treat" for her. Haven't
tried that yet.

I use the Purina Fancy Feast Gourmet Gold dry food as treats - the stuff is
like kitty crack, Ozzy has even leared how to open the can to get at them:
http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/Treats.mpg!

Hugs,

CatNipped


: But the other ideas people have
: given are good ones. You must appeal to her pleasure centers of
: course, selfish as cats are. Daily brushing with a rubber brush is
: one good way. Play toys for the evening and catnip are other ways.
: Plopping her on your lap at night while youre reading or watching tv
: and then scratching her ears and neck are pretty good too. You also
: could sing to her close up when she is trying to sleep while your
: scratching her ears.

Thanks. I am also trying to see it from her view point. If she was
indoor only, she would want/need to play. However, she comes exhausted
after a whole day's of running around, wants to eat and falls sleep.
Then she does sleep soundly all night until 5AM.

So I should think in terms peaceful interactions while she is going to
sleep, or when she wakes up...

She would certainly be ok with me sitting next to her and interact
gently while she is going to sleep. In the morning she is more rushed
because she wants to eat and run out (maybe has to go to bathroom, I
don't know, but she has never used the litter-box we put here); I am
also barely sleepwalking at 5AM. So some lullaby and brushing in the
evening would seem to be the best start!

Thanks.

On Oct 23, 6:59 am, RPSinha wrote:
But why kibble? From all I have read, it is bad for cats and should be
avoided.

That's news to me, I've never heard of such a thing.
It is true some types of kibble are like junk food, but
good types of kibble isn't bad for them...
some cats live (and thrive) on nothing but kibble.

Kibble has a certain amount of dietary fiber, introduces crude
forms of vegetables and vitamins into their diet that is beneficial
IMHO.
It also serves as something hard for them to chew on
and can help keep their teeth clean.

On Oct 23, 10:04 am, RPSinha wrote:
I have informally referred to "my cat" in a few post, but she belongs
to friends who are out of the country for several months and have asked
us to care for her. If they had lived in another city or even part of
town I would have officially brought her to my home. But they live two
houses down with connected yards and the cat, being indoor-outdoor, has
always gone back and forth. That has made the transition very smooth
for her.

I tried to feed her at "her " house but I would seldom find her when I
went and didn't want to leave kibble. So with some effort, I have
taught her to come to me for food. This is working smoothly: she is
outside all day, comes to my house in the evening to eat and sleep (she
has slowly started spending the night in our living room), wakes me up
at 5AM to eat, and then she goes out. Great, except for 5AM.

The funny part is, she is very dry and business like.

If she is still hungry, she just looks at me like "more".

When she is satisfied, she walks past like I was transparent and goes
straight to her chosen couch in my living room.

When she shows up to wake me up at 5AM, there is no other interaction
besides "give me food and open the door".

She is ok to touch but won't let us pick her up for more than a second.

My friends had adopted her recently and told me she was very friendly.
Well, not to me in the sense I understand the term!

Maybe she is missing them...but...is there anything I can do to make
her like me?

Oh, and she doesn't drink water as far as I can see. I hope that's ok
because I am feeding her 100% canned diet.

Thanks for any thoughts!

OOOOOH,
There is a chance that she isn't one of those kissy-kissy cats,
maybe you are lookin for too much from her.
Up to now you are just a place of food and shelter.
If its gonna come..... it'll come.
Male's are a lot easier, they are like putty in your hands as they are
programmed to enjoy,
whereas females are hardwired to "set a scene" for the best
reproductive wealth. If you get my drift.
Some are real lovey, but most have that home-maker/mother-protect
mechanism at full stretch.
Advice- dont take it personal........ its not.
She will get to like you.... but its on her terms.
Tim.

CatNipped wrote:

: I use the Purina Fancy Feast Gourmet Gold dry food as treats - the stuff is
: like kitty crack, Ozzy has even leared how to open the can to get at them:
: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/Treats.mpg!

Do you keep it refrigerated? I'd imagine a bag lasts much longer if
used as treat rather than food. Does Qzzy like it cold or room temp?