Heidi

Heidi has been spayed and gotten all her shots, and wormed. She is all healed up and is gaining weight, and should be all ready to start her new life as a pampered house cat. ( ok,,,, a wild house cat)

She has been living in the back bedroom. Originally it was part of the old attached garage, but was up graded into a family room ( my space)  and a third bedroom.  Her bed room, is a nice room with central heat and air, but she is in there alone and I know she longs for kitty company. Especially the company of the two of her kittens that we couldn't bare to part with.

For a week I have been leaving the door open in the evening, so she could come out of her prison, if she chooses to. Unfortunately she won't come out. She will hide and look out the door, but she won't come out, into the house. The kittens go in and come back out, but she won't budge.

I thought that maybe if I left the door open all night she might come out, but with the chance of showers at any time, ( we never get any but there is a chance) I won't make my rescue English Setter Mica, stay outside all night. Mica is the other problem. No matter how hard I have tried, she wants to eat the cats. At the age of 13, she has a very high prey drive, and I can't seen to convince her that kitty's are our friends. I am afraid she must stay on the back porch. I do bring her into the house on a leash, but to keep the cats safe, I need to be right with her, so I can't go to bed with her loose in the house, and I do have to get up in the A.M. to go to work.

I have tried making a path of cat treats, but the kittens eat them faster than I can get them laid out, so that tactic has failed to entice Heidi out.

The bedroom door is open to the back porch landing, and I would like to let Mica have her own bedroom (Heidi's room) as soon as Heidi comes out of her room. She just doesn't seem to want to come out.

Does anyone else have an idea?

I suppose I could leave her door open, and vacuum her room, and maybe that would drive her out. ( she hates the noisy vacuum) , but I was really hoping we could do this calmly.

I am open to suggestions.

Maybe I just need to give her more time. I don't know.

I thought I would give a quick update on Heidi. She is still in her room. The door was open for several nights before this cold front came in, and I had to close it, so Micah could sleep inside. She just doesn't seem to care to come out. Today, I will be able to open it for most of the day as soon as it warms up outside.

I have been spending some time with her in the evening, just after sunset. That way it is sort of dark in her room, but there is still enough light to see her. She is very nocturnal. The kittens are happy to go with me, and we have been sitting on the floor playing with cat toys. Heidi, to my surprise has been joining in, a little bit. Last night, when Heidi was close, I rubbed my hand back and forth, on the carpet, in front of her. (Normally I never play with the cats with my hands, but use toys for play.) As I was sliding my hand back and forth, Heidi put her paw right on top of my hand. I was so surprised. She didn't keep her paw there long, but I was happy she seems to be considering a friendship.

I know she is a cat, and came from a domesticated animal, but there is something thrilling, about watching something so wild, begin to trust. It must feel a lot like, when a wild mustang begins to trust their human partner. I realize a mustang is a lot bigger, but I don't think, as individual animals, they are all that different. Wild is wild, and trust is trust.

Last night after the kittens, and I left Heidi's room she came out into the kitchen for a bit. She did the same thing tonight. When I go into her room the kittens follow me. They walk up to her, sort of sideways, then put their heads on the floor, and pull them selves along the floor, right to her. Then they roll onto their back and reach for her with their paws. Ok I am not going to roll around on the floor, but I do walk in and try to slowly slide to the floor, with my best cat impersonation, that I can muster. Then I stretch, again trying to mimic the cats, then look at my hands. No I am not going to lick my hands, but I will concentrate on one, turning it slowly, to see each side. That seems to put Heidi at ease. When I want to look at her, I close my eyes half way. She doesn't seem to get defensive, and tense if I do that. 

I think the language of cats must be as intricate, and subtle, as horse language. Heidi has been quickly coming to sniff me, which is a little scary. I am still not sure she won't bite me, but I hope not. She isn't really sure how to speak human either, but she does touch my hand slightly with her paw, before she withdraws. I guess, all I can do is keep trying to learn to talk cat, until Heidi gives up on me ever learning to do it correctly, and starts making me do her bidding, by speaking the cat equivalent to human.

You know Meow, rub, purrrrr, and I say "oh yes I'll get you a cat treat." cat1

How did she do last night being locked out of her safe room? Sounds like she's making really good progress at learning to come out into the rest of the house.