Tulip

Question
I have an eight year old cat, Tulip, that I adopted from a shelter. She was at
the shelter for five years in a large room with other cats.  Previous to that she
had belonged to an elderly woman who had passed away.  I have had Tulip for
almost six months now.  She has become accustomed to our seven other cats
just fine, but she won't have anything to do with the rest of our family.  She
hides most of the time.  When we do get to see her, if we approach her she
runs away immediately.  When we adopted her we did not change her name
because we felt she was used to it.  We call her by name but she will not
come.  I would like to be able to hold her and pay some attention to her,
especially so I can keep tabs on her health.  How can I socialize her with our
family, especially me?

Answer
Hi Barb,

She sounds like she has reverted back to more of a semi feral cat. To resocialize her again will take time and patience. Here's one good link for info on the subject; http://www.aspenpet.com/articleDetail.cfm?article=20

When you start your socialization you will need to have her in a room by herself. Don't traumatize her by catching her to put her in a room. You will need to get the others out. Find a really good treat that she likes. Deli chicken works great. Drop it near where she is. Talk to her quietly. As she gets used to you , move the treat closer to you. Eventually she should be taking it right next to you. You can then try to pet her. If she is accepting after a while try to tempt her to take the treat from your lap. She may not be a lap cat. If she isn't she will at least come to you for some loving.

You should be the only one to do this first. One on one contact is the best. Since she was someone's close pet she should become close again. She is just very leery right now. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen