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Q.: I have 2 new kittens--brother and sister. I got them through a rescue league where they were there for 4 months. Whatever happened to them before that was very rough.
My question is, how long will it take for them to get used to us and can I do anything special to reassure them that we are not going to hurt them. I have only had them a week and a half and at times I think we are making progress and then sometimes I'm not sure. They want come to us, but they don't hide from us.
I'm not sure what I should do. I have had many cats in my time, but never strays like these ones and I want to make them secure with us.
By the way, they love our dog. Will go up to her, rub noses, etc.
A.: It may take a couple of months before they find out that you're actually quite nice ;-))
But I think it's a good sign that they've become so attached to your dog. I think that eventually they will notice (cats are rather intelligent, you know) that the dog loves you and feels secure with you, and put two and two together.
Apart from that, try to notice if there are certain situations, where they feel more secure with you than in others, and start there.
I had a rescue cat a bit like that (you can see him and read a bit about him under "Who Is Blue & White" on this site).
He lived under the couch for at least a month and only came out to visit the litter box (mostly at night) and to eat. It was only when he ate I was allowed to touch him, but slowly he found out that actually no harm was done to him and gradually I could handle him in more and more situations. I'm sure he had had a rather rough life before he was brought to the cat rescue.
Also, try not to worry, take one day at a time and be happy about every tiny little piece of progress. This is because worry and stress in humans is easily detected by cats, whereas if, on the other hand, you can manage to radiate reassurance and calm, I'm sure the cats will attach quicker to you.
So the gist of it is: it's going to take some time (and patience), but sooner or later, you'll succeed!
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