I'm not sure how to get her inside, but the with-holding of food all nite is a great idea. Cats can go 24 hours without food, if necessary. I too stop feeding mine in the evening, so that they'll be (hopefully) grateful for what they get in the morning.

Just a thought, but how about making the garage area unpleasant for her so she wants to come in. Noise. We had all ferals when we moved to our home in 2005. 14 of them. It took a lot of work, we used our basement for their food, beds, boxes etc. We had 2 that would not allow us eye contact or touching. About 5 years ago one of them, Ozzie finally started to come around. She started to look at me, let me look at her etc. but it has only been in the past 6 -12 months that I have been able to actually touch her. She is finally what we would call her socialized. She will even come into the living room now in the evenings when we are watching tv. I think the sooner you can get a handle on her, the better for all involved.

If you go into the old portion where little bit is, will she socialize with you? Will she allow you to get close to her?

I'm wondering if you do the same thing as you did before to gain her trust, but perhaps do it the opposite way - by moving your stool closer to the new addition slowly, she might follow you. She might recognize the method of building trust that you used before.

Does she have a favourite box or chair or pillow that she likes to sleep in? Perhaps use that as well. Put it in the old part of the house and then slowly move it into the addition.

The litter box is in the garage and the food bowls are in the house.

"Just a thought, but how about making the garage area unpleasant for her ..."

I wouldn't do that. In fact, that's a horrible idea if the litter boxes are going to remain in the garage. The last thing you want to do is make her afraid to go into the garage because when she needs to use the litter box, it needs to be in a place where she feels safe. Even if the litter boxes are eventually moved into the house, she needs to feel safe using them as long as they are in the garage.

I agree with your friend, Donna, that not leaving food out overnight will help to convince Little Bit that it's ok to go into the "new house" to eat. She may rush out into the garage as soon as she's done eating, but bit by bit she will become more adventurous and wander around the new living quarters. It may take some time -- don't expect "miracles" in just a few days. Be patient and loving with Little Bit and she'll adapt.

Is there a throw rug or something like that with the scent of the addition on it? Can you bring that into the house for her and don't launder it at all to keep the scent on it. What does she like about the addition? High window sills? Can you set up whatever it is she prefers in the main house?

Blfenton, before we moved into the house, the mealtime
routine was that I would sit on a stool near the food container and announce
that it was breakfast time. Three of the cats would gather round me and rub
against my legs and get their dose of loving.
A few months ago, Little Bit joined in (I told her that a little bit of
love was required before I dished up breakfast). She would actually push the others away and
push under my hand, alternating between letting me rub her head and giving me
tiny love bites, never hurting me. Once breakfast was delivered, that was the
end of her giving me love. However,
lately she has been jumping up onto our bed to say good morning to me with the
same behavior as at breakfast. But then
Mouse, the baby, starts to play with her and they are gone. Other than mealtime and first thing in the
morning, she has nothing to do with me and runs anytime I get close to her,
even if I am only walking past her, not even trying to pet her. I only held her once, and that was the day I
picked her up and brought her inside the house.
I got only a couple of tiny scratches on my chest, but I don't want to
try that again just yet. She sleeps in a
variety of places, so I don't think it would make a difference if I moved one
of those things into the house. But I
might try moving her food closer to the house in stages and sitting with her
while she eats. Thanks for that idea.

And Lindsey, the litter box is only in the garage now as
part of our move closer to the house.
But if I bring the boys in, I will also bring in the litter box and put
another in the garage until she makes her way inside. I think you're right about the garage needing
to be seen as a safe place. It's the
place of transition and I need her not to be afraid of that space.

We've already brought several of the cat beds, blankies and scratching posts into the house. That should be plenty of "smelly" things for her. I just have to get her in so I can close the door and I think she'll be fine. When I first brought her into the addition, she climbed and descended the screen door and then disappeared for two days. I expect she'll hide for a while once she is in the house, too.

I remember when you rescued that little guy last October and I'm so glad to hear he's doing so well.

Personally, unless there is some urgency to bring her in, I would let her be and let her work her way into the house on her own terms. There's no harm in using the stool to sit with her again and let her know you're there, but it hasn't been too terribly long since you've started to domesticate her. Maybe she's just not ready for a change. By forcing the issue you risk breaking the bridge that you've already managed to build. She may surprise you one day and there's a chance that she won't , but if she's safe and content, isn't that what really matters?

Back in the early 90's we had a litter of kittens. From the minute she was born my precious Maui who died at 19, was super skittish and feral acting. She wouldn't let people handle her and would basically live under the bed when there was activity in the house. I ended up keeping her because I feared she wouldn't find a family that would accept her odd behaviors. Through the years, I just let her be and let her slowly work her way to me. It took a good eight to ten years but once she blossomed she really blossomed. Once she did, she was the most affectionate loving girl. I think you should just hang back and give her time sometimes that's all they need.

Lukkirish, I can give her some time, but that garage door is going to have to close eventually. The garage is horridly hot in the summertime and cold in the wintertime and it won't make sense to try and either cool or heat it (ineffective, and a big and expensive waste of gas/electricity).

I hear ya, yes very expensive and wasteful, I guess that would be the urgency then. :c)

As an afterthought, we transported our cats across country in a large dog house sized kennel, you know the ones for a Great Dane or St. Bernard, and the cats really liked it in there. So much so they continued to use it when we got settled in our new place. During our travel time, it was big enough to hold a small litter box as well as their food and them with room to spare.. I wonder if it would fall for something like that, put a small box and its food in there to entice it. If so, maybe you could even house it in there for a couple of days while it adjusts.

Lukki, that's exactly what the cat rescue organization uses for their feral cats. It's a large enough cage that their carrier, litterbox and food is in there, and that's their home. It's cute, when the ferals first go in the cage, they turn the carrier to the back so that the cats don't have to look at the people, and be scared. Over time, they know that they won't be harmed, then they become more comfortable. The carrier gets turned to the front, and all is well, till they find new homes.

Oh wow!. Well there you go!. I know cats in general feel safe in small spaces, which is why they like boxes so much.. (I can't keep mine out of them!) LOL

Lukki, our cats love boxes too, and the carrier. We leave it in the corner beside the sofa with the door open. Bud or Roxie are always in it.

Tell me about boxes...lol. Months ago I returned from Aldis where you pack your own groceries. I put two cardboard fruit boxes on my kitchen island when when I was finished and looked around, two of them had taken up residence in them, and they remain there alternating between the three cats. I put a towel in each for comfort. Let's just say they don't add to the decor of the room and knock down my space on the island. There are many cat and dogs beds everywhere on the floor.

We have a 3-foot tunnel for the kitties in the hallway. Mouse will gallop from the kitchen, down the hall, through the tunnel, into the back bedroom, then turn around and come back down the hall, through the tunnel and into the living room and leap into one of the empty boxes that is always available to them. Best toys ever.

I love Mouse, Donna!!!! What a riot.

And how's this?? I put a t-shirt around the opening of a box, and laid it on it's side. A cubby-hole, hideaway for them.

BRILLIANT!

I agree.....BRILLIANT! Jasdip! The t-shirt idea rocks!

DH would give up his entire wardrobe to make a kitty happy. Mouse still climbs onto Daddy's lap every evening, snuggles in, takes a teensy bit of his shirt and "nurses". DH feels very special indeed.

Ooooh that is too funny!. We should all put shirt boxes out and take pictures to post. What a hilarious thread that would be!!!!

Problem solved! Last night I went to the garage to do a load of laundry, which put me between Little Bit and the door to the addition. She fled toward the opposite wall. I quickly closed the door to the addition. Back in the house, DH and I watched some tv. Occasionally, I saw her climb the two steps to the kitchen and poke her head in. I spoke softly to her, urging her to come in, but no go. I planned on leaving the kitchen door open all night. Bedtime came and I told DH I'd join him soon. I still had to strain my kefir and set up the next batch. I was facing the sink, the kitchen door at my back while I worked. I turned around and she was just staring at me with those big beautiful golden eyes. I decided to just ignore her. Sure enough, she walked behind me to the food bowl, about four feet to my left. I stepped backward and tapped the door with my foot and closed it. Of course, she disappeared, but she is in the house! The other cats happened to be in the addition at the time, so I went and delivered each of them into the house. We didn't find Little Bit until late this morning, sleeping peacefully in the master bathroom in the tub. Not interested in coming out just yet, but I don't think that will be a problem. She'll get hungry eventually. Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions!

That is great! Safe and sound in the house!

oh I'm so glad. Nice to have the whole family together.

Great news Donna!!! With you ignoring her when she was in the kitchen was perfect. Definitely the right thing to do. She'll come around in no time, and be a loving member of the family, I can just see it!

I was wondering if she saw the others use the litter, and she at least knows where that is.

Jasdip, while we were trying to get her into the house, the litter box was in the garage. Once she and the rest of the gang were in the house, DH moved it to the kitchen for the night. There really is no "perfect" place for a litterbox, but we've decided on the master bath, which is where he moved it to the next morning. But he didn't think to look in the tub at that time, or he would have seen that she had settled there. She's already found it, LOL.

Actually, DH wants to turn the master bath into the "cat house", LOL. I told him that people will think we're the "old cat people", to which he replied, "Well, we pretty much are".

Hahaha, I love your hubby's attitude!!!

I think that's just adorable that she likes the bathtub.

I told him that people will think we're the "old cat people", to which he replied, "Well, we pretty much are".

LOL And this is why we only have 2 cats and not three.

What a delightful thread! How I wish I could have another cat. If I weren't alone and still had 20/20 vision...I'd be out adopting today. I love the T-shirt box and I always love your cats Jasdip....as well as all the delightful tales.

My first cat was like Little Bit and continued to mystify me until I discovered...quite by accident...that he was deaf...and had been since birth. He was so good at disguising it that it took a major investigation with the aid of my dedicated vet to finally discover it. By that time, I'd had him almost two years. But...during his upbringing...I also had a mineature poodle who just adored the cat. I have a sneaky suspicion that he covered up for the cat on occasion. :-)

So glad Little Bit has joined the family.