When we first fostered Katie, she stayed pressed against the far back of her crate, eyes wide and staring, not moving for hours at a time. We had her “safe space” set up in the kitchen, surrounded by an x-pen, so she could choose to come out of the crate into the wider world, but not resort to hiding under furniture or escaping from windows or doors. At first, she would only come out to eat and relieve herself at night, when the house was dark and silent.
Two things initially helped ease Katie out of her crate: cats and food. Our cats were wildly curious about who lived in the back of the crate, and grew bold enough to stick their paws in through the wire to help themselves to any kibble near her bowl. As the days passed, Katie inched closer and closer to the front of the crate to catch glimpses of the cats as they strutted by to swipe a piece of food before continuing on their way.
While the cats worked their magic by stopping and engaging Katie, we humans made a conscience effort to ignore her as she settled into her new surroundings. We studiously avoided interacting with her as we went about our daily lives, but every time we walked by, we would toss a treat into the crate without breaking stride.
Between her delight in the cats, and treats raining from above every time a human passed by, Katie began laying with her front paws draped over the front lip of the crate waiting for a cat or a human to materialize. Gradually, she would stretch out of the crate to retrieve a poorly thrown treat, and crane her neck as far as she could to touch noses with the cats through the x-pen. Two paws out of the crate, then three paws out of the crate, and finally she was standing on her own, waiting for the cats or a treat.
It was very slow progress, and some days there would be no apparent progress at all, but the cats and treats laid the ground work for Katie to grow in confidence and curiosity.
Photo: Katie just a few days after we got her, in August 2012. Note the “whale eyes” along with cringing posture and ears pinned back. All are signs of uncertainty and fearfulness.
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