Thanks for the advice. I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I've lived with cats for a long time but I guess I've been lucky and never had one lash out quite so much, even scared strays.
Today has been a bit better. I was using a pillow like you suggested, sugarcatmom, and that made me less nervous (which I'm sure wasn't helping her). She is eating and using the litterbox. I sat down with a book for about twenty minutes, on the other side of the room, and she was walking around and eventually walked right over my lap. She scared herself a bit, big bushy racoon tail, and then calmed down again. I stayed perfectly still and pretended to ignore her (even though my heart was racing since her sharp ends were so close). It wasn't at all affectionate--more like I was a piece of the furniture. But definitely a good step. She's retreated again, and I'm preparing myself for setbacks and discouragements as we go, but I'm hopeful.
Thanks very much for the link about play therapy, also.
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