Caged Kitty

[JustAskJulie]

Last week I adopted a cat from a local shelter. They had rescued the cat from a woman who had been keeping this cat and about 20 others in cages where she was living in her booth at a local flea market. From the looks of it this cat (which is about 10 mos old) has spent her entire life in a cage.

Now that she's free she doesn't know how to deal with open spaces. I have been keeping her in my bathroom because when she's in open spaces she freaks out and hides. So in my bathroom she has her kennel and her litter box, food, lots of room (big bathroom) and everything she needs. The problem. Her favorite place to be is IN the litter box. She lays in the litter box unless she comes out to eat or play.

She has finally started opening up to me and will come out of the litter box if I first reach in and pet her long enough to get her purring. Once I stop she will eventually come out of the box to get more attention.

So what can I do to get her to stop living in the litter box? She has a kennel she can stay in for a small space and initially she did but now she prefers the litter box.

Any ideas would be helpful. I realize that with her background it's going to take time to get her to open up and move beyond the one room. Right now I'm just trying to get her used to me before I worry about trying to get her out into the rest of the house.