Hello, I'm cat sitting for my neighbor's four cats while they're on vacation for a couple weeks. I go over twice a day to feed them, refill water, clean litter, and keep them company for a while.
They're all indoor cats, hree of them are very friendly and have no problem with me, but the fourth constantly runs away from me despite the owners describing her as friendly.
Species: Cat
Age: I don't know her exact age, but she's younger than the other cats, owner described her as "just out of kittenhood"
Sex/Neuter status: Female, unsure
Breed: Short-hair tabby
Body weight: Unknown
History: Unknown
Clinical signs: Hiding, not eating
Duration: 3 days hiding and not finishing food, 1 day not eating at all
At first she would come out for food but immediately run away under the bed after having about half of it. Her owners said they weren't worried as long as she was eating something.
But last night I was trying to get a picture of her to send the owners and I'm worried I wasn't careful enough approaching her and just scared her more.
Now she's not coming out for food at all. I placed some food at the edge of under the bed for her when she didn't come out. I waited about an hour but felt like me being in the room was just making her more scared, so I left, but since there are other cats in the house, even if the food is eaten I have no way of telling which cat eats the food.
Since she never leaves from under the bed when I'm there, I can't be sure if she's drinking water or using the litter either, I can only hope she's coming out when I'm not there.
I've been spending some time each visit sitting in a corner of the room reading out loud hoping she would get used to my presence that way (making sure to be away from the door so she can easily leave), it's what I did when I first got my cat and he was scared of me and it worked pretty well for him, but it's been a few days and she hasn't even peaked out from under the bed, and I'm worried any progress has been ruined by me trying to get her picture.
Should I continue what I've been doing, or would it be better to leave the room alone completely? Is there a way to make sure she's eating when I'm not there?
If things are the same when I go tonight, I'll text the owners the situation (The only reason I haven't already is I don't want to make a big deal out of it if it was a one-off) and unless I get advice otherwise I'll call the vet if it's the same tomorrow morning. (I have blanket permission from the owners to call the vet and they have their names and card info on file if anything happens.)