Thank you all for your amazing advice and encouraging words! I know that I really don’t want to take her back from the bottom of my heart. I would not be able to bring myself to take her back to the shelter when we have already brought her to a new home. It makes me feel a lot better hearing from other people’s similar experiences and how eventually in the long run their cats were able to feel more at home. And I have also heard that earning the trust of these kinds of cats can be the most rewarding ones as well.

My concern was not only for my happiness, but for hers as well. I didn’t know if we were doing this to make her more scared or things that were just doing her more harm than good in the sense of feeling comfortable and not threatened. Or maybe that we couldn’t understand her enough to take care of her the right way. We want a good home for her just as much as we want a pet to make our house feel a home!

I definitely have thrown out the expectation for her to become a cuddly and super social cat already. I just want her to feel comfortable enough to roam around the house around us and maybe come up to us for some pets every so often, and not hiss at just us sitting next to her. I will watch the YouTube videos mentioned and try some of the things you guys suggested. Wish me luck!