Adopted Cat, lots of hiding,

[TheaKitty]

Hi there,

After the loss my beloved 11 year old cat a few weeks ago, I decided that the best way to honor her was to adopt another cat. I miss her dearly, and I miss the company of a cat, and I know there are lots of cats without homes, so I went to the shelter and brought home a cat that I named Thea.

Thea was the result of a hoarding situation; at least that's what we were told. She had recently had kittens, and honestly, though she was primarily an indoor cat, it doesn't seem like she's had a lot of positive interactions with people. She was brought to the shelter with a few siblings, and the shelter staff told us that she was sweet, but, "didn't show well." When we met with Thea, it was clear that she didn't like being out and about, but she tolerated touch, and didn't run from us, so we assumed that while it would take a while for her to want to interact with us, she wasn't completely terrified.

We set her up in a room in our house - honoring the idea of establishing a base camp. As soon as she realized that she could hide, she did. She has explored, and she has used the litter box, but if we come in her room to provide food/water, it takes her about 24 hours to come out. I know about how long it take her to move around because I have two small cameras in the room; if we enter the room, not only is she terrified, but I tell by her movements when she finally does come out, that she is terrified that we are present in the room. She stays low to the ground, and basically, her movements are that of a soldier in battle... she seems terribly frightened.

To try and get her acclimated a bit, my partner and I slept in the room. Apparently this was a bad idea. After we slept in the room for a night, she didn't move for about 48 hours. The last time I even attempted to touch her, and that's only happened once - up until then, I've followed the rules of trying to ignore her - she hissed at me, and she's definitely been coming out from under the furniture less frequently.

Tonight and tomorrow, I am going to try to block off all of the spaces where she hides. Though, her favorite hiding spot is under the bed, and I don't know if I can block off that space. I don't even know if it's a great idea... but, I don't want her to be a cat doesn't ever get to interact with us because she's scared. And I don't want to pull her out from her hiding spaces. Essentially, I am looking for advice about what I should do, long term, to help her gain confidence. I am fine with waiting quite a long time for her to find or gain her confidence, but in the meantime, I want to make sure that I am not doing the wrong thing, re: I don't want her to have so little contact with people that she only finds solace in isolation.

Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading this long post.

-M

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome

Congrats on getting Thea and good on you for tackling a more difficult cat. Thea's had a rough and confusing time up till now by the sound and she will need time to realise that she's in a kind forever home at last.

Hiding is very very common when a cat has to make a change of surroundings anyway. When I moved to my present house I had a timid elderly cat who hid behind the sofa all the first week. She'd known me all her life, come here with furniture she knew, other cats, dog ... still she hid. One of my present cats had to be hospitalised and then isolated at home for some weeks recently ... at first she wouldn't come out at all and she STILL clings to that room even though she's lived here from kittenhood.

Cats seem to fall into two categories in a new environment - the ones that want to know all about it and explore, and the ones who find a safe place, from which to weigh up the situation. When I bred cats I always advised the new owners of a kitten to make sure the kitten had somewhere to hide ... they didn't stay there long by all accounts lol.

Personally, unless any space is unsafe for Thea, I would let her hide. The more time and space you give her to feel safe, the sooner she'll come to terms with her new life and realise its benefits. I know it's very frustrating, but she needs to be allowed to feel safe, and this is her way of doing things. Go into the room as normal, talk to her and say her name in a low voice, even sit for five minutes and talk to her, but, basically, love her and leave her alone for the present until she feels safe to come out and make contact. You both have your lives together ahead of you; there's no hurry.

Well of course this is just my personal view and what works for me, but that's what I'd do.

I do hope she comes round soon, and hopefully there will be other people on here with further advice, but hope this helps for now; please keep in touch and let us know how Thea goes on, all the very best with her

[booktigger]

Good on you for taking a cat like this, its so rewarding. I wouldn't take her hiding places away, she needs the security. I tend to go and spend an hour reading out loud to them, spend as much time as you can in there just doing things and ignoring her, then she'll get used to you not being threatening m

[TheaKitty]

Thank you so much for your replies.

Judging by what I’ve seen on the cameras, I think you’re right. She was pretty active last night, and I can tell there is part of her that is feeling slightly less fearful, but I can also tell that it’s going to take lots and lots of time.

I think I’ll probabmy block off the areas that are under the dresser, and wardrobe, but I’ll leave the under-the-bed area as a safe space.

As a follow up, in the coming weeks, I do need to take her to the vet for her distemper shots, but I know that there’s no way that she’ll leave the bed area on her own. Any ideas for getting her there that aren’t completely traumatizing?

I’m very patient, but I know she likely needs those follow up shots... that said, the thought of starting this process over is a lot to think about it!

Again, thanks so much for giving this some thought. It is much appreciated!

-Max

[alanc]

Just a suggestion, but have you tried an Igloo type bed, placed in a quiet corner upstairs? When I got Misty as a 9yr old rescue cat many years ago, he spent about 2 -3 months hiding in one, only venturing out to go to the litter tray (food and water were provided at the mouth of the igloo). He was accessible for making a fuss of. He became a very affectionate cat when he finally got his confidence back, after which he slept on top of the igloo, not inside it!

[TheaKitty]

Hi again,

I haven’t tried anything like an igloo bed, but, she does have what I refer to as a cat mailbox - it’s essentially a little carpeted mailbox. I can see that she loves that, but more than anything, she is comforted by knowing that she can run under the bed whenever she likes. I’ve still never seen her out and about in the room when I’m in there, but I can tell from that cameras that she comes right out when I leave the room, which I think means that she’s building confidence, and I’m slowly gaining her trust.

Thanks everyone for your advice - I think that leaving her bed and never making contact is definitely the right move. I talk sweetly to her when I enter and leave, and sometimes I’ll stay in the room for a few minutes. But I’m mostly letting her explore and have a good time. I’m not sure if we can post videos here, but if we can, I’ll have to post a video of what I refer to as her night Time shenanigans. She actually knocked one of the cameras over last night!

I’ve made sure to provide plenty of toys and plenty of scratching posts, and she is having a great time!

Thank you again!

-M

[booktigger]

I think you have the right idea, but I would spend more time in the room with her, it's the only way she will get used to your prescence.

Another thing I do when socialising cats is knocking on the door before I enter. I'd also drop a dreamie or other treat on the floor everytime you leave, then she associates you with food, then when she gets a bit braver, you can start getting her to take it from your hand