New Cat is Too Scared to Explore

[lolagrace]

We adopted a rescue cat about three months ago and she turned out to be super curious/loving. She immediately wanted to hang out with us, sleep in our bed, and let us pick her up and play with her within the first day of us adopting her and we've bonded with her very quickly. Absolutely the sweetest thing and she came from a home with another cat, but her past family gave her to us when they got a new, large dog that scared her and she began peeing outside of the litter box.

We happened to come across another cat a little over a week ago that we brought into our house that is much more timid. She came from a family with a dog that she was good friends with, but they moved and left her behind. We got her from a shelter and they reported that she would frequently roam around the shelter "after hours" and had no issues with the presence of other cats in the area or if other cats were let out of cages as well, which gave me hope she might adjust well to our current cat. However, it's been really difficult for us to try and acclimate her to our current cat with any of the methods of feeding proximity or exploring one another's territory that I've come across online. We were concerned about her initial sanctuary space being too small so we made her a space in our basement, which I'm worried has created a power differential in feeding time since she's on the steps leading up to our main floor. We can't get her to eat any food if we place it anywhere near our other cat's feeding station or on any step -- she'll leave it and refuse to eat it. Would it be worthwhile to try and move her to another room in the house so that we can try to get them to feed side by side with the door separating them on the same level? I worry about moving her out of her original sanctuary space.

[booktigger]

You need to give your new cat more time, integrating cats takes months, not days. You have a timid cat who's had a lot of upheaval in her life (you don't say how old she is), so she needs time to adapt to at least her third situation before she has to deal with another cat, and definitely don't move her to another room yet, it sounds like this is the second 'safe space' you've given her in just over a week, which will also make her unsettled.

[Mollycat]

One week is nothing for a nervous cat, it can take months even if there isn't already a resident cat.

Be calm and patient and gentle, keep routine and consistency, let her become familiar with the noises and smells of the house and figure out for herself that she is safe. She will grow more confident in her safe place, and then the next small step once she feels comfortable and confident in her safe place.