Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

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Smokeyblue
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Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Smokeyblue »

Hi All,

We are new here! Had cats before but all from kittens, this time we decided to get one which was being rehomed. We absolute love him, picked him up yesterday (2hr 30min drive), then settled him down in a safe room, as suggested online. He came out of his carrier in around 15mins but then hid between his litter tray and the fridge all night. We made sure he could see his food, water, cat milk, treats, old blanket that came with him and new toys. We also got down to talk to him several times before leaving him be for the night. We even got a takeaway so the noise of cooking in the kitchen didn't frighten him!!

This morning, I walk in the kitchen to find him on the windowsill, which is fine. I Potter about and talk to him (he is scared of the moving tap!), he jumped down and hid in a new place (under the wine rack), I sat on the floor with him a while, during this time he pops out, sniffs and explores then goes back. He did meow at me which according to his old owners means he wants to go out but we aren't letting him outside yet. Anyway, we left the kitchen door to the dining room open and he came out and explored the dining room (very quickly) then darted under a wooden cabinet. He has been there all day since.

I know hiding is normal, he is watching us etc. My main concern is that I can't tell if he has eaten/drank anything. He certainly hasn't eaten/drank alot. He also has a scratch on his eye (kittens from old family done it a day before we picked him up), which will need to be cleaned. Online is says not to pick them up etc until they let you, but people on here say different?

General advice needed on feeding and handling please. Thank you!
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Mollycat
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Mollycat »

Good on you for taking him on. Look forward to hearing all about his story and following how he settles and his personality emerges.

Heck yes this is pretty normal, or well within normal range. My timid rescue girl Molly only emerged from under the bed at night and probably when I was out for the whole first week, and continued to bolt under the bed at the slightest thing for several years. I think around 4-5 years, and she is now 13 years old and been with me for 7 years. There are some worse than her, most are better. At the other end of the scale you can get cats who walk in, have a sniff around and settle within a few days, but at this stage I would take this as very normal and not worry about him eating for a day or two or even using the tray - they can hold on for a day or two in stressful situations.

I know it's the way things are recommended these days but I'm old school and have never confined a cat on arrival (well confined indoors but not in part of the house) and let them hide where they feel safest and come out when they are ready. The room we pick may not be the room they choose. Then if the cat picks a different room that's fine I work with that. I don't move their things much either, unless they are ill. In my experience cats will go searching for something that feels like a suitable place for the toilet and find their litter trays, kitten or adult, and if all doors are left open they will do their exploring while we sleep and find everything they need including the best possible hidey hole.

Oh and as for picking up, I can name at least 5 cats on this forum plus my own who are strictly non-handling. Some for the human's safety, others because of the hard work building trust that would be destroyed in minutes. Give your lad time before gently testing one small gentle step at a time what he can allow so early on, and if the scratch really has to be treated urgently then maybe get it done in an early vet visit and work on being forgiven after. Molly was treated for an illness last year that is usually managed on daily tablets, fortunately we were able to go for a radical one-off curative option otherwise she would have gone untreated until it was time to let her go.
Smokeyblue
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Smokeyblue »

Thank you! We can't wait to get to know him properly! He is only 14months old, bless him.

The fact he came out and exploring within the 1st day is a good sign. When we get down to see him, he let's us tickle him slightly but he is in a hard to reach spot! Yeah he hasn't used the litter tray from what I can see...

We are still in touch with his previous owner and apparently he loves tuna, so will be putting that out at his normal time of 9am tomorrow.

Regarding the eye, the previous owner said clean it with plain water as its weeping a bit, so will be trying that in the morning. I also have a night camera, we are going to set up to see what he gets up too!
Smokeyblue
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Smokeyblue »

Update: :!:

Our chunky blue came out about 10mins after we went to bed (I had a night camera in the room facing his food.) He has eaten all of his wet food, drank and ate some biscuits.

He didn't go back in hiding when we got up, was sitting on the dining room chairs all snug. He also let me clean his eye for a bit, then backed away so I stopped. Will try again later...
He has now gone back to one of his other hiding spots, by the fridge!

.... but its progress!!
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Mollycat
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Mollycat »

Great progress indeed, please keep us updated and pics are always welcome!

What's his story, how much do you know about him? Nice that his previous people are willing to keep in touch at the moment.
Smokeyblue
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Smokeyblue »

:D thank you. Will try to figure out how to post photos.

He has been out most of the day, sitting on dining chair under the table, but we have been out most of the day. Not eaten though...but has pood!

He has let all of us pet him under the table, let me clean his eye, even started purring! Then our mum was petting him, he turned over as he likes his belly rub, she took it one step to far and tried to pick him up. He let her but obvious he was uncomfortable so put him down.

My main concern now, is his eye. Previous owner said it was a scratch and to Bath it with water& cotton bud. Which I've been doing a removed the gunk but he still struggling to open it fully
Any suggestions? Without taking him to the vets just yet...
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Kay
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Kay »

perhaps you could take a few photos for your vet to look at?
Smokeyblue
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Smokeyblue »

oh good idea, was planning to go down tomorrow/weds to register him.

Thank you.
Smokeyblue
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Smokeyblue »

Hey!

I can't seem to upload a photo, they are saying the files are too big! Any suggestions?
Lisa-D
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by Lisa-D »

Smokeyblue wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 1:08 pm Hey!

I can't seem to upload a photo, they are saying the files are too big! Any suggestions?
Sorry to hear you're having trouble uploading photos. It sounds like you might need to resize the photo so that you can post it on the forum. You can find more information about this here: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=227
jjessj18
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Re: Hiding & not eating. Normal for 2nd day in New home

Post by jjessj18 »

Good on you for taking him on
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