Adopting a cat - Locking it in a bathroom?!?

[Sleepy]

Hes in the bathroom that only the kids use, and right now, there not using it. Hes in there alone, no one is going in and out other than me to just say a quick "HI!" and thats it. We have one of those strings on a stick (yeah $7 for that!!! ) so I'll bring it in next time and see what he thinks.
I have to say, though, the bathroom is disgusting now!! Hes freeking out, so hes shedding a lot, and its all over the place! Nothing a mop and broom can't clean up, but its less the pleasant to go in there and visit him! HAHAHA I can't wait till he "adjusts" and can just chill in the living room with us!

Then instead of the hair being all over the bathroom floor, it will be all over the couch cushions . I give the string on a stick a few hours. That is how long ours lasted with our new kitty. She chewed the fish right off the string and ran with it!

 

[MushyMushy]

Poor kitty! I'm sure he'll adjust, though.

I'd never heard of locking a cat in a bathroom specifically, but we were always told to keep it in a spare room. I had one cat hide on us for over a week, I don't think she ate much, if at all, in that time. We were so worried about her! When she did finally come out, she was all friendly like nothing had ever been wrong.

 

[npmommie]

Hes in there alone, no one is going in and out other than me to just say a quick "HI!" and thats it.

well you really should be going in more than a quick hi, spend time with him, sit with him for a few, the kids too, everyone, not just you. not all at once, take turns, the cat needs to get used to the family as well as his new surroundings too. he needs to learn he can trust you all.
don't just leave him in there all alone all day with no human contact. he will come around.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Oh that was pretty fun...... I went in there with him, and, I know you guys said not to take him out of his little space, but I did just to show him his new bed (a yellow towel), and he did really well. He actually ate some hard and some soft food!!!! He didn't come over to be pet, but when I did pet him, he nudged him head into me, so that was great. Hes trying to get out of the room, but I'm not letting him of course. I'll try letting him out in a few days, depending.....

 

[Kath2003]

Pirate never wanted to stay in his room from the second we got him but he stayed in there - partly to accustom him to his surroundings but partly because we also had another cat and wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get totally beaten to death by him!

Kitty will be fine by the end of the week. They almost always are.

 

[Sleepy]

He has demonstrated he likes human contact. Again, my 2 cents.......When you are ready to go to bed tonight, open the bathroom door (leaving litter, food, etc there) and head for your bedroom. Allow him time to explore the house alone. He will be fine.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

He has demonstrated he likes human contact. Again, my 2 cents.......When you are ready to go to bed tonight, open the bathroom door (leaving litter, food, etc there) and head for your bedroom. Allow him time to explore the house alone. He will be fine.

No way Jose!!!!

As much as I would LOVE to be able to do that, I just don't think it would be wise to try just yet. In a few days, sure, but not yet!!!

 

[Cool-Beans]

I never knew about locking them up in bathrooms. I locked her in the basement with her babies, but she'd come and scratch at the door when she'd had enough of them. "Give me what I want when I want it or I'll ruin your crap" is her motto.

Maybe I'd have a better kitty if I'd locked her up in a bathroom.

Think it's too late a year later?

Good luck. I'm sure it'll work out fine.

 

[Quacktatty]

Wow...this thread is making me realize how lucky I have been. I got two in December and they were both eating and sleeping next to me within a couple of hours. I got one two weeks ago and he spent a couple days in a room locked away from the other cat, but has now completely adjusted and never hid. Good luck OP.

 

[VMK_MagicalLadee]

We put my new cat in the bathroom yesterday,a nd in the morning, my mom let it out into our house.

We've been looking for it for the past 8 hours.

Is she just scared? Will she come out?

Sorry for hijacking the thread, the story was just so similar

 

[laurie31]

My guess is yes, the cat is scared, and yes, the cat will come out eventually. I would just make sure it doesn't escape to the outdoors and wait for it to resurface. Then try again with the "seculsion" until it settles in some more.

And OP - I would NOT take the cat out before at least three days are up! It sounds like you've made progress already, though. I have a good feeling you will have a happy kitty very soon!

 

[browneyes106]

I have done the bathroom method in the past with cats. But I only put them in the bathroom for 2-3 days.

 

[Planogirl]

Not every cat needs this but some certainly do. It sounds like things are going the way they should.

 

[Sleepy]

We put my new cat in the bathroom yesterday,a nd in the morning, my mom let it out into our house.

We've been looking for it for the past 8 hours.

Is she just scared? Will she come out?

Sorry for hijacking the thread, the story was just so similar

Yes, she is scared. When she is ready, she will come out. My advice is to NOT chase after her if you see her out of hiding. Don't even reach out for her and call her name. Doing so will probably result in her making a dash for a hiding place. When she is ready for human contact, she will come to you.

 

[NAB]

We have done this with our adopted kitten. Used a card board box with a hole in the side to get in and a soft leftover baby blanket.

Buddy's room is the bathroom. We left his food in water everything in there and he actually meows to go to bed and we close the door at night, he goes straight to the box. So he is in there all night. When we get up in the morning we let him out for the day. Strange but it works for us too.

 

[MichelleVW]

You're getting great advice here. I love cats, but they are weird! When we moved into our house in August our 2 cats had been in the kennel for a week, then 3 days traveling from North Dakota to Texas and then a new house. We had almost no furniture in the house and we STILL couldn't find them. They were so freaked out from the move that they hid behind the fridge for about a week.

In October we brought home a young female stray. We kept her in DD16's bathroom for a few days, and then she had DD's bathroom and bedroom for a few days. She adjusted great. Now whenever something freaks her out she will run to DD's room which is still her "safe" zone.

When you do let the cat out of the bathroom ignoring it is probably the best idea. Let the cat come to you for attention. Some cats like a lot of attention and some don't.

 

[Sparx]

Cats are curious creatures, but easily scare. I have never put a cat in a bathroom and have never heard that advice. Cats are good at finding a place that makes them feel secure......why do you think it took so many hours to find him? They are nocturnal and will come out when they know everyone is asleep. As long as food is eaten and litter is used you have nothing to worry about.

ETA: Cats like to hide. A bathroom does not really offer them many objects to hide behind. Perhaps if you want to use the bathroom tactic, try putting a box or something in there. Sort of place the box on its side with the open end facing the wall. As long as they are in one open room and people keep walking in there, the cat isn't going to feel very secure. Just my 2 cents.

my kitten stayed under my bed for a week (we were keeping her in my room, only because we hadn't gotten her feline aids vac. yet, and i have other kitties)

i would let the cat find its own place to stay so it can adjust. not pick the place for it. my cats typically went under large pieces of furniture (beds, couches, dressers) and they came out when they wanted to.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Well, I keep going into the room to visit with him - sometimes alone, sometimes with the kids. Hes being so friendly now! I sit on a stool, and he comes out of his corner, jumps up on my lap, and I pet him. Hes purring now, but still shaking as well..... Tonight DH and I are going to bring him into our room for a bit and see what happens, then back to his bathroom for the night. Can't wait!

 

[clh2]

Wow - it sounds like he's made a lot of "adjustment progress", in a short period of time. Your kitty is getting used to the sounds, the smells, the people etc in a new house.

 

[Tina]

Good to hear he's making progress. I recently adopted 2 rescue cats as well (about 3 weeks apart). The rescue group also mentioned the bathroom method, but I opted for a spare bedroom. That worked just fine for me. With the first kitty (6 months old) I would go in periodically and lay on the bed with a magazine. Eventually he would come around and check me out. He only stayed in there about 24 hours. The next morning he heard my older cat "talking" to me in the hall and flipped out. He wanted to meet him VERY badly. My poor older cat didn't know what to do and ran down the stairs in fear. That only made the new kitty chase him. LOL. Once he realized he was not alone, kittywise, he lost his fear.

Sadly, my older cat fell ill and passed away only a week later (he was 17), so I headed back to the same rescue group for a new baby. I found a 10 month old that is extremely shy. It took him much longer to come out of the room (about 3 days) and he's still very jumpy. He's been with me for nearly 2 months and he still won't allow me to pick him up or confine him in any way. He loves to climb on me at night to cuddle, but I cannot approach him at all. I have to let him come to me. I hope that he eventually loosens up and begins to trust me. The younger guy is already at that point with me and is my constant shadow. Thankfully, the two cats love each other dearly already and love to play and romp together.