Just adopted a cat! ^^ But... *UPDATE pg. 2 PIC!! :) *

[belledreamer]

I'm really getting worried...

We brought her home yesterday, a 9 month old Calico that we're currently calling 'Jenny', but she's having a rough time.

At the santuary, she was a little skittish, but warmed up to you if you had a treat, played, purred, loved to be pet; I was in love!

Brought her home... Became EXTREMELY skittish, every noise scares her, she's barely eaten since she got here, won't play or eat the treats I've offered her and has barely used the litter box. I think she's got seperation anxiety, espcially since the santuary I got her from was the only home she's ever known, and she had several feline companions. Now, she's the only cat.

Right now, she's in our closed-in patio, finally asleep with all her things. So I've decided to leave her alone for the time being, just going out every once in a while to pet her. And she did enjoy taking a nap on the sofa with me earlier.

I'm not sure what to do. How long will it take her to adjust? Is there anything I can do? I'm starting to wonder if I'd do better to bring her back to the santuary... PLEASE HELP!!

 

[taylor3297]

For the first two weeks our cat, Beltie, stayed under our dresser. She would come out to eat and use the kitty litter box. She gradually would start venturing out. When we got her she was 4 months old and she is now almost 10 years old. Just give her time to get adjusted to her new home.

 

[jam217]

The cat I currently have stayed in hiding in a spare bedroom for close to two months. We put her food and litterbox in that room. She just needed time to adjust. Now, she's a part of the family and sleeps with me every night. I think every cat is different. I wouldn't take her back to the sanctuary. She just needs time.

 

[happygirl]

It will just take time. Give her space and then she will take over the place lol.

 

[Pigeon]

We adopted a cat in November. It took her several months to totally become comfortable. She spent the first month essentially hiding under the bed.

Just give the cat time. She'll be fine.

 

[jackemail]

I adopted a 10 month old rescue kitty who had been at the Humane Society almost since birth, and always with lots of other cats in his enclosure. It took a couple of weeks, at least, before he settled down, and would leave one small area. Just give kitty some time and all will be well.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

it really depends on the cat, how long it'll take them to get used to everything.

i have 3 cats. two girls and one boy. the boy warmed up to us and our house right away, getting into everything and generally just having the run of the house.

the girls both took a little while. one of them took about 6 months for her to start coming around and the other one took about 8 months. for a while they'd just sleep upstairs under the guest bed and only came out at night when we were sleeping to use the litter box and eat.

but now the girls are fine. one of them(we got her after we already had 2) is still a little nervous but she comes around a whole lot more than she used to.

just give her some time to get used to the change. she should start improving a bit at least in a few weeks.

 

[mlittig]

We currently have 8 cats and have done fostering of young litters which is how we got most of our cats You just need to give her time to adjust to not only the new people but also the newness of all her surroundings Of possible, keep her is a quiet room and go in and visit her often. Sit on the floor and talk to her in a gentle, quiet voice. Keep trying different treats so she will eventually associate you with the treats. I say there is a reason why we use the expression "scaredy cat". Patience and love will bring about good results. Please keep us update on your progress

 

[Pomlover2586]

All animals undergo stress when entering new environments/situations. Cats in particular seem to struggle with it. Some cats are fine from the get-go, and other can take a month or more before they are truly at home......on average though it's usually a week or 2 before they relax. For the first few days keep her in a quiet area [which it sounds like you are] and just take it easy with her, give her lots of love- but on her terms- dont force anything. She'll come around eventually- keep in mind if she was skittish at the shelter she may be rather skittish by nature and it may take her a bit longer.

 

[Katieinwonderland]

All cats are different. When we got Magic, she was fine during the day but then cried for HOURS at night no matter what we did for weeks (we ended up buying earplugs!) Hershey spent the first two weeks under the sofa, and Cheeto walked in like he owned the place!

She'll adjust but give her a while. In a couple of years you'll be wondering what happened to that shy cat when she's taken over the house!!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I have owned lots of cats/kittens in my life and not a single one except one strange kitty--didn't run and hide the first time they set foot in my home and then stay hidden for pretty much a week or two or three or more.

It isn't a permanent sign of their disposition. They've been uprooted as far as they are concerned. My most recent adoptees--would come out only at night to explore at first.


Now they have their favorite perches and snuggly places theylike to be and it doesn't involve hiding under my bed and refusing to come out.

If she was very friendly when you adopted, chances are she will return to that good nature when she feels safe to do so.

 

[mousey]

A neighbor down the street decided to put their older calico outside on a very cold, windy night. She found our back deck where we found her sleeping on our hottub cover. When we opened our back door she came in and never left. For the first 2 wks I kept her in our finished basement away from our other stray cat that we had before her arrival. I noticed that slowly she started coming upstairs and exploring and other than never liking the other cat (she wants to be the only pet) she really warmed up to everyone. Now you can't keep her away.

 

[ZPT1022]

My mother had a cat, I lived with the cat for a year before moving out and in that time it was really my cat. Anyhow, fast forward almost 10 years, mom sold the house faster than she thought, is moving in with my aunt while she looks for a place for herself and needs somewhere for Kitty to go. Kitty is going to come live with us and I am sooooo happy (I wanted her to come with me when I moved, no one else in the house liked her as much as I did). Anyhow, even with knowing who I was all her life, she still had a HUGE adjustment to make to being at our house. It took awhile for her to get used to seeing all the new sights, sounds and smells but now it's been over a year and she is a regular part of the family. Still doesn't get along great with the other lady cats (it's mutual, not just her) but she is firmly part of the family- she sleeps on my bed, sits on my lap on the couch and loves nothing more than watching "Fish TV" aka our aquarium. It just takes time!

 

[Maridw]

We have 6 cats and our latest addition was to be a foster only. Simba was very nervous at first. We have a big dog crate and kept him in there for a day or two, then started leaving the side door open. He started investigating the house and is still getting settled.

You can go and love on him and he will purr. He also comes and greets you near the front door. But he still does not like to be picked up. He is a very sweet boy and know that it is just going to take time.

Jenny will settle in, it will just take time. Because she is still young, she could settle in pretty quick. As it was stated before, every cat is different. We have had some settle in within days, others it took a bit longer.

We have 5 rescues of our 6 and if we had a bigger place, probably would have more.

Congratulations on your new addition.

 

[GJM]

When we got our cat from the shelter, she was friendly but wouldn't sit on your lap or wouldn't come around to us - she kind of stayed by herself.

That lasted a couple of weeks - now you can't sit down without her coming up on your lap, she loves attention and is always purring when you pet her. She also will sleep on our bed or my DS bed at night.

As someone else said, they find their favorite spots in the house to sleep or snuggle up. I won't get rid of this one chair in our one room of the house because that is the cats favorite spot to lay during the day!

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

My boo was like this when we first rescued her (she was a stray). I left her alone but made sure to walk past her hidding spot daily and say hi and love you. My vet said this helps the cat recconize you as a freindly face. Now all these years later boo is STILL very shy but only with new people. Shes a total snuggler with me, my mom and Big mom (aka Grandma).

 

[lustergirl]

Great thread!! I posted a similar thread last fall because I adopted a female cat from the SPCA who was scared to death of her new home. The first sunday we had here she stayed in the same spot for 8 hours sleeping, poor thing I thought she died , how awful was that feeling!! She weighs 15 pounds and when I called the SPCA that week to ask about why she didnt get around much they told me she wouldnt do much because of her weight. She moves pretty quick now and gets around quick as well. I love her and she combined with my other female cat are my best friends!

One more good idea- keep talking to her and giving her hugs.

 

[Stitch2007]

I adopted my cat ~2 1/2 yrs ago when he was 3 yrs old. He was fine during the day, but would be up between the hours of 1-5am walking around and sitting by the front door. He did this for ~9 months. But, now he basically sleeps through the night (most nights) - only getting up to have a snack.

 

[lustergirl]

My two cats are so different. Sheba is the smaller one, we have had her since she was a kitten. She doesnt like to be hugged like the bigger cat does. Mousetrap is the big one and I could just hug her all day. Both of them sleep with me and hubby on my side of the bed taking all of my room.

 

[belledreamer]

Thought I'd give an update and its good news!

Last time I was here, Jenny (That's her official name now because of my love of Doctor Who ) had been having a really hard time adjusting to being here... But I'm happy to say that she is doing much better and has really made herself at home. She has pretty much claimed the patio as her personal spot, and has been doing everything I had hoped she would.

There's one thing I'm wondering though... She seems to have an obsession with laying on my *cough* chest... I took this yesterday while I was on the computer. She slept there for about 45 minutes. I guess she must have been comfortable...

Dad says she must be a male...