# when should I start to worry about new cat?



## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

I picked up a cat from the local humane society Thursday afternoon. I kept him in the laundry room for a few hours with the door closed because that is where his litter box and food/water is. Finally after opening the door he wouldn't come out and hid back behind the washer and dryer. I kept the door open to allow him to explore whenever he felt comfortable. When I came home from work Friday afternoon he came upstairs to the main level and is now behind the couch. It's Saturday afternoon now and he's still there. I know a new cat needs some time to explore and get comfortable, but when I'm at work or sleeping the house is super quiet. No other pets or noise and what really worries me is that from Thursday afternoon to Saturday afternoon(right now) I don't think he has come out to eat. I put a little food back by the couch he is hiding behind plus he should know where the food is in the laundry room and it appears that if he's eaten at all it's just very light grazing off the top. This morning I did find a few wet spots on the wood floor next to the couch. It looked foamy like pee but was a little thicker. No previous cats have peed on the floor so maybe it was pee and I don't know what it looks like outside the box.

Basically, when should I start to worry about him? I reach back there and pet him to let him know I'm friendly and get used to my smell...should I continue this or just give him his space now?


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

Anybody??? It's Saturday evening now and he's still hiding behind the couch. Maybe I should have left him longer in the laundry room longer with his box, food, and water? I could grab him and put him in there now but he seems ok back there and I don't want to freak him out any more. It's just that if he is sneaking out to eat a little food here and there he still isn't eating and drinking enough if at all. What should I do?


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

I would take him back to the "safe" room- he'll be able to watch for "threats" better. Do you have a carrier or box you can make into a little cave for him- it might make him more comfortable while he's scared? It would also provide a warmer & safer hiding spot than behind the washer/dryer.


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## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

i agree with above post to put him back to the 'safe' room. i'd leave the safe room door a little ajar so if he wants to, he'll go out when he feels like. Of course, leave the litter box and food in the safe room.

Mocha was so shy when we first got her in April. i stayed with her one week in safe room, then opened the door a bit so she can start going out which she didnt. lol. it probably took her about 3 weeks to roam around the house w/o me (she followed me everywhere for weeks). however, even then, she'd still prefer to stay in the safe room esp. under the bed. She's of course gotten better with time....well, nowadays she doesnt even hang out at safe room w/me as much, and prefers to go outdoors. 

I learned from cat forum that individual cats have their own time table, and we just have to be patient with them. at least he is eating and is allowing you to pet him. (mocha wont even let my brother touch her to this day....LOL). He will eventually get out of his shy phase pretty soon.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

update...Got up this morning and he's still behind the couch. Went and made his safe room as comfortable as possible. I noticed that he has peed in his box a few times so he is exploring at night when I'm sleeping! I slid the couch out and he tried to get back under it. I was able to grab him and carry him down to the safe room without any fighting. I set him down right in front of his food and water and he tried to run out of the safe room. Luckily I was able to shut the door before he could escape so he ran back behind the washer and dryer.

I'm hesitant to leave the door open as last time I did that he just went up behind the couch for about 3 days. I think I'll leave him in the safe room for a few days or at least until he starts eating. He's fine behind the washer and he can explore more freely while I'm at work today without worrying about me being around.

What do ya'll think? Any feedback/comments would be appreciated as this is only my 2nd cat and the first was very social and adjusted super easy. Of course that was a one bedroom apartment and this is a three room, three level house.

Thank you all for the feedback so far!!!


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## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

lol....Mocha was exactly like that too! she explored the house mainly at night time...she felt safe when everyone was asleep and she had the whole place to do what she wanted to do. 

i would just let her explore the house on her own....no need to lock her up in the laundry room. Just continue to leave her food/litter box in that room since she regards that as her 'safe room'. i know you worry about her hiding under the sofa (not eating, etc), but i dont think she will do that again day after day. I think she is progressing alot. i think her exploring the house on her own shows she is getting comfy....something Mocha did after 2 weeks of being with me but your cat is already doing in less than a week!  

and if she does decide to hide under the couch (or anywhere) let her hide all she wants...she will come out if she is hungry or needs to litterbox. mocha hid like crazy with any sound in the house from the phone ringing to the tv going on. arrrgh. she eventually stopped hiding a little bit after 1.5 month or so. 

also another suggestion is to 'ignore' her when she moves around the house. 'ignore' = dont look at her straight at the eye. When you look at the cat straight at their eyes, it denotes rudeness (kind of like 'you are out to get them'). when u have to look at her, close your eyes halfway. it's a hard thing to do, and takes a lot of patience. u might want to do this until she becomes more friendly with you. i told my mom to do this, and Mocha has warmed up to her within a month to the point she will allow Mom to pet her anywhere. 

overall i think your cat is progressing wonderfully and much quickly than mine did. Mocha is my 3rd cat and first one ever that was so skiddish/shy/scared compared to my other two who were outgoing. I think u r doing a great job with her....just hang in there. it's alot of patience really but once she warms up to you, there's no turning back.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

I'm going to take your advice and let her out of the laundry room. He is still hiding behind the washer and I feel bad and don't want to keep him trapped possibly stressing him more than before. I am very concerned about his lack of eating and hopefully somebody can share some insight on this. It's been over 3 days now and he's hardly eaten anything if he has even eaten at all. I know he's peed a couple times in his box but I haven't seen any poo. I'll clean the box out tomorrow when I suspect he'll be out of there after leaving the room open tonight. Even the few treats I left in the safe room are still there...what do you all think is going on here?!?!?!


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## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

hi choochoo...sorry i thought he was eating well.  
how old is your little guy? is he a kitten? Also, maybe try another food with him. How about fancy feast (FF) or a little canned tuna? For some reason cats are drawn to canned tuna and FF....i think it is b/c of the pungent smell. Maybe that will entice him to eat more. I think the reason why he hasnt stooled yet is b/c he hasnt eaten much. 

See how that goes....i'm hoping he will eat significantly more. i hate to use mocha as an example again, but your little guy reminds me of her alot. Mocha also didnt eat much when i first got her....and still isnt much of an eater. :/


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## Randiocoy (Jul 30, 2010)

When I was younger I lived with a roomate who rescued a cat that did that same thing! What worked for that cat is I made a room with a house cat bed, so she felt like she was hiding. I put it in a quiet darker corner of the room and right by it I put the food and the water, and the litter box. so she had a corner. after a couple days she was roaming some when it was really quiet. I would sit there and pet her and speak quietly to her. The key was making the corner for her, and not giving her access to things she could get under. when she became more comfortable I would give her more access to explore, and make sure when she would hide somewhere I would take her out, and put her back in her corner where she felt safe. so she knew where to go. after a few weeks when it was quiet she would start coming up on my lap and sleeping. I moved out a few weeks later, and the cat ran away  it was soo sad. My roomate at the time didnt put in the effort and I think she was looking for me  as I was the only one putting in the effort. 

I just moved about 4 months ago, and Daisy went in to hiding for 3 days, and I had to do the same thing for her. I let her hide under my bed and put food and water under there, and moved the litter box right by my bed. and after 3 days she would wander around so i put the litter and the food where I wanted it to remain permananttly. I think in that situation it was easy because she was bonded with me, but i hope my experiences can be of some assistance!


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

I hadn't let him out yet so I'm went down and put some tuna on top of his dry food bowl. I'll leave him in there overnight when it's super quiet in the house, even though it usually is anyways. Hopefully he has eaten when I get up in the morning. I like the idea of putting him in a room with nowhere to hide. The hiding doesn't really bother me but that way I could go in and he could see I'm not a threat. I might try that next...we'll see how he does with this food overnight. If he would start eating I would have no problem letting him roam freely and hiding most of the time.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

forgot to mention, he's 2.5 years old (previous owners had him listed at 3 yo and humane society at 2 yo)

Previous owner had him listed as very timid but otherwise great cat. Surrendered because "other cats in household are intimidated by him. not sure why...he's very gentle cat."

The food is the exact same he had at the humane society where he had been for at least a couple days.


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## whylime0402 (Aug 1, 2010)

How much time are you spending with him? My safe room was my bedroom, so I spent a lot of time in there with them. First, just sitting there, reading or playing on my laptop. Eventually, they got curious about me and I started playing with them. Also, since they were in my bedroom, they were close to things that smelled like me. So, when they went out, everything else at least smelled familiar. If you can't spend a lot of time in there with him, perhaps try putting some of your worn/dirty clothes on the floor for him and those of anyone who lives in the house.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

It's just a small laundry room, probably about 7x12...I'll throw some dirty clothes on the floor in there. I'm kind of trying to stay out so I'm not in and out every few minutes and he can roam around and get adjusted with me interrupting. I'm just going to go in a couple times a day now to check food, water and clean the box. I do talk to him when I'm in there and pet him briefly if he isn't too far behind the washer/dryer. Good tip on the clothes...thank you.


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## Pattylvk (Apr 10, 2010)

The advice I’ve gotten here for my scared kitty was excellent! The first few weeks, I never saw him. He’d come out only at night to eat and use the box. 

Someone suggested no hiding places and but I was advised against it here at the forum. So I allowed him to hide. Also suggested here was reading to him. I read to him while he hid and eventually he came out. Now, MONTHS later, he only hides when the noisy gardeners come around and usually greets me in the morning and evening looking for treats and play. A friend also had success reading to his scared cat. 

Patience, I hope he eats.


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## madie (Apr 20, 2010)

how is your cat doing? i hope he is eating a bit more now.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

We're at exactly the one week point. He's still in the safe room (behavior help line at the local humane society where I got him said to leave him in until he is out and around in there and not hiding). He is still behind the washer/dryer every time I am in there which isn't too often anymore. Just a couple times a day to talk to him check food, water and box...otherwise I give him his space. He drinks water ok, not a lot, but he is drinking and he is definitly grazing on the food. I estimate in the past week he has eaten about 1 cup of food. Seems happy and content. I reach back and pet him if he's close enough where I can reach him. The other day while petting him he came out rubbed against my leg, turned around and went back behind the washer. Ha! I tried to reward his braveness by petting him more and he bit me! Maybe I overdid it? So there's a little progress. Slowly but surely :smile:


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

Sounds like he's just going to take a little longer than most to warm up, but you're definitely making progress. Can you make him a covered bed/hiding place out of a box or carrier? That would give him a more comfortable hiding place, and you would be able to reach him better for pets. Also, you can start trying to get him to come to you for treats, but he would have to be facing you to do this.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

At the humane society each every cat has a cardboard box with a hole on 2 sides and a little perch on top in their room. This folds up into a carrier that they send you home with. I folded that back into the little house with a perch. He prefers behind the washer/dryer as a hiding spot. I put a bed lined with catnip on top of the dryer and I have yet to see him up there. This is the strangest cat I've ever seen. He doesn't eat treats so holding out a treat to him is useless. I have 13 placed around the room and I count them to him every time I'm in there, still 13 

Making progress, but hopefully it picks up as I'm going to have to do laundry before too long and I don't want to make his hiding spot noisy! His box is right next to the washer so maybe it's best to do my laundry while he's trapped in there so he can get used to the noise and won't freak out when it's going cause it's a new sound...what do ya'll think? Let him be in the quiet now while he adjusts or get him accustomed to the laundry noise?


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

I'm not sure to be honest. It might be TOO scary if he is already very scared.


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## Martina (Aug 4, 2010)

Its crazy how each cat is so different... when i brought my Sheba home she hid behind the couch for 2 weeks.. i just left her be as I was confident in time she'd get bored back there. Now she follows me everywhere ..to the point when i go to the bathroom she cries and tries to push open the door.. My new kitty was waaay different she never hid once.. wanted to explore and play as soon as i unzipped her carrier... as long as he is peeing and eating while your sleeping at least i wouldnt worry.. He should come around.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

*********UPDATE************


First off, thank you all for your help. He is just a very timid cat it turns out. He eats plenty now and is out in the house always hiding behind the couch when I'm up and around. When I sit on the couch he will now come up and lay beside me sometimes putting his head on my lap. When I stand up to do something else he gets spooked and runs back behind the couch. It's been just short of a month and look at the progress he's already made! He seems happy, is eating plenty and purrs nonstop when he sits with me. I'm hoping a more time will give him the courage to walk around when I'm standing up and doing stuff...time will tell.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

choochoo said:


> *********UPDATE************
> 
> 
> First off, thank you all for your help. He is just a very timid cat it turns out. He eats plenty now and is out in the house always hiding behind the couch when I'm up and around. When I sit on the couch he will now come up and lay beside me sometimes putting his head on my lap. When I stand up to do something else he gets spooked and runs back behind the couch. It's been just short of a month and look at the progress he's already made! He seems happy, is eating plenty and purrs nonstop when he sits with me. I'm hoping a more time will give him the courage to walk around when I'm standing up and doing stuff...time will tell.



That's wonderful- keep up the good work!! I know what you mean about him running whenever you get up; my kitten Simone does that. I have to be careful not to make too many sudden movements unless we are playing!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I was wondering if you have other cats in your home or is he the only? Sounds like he is progressing at his own rate. Have you tried to entice him with toys? That sometime breaks the ice also. I would continue to spend as much time as you can with him.. sit by him reading or on the computer or watching TV. He is trying to figure out if he can fully trust you.


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## choochoo (May 9, 2008)

No other cats now but I have had cats in the past. I've tried the toys and he doesn't go for it. I tried the ultimate toy...Da Bird. Every other cat I've used this on has gone absolutley crazy when I get it out and this cat just sits and stares at it. He won't even take treats from me but if I put them in his food bowl he eats 'em no problem. I looked over the edge of the bed the other day and saw him on the ground(yes, he came out from behind the couch!) playing with a toy that had been laying there and sometimes toys are just moved throughout the house. He's not as tough as he's letting on! He's a good cat and I think we'll be just fine when he finally gets to know he can trust me.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

That's so good to hear, Choochoo. I'll tell ya what...when I first got my cats, the boy loved Da Bird and the girl just stared at it, looking bored. Then, about a month later, she started getting really into it! Cats just go in and out of phases. 

It sounds like you've done a great job and have made a lot of progress!


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