How to coax cat out of bedroom?

chickpea616

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A little background: All new cats to our household start out in my bedroom and slowly transition to the general areas of the house based on their comfort (as in, I let them take the lead). Eventually, everyone wants out (to explore, etc.) and gets introduced to the resident cats and the rest of the house.

Our newest cat, Scarlet (a 12.5 year old female), started out as a foster, but last month we foster-failed and adopted her. I've tried to get her out of the bedroom various times - we have a baby gate in the doorway, and she sees our resident cats through the gate, but she wants nothing to do with them or the rest of the house. Any encouragement from me is quickly ignored - she takes one look in the direction of the doorway and turns around. She doesn't scratch at the door to get out (as previous cats/fosters have done), and doesn't seem interested in venturing out at all!

In my bedroom are several windows, many toys, a tree, a few beds, a tunnel, and various other toys - not to mention the attached bathroom (which she loves, go figure), where she jumps on the counter, walks around the bathtub (tile), and looks out that window. She even naps on the rug in there! We visit her throughout the day, engage her in play, I spend my evenings in there, play videos for her, my kids will play games in there, and sleep in there - she's NOT at a loss for human interaction.....but still, it would be nice to have her out and about with the rest of us. How can I gently (and hopefully on her terms) encourage her to leave the bedroom?
 

daftcat75

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It sounds like she has everything she needs in the bedroom. If she doesn't seem distressed being left behind when everyone goes about their business outside the bedroom, as long as she's not hiding when the bedroom door is open, I would leave her be. I think she will eventually want to expand her world. But for now, it seems like she's pretty happy with it the size that it is.
 

LTS3

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Some cats are naturally shy and will take longer to explore outside their safe room. Don't push them to come out if they're not ready. Here are some TCS articles with tips:

 
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chickpea616

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Awesome guys, thanks! I definitely don't want to push her and I'm certainly willing to just let her set the pace. She's definitely skittish in certain situations and so I'll just keep on doing what we're doing AND read the recommended articles. Thanks so much!
 
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