How To Make The Cat Less Fearful?

[Szewan]

My 6 yo adopted ginger DSH boy Pancake has been with me for over a week now. He had gone from hiding to being comfortable with me in just 1-2 days, and in fact he has been very affectionate with me - always meowing for patting and scratching and head butting. There are a few things I am still working on though - and want to see if anybody has any advice:

1) Pancake is more vocal than I thought - I didn’t hear that comment from his foster parent before I adopted him. Not only he would meow when he saw me, he would meow loudly when I came back home after a long day of work (I could actually hear him as I walked up the stairs of my apartment building) and he would meow at 3 or 5 in the middle of the night/early morning for attention (don’t think he was hungry because his food bowl still had done dry kibbles). I tried to ignore him and he would walk around my bed to check if I was awake . I’ve been losing sleep because of that I am hoping this is only temporary and the behavior will stop once he feels more secure.

2) I observed that when Pancake was fairly active during the day when I was around (eg weekends) but on weekdays I saw (via my kitty cam) that he was mostly hiding somewhere. I want him to know that the whole apartment is available for him to roam around even when I am not around - toys to play with and window perches to lay around.

I know all these have to do with him being new to the environment. I tried supplements (Rescue pet anxiety relief drops) a few days ago and yesterday night I plugged in the Feliway as well. Is there anything else I can do to help Pancake to feel more comfortable and confident when he is alone at home?

 

[recurringecho]

It sounds like he's adjusting really well! As for meowing at night, it's great that you're ignoring him! It will take a while before he learns, maybe weeks, but keep ignoring him. Don't give him any attention and continue "sleeping". He'll learn that meowing in the night won't get him what he wants! Playing with him more and playing until he's tired before bed time could help him sleep through the night.

Cats are also naturally crepuscular, meaning they are most active during twilight. So it's natural that he'd be hiding away sleeping the day away when you're not there. He probably already knows that he can roam around since he already does it when you're there. He's just being a cat and has found a place he feels safe and comfortable sleeping in.

Is there other reason you feel he's anxious?

 

[ArtNJ]

Its only been a week. If he wants to sleep under the bed when you are gone, not a big deal at all. You don't need to do anything different, the cat is adapting great. Remember, cats sleep a lot, and they adjust to your schedule somewhat, so definitely likely to sleep a lot of the day when you are gone.

As far as the meowing, recurringecho advised you correctly. This is the issue to worry about, since if you encourage night meowing in any fashion, by giving any sort of attention, it will get reinforced.

 

[sargon]

it sounds like your cat is adapting decently and bonding with you. For my cat, i taught her to stop waking me up by kicking her out of my room for 5 minutes when she did it.

As to being vocal, some cats just are talkers. I consider it good, because with vocal cats, it is easier to understand what they want, but it can be annoying at times, too.

You might try setting up some 'safe' places for your cat like window shelves, cat tunnels, etc. Some cats like being up high, some like being in caves, and some like elevated caves!
having places where your cat feels "safe" may help calm them. Since you have window perches, maybe try a 'cave" like a cat tunnel or even a cardboard box and see if that's more to Pancake's liking.

 

[maggie101]

Cats love to play hide and seek especially at night. I have lots of cubes, tunnel and other stuff for her to hide in. Small toys scattered for her to hunt. She is at that age to hunt catch kill. When I first rescued one of my cats,3 yrs old now 5,she was very vocal but that stopped after a few weeks. Right before getting to bed she would hop up and down meowing

 

[maggie101]

When my cat meows while I'm in bed or any where else she cannot see me I speak her name and talk to her then she immediately quiets down

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My 6 yo adopted ginger DSH boy Pancake has been with me for over a week now. He had gone from hiding to being comfortable with me in just 1-2 days, and in fact he has been very affectionate with me - always meowing for patting and scratching and head butting. There are a few things I am still working on though - and want to see if anybody has any advice:

1) Pancake is more vocal than I thought - I didn’t hear that comment from his foster parent before I adopted him. Not only he would meow when he saw me, he would meow loudly when I came back home after a long day of work (I could actually hear him as I walked up the stairs of my apartment building) and he would meow at 3 or 5 in the middle of the night/early morning for attention (don’t think he was hungry because his food bowl still had done dry kibbles). I tried to ignore him and he would walk around my bed to check if I was awake . I’ve been losing sleep because of that I am hoping this is only temporary and the behavior will stop once he feels more secure.

2) I observed that when Pancake was fairly active during the day when I was around (eg weekends) but on weekdays I saw (via my kitty cam) that he was mostly hiding somewhere. I want him to know that the whole apartment is available for him to roam around even when I am not around - toys to play with and window perches to lay around.

I know all these have to do with him being new to the environment. I tried supplements (Rescue pet anxiety relief drops) a few days ago and yesterday night I plugged in the Feliway as well. Is there anything else I can do to help Pancake to feel more comfortable and confident when he is alone at home?

It's only been a week or so, but maybe soon he will visit windows more and wander about when you are not around. But I think it might be kind of normal, at least for my cat, to be not quite as active when humans aren't around. Life is more boring without a human in the house! There is some level of comfort for a cat when the human is home, puttering about, doing chores, watching tv, listening to music, etc. -- some cats just sleep or tuck themselves away when they are home alone, especially adult cats like Pancake. Maybe he doesn't know he is on kitty cam and has an audience!

 

[Etarre]

I don't think it's unusual for cats to prefer sleeping in enclosed spaces. Whie this might seem like hiding to us, I think they may just feel more secure in these spaces. For one, we're less likely to bother them! It's also quieter, and I suspect that it may be instinct not to sleep in exposed places. Juniper likes to sleep cocooned in the curtain behind the couch, under the bed, etc. and I don't think she feels insecure.

If you want to expand Pancake's options, there are enclosed beds you can get, as well as the options others have mentioned above-- tunnels, boxes, etc.

When we were getting Juniper used to being here with us, we did get her a nice tall cat tree, where she can easily see anyone who approaches her, and made a rule that it was her safe space...so no petting, picking her up, etc. unless she explicitly allowed it (she has easy escape points on all sides, and learned to invite petting pretty clearly with her body language when she's open to it) and that did help her feel safer around us and learn to share our living space without fear. But Pancake sounds much less timid and skittish, and I am guessing that he'll be right at home in no time at all, whether or not he prefers to sleep in the open.

 

[Szewan]

It sounds like he's adjusting really well! As for meowing at night, it's great that you're ignoring him! It will take a while before he learns, maybe weeks, but keep ignoring him. Don't give him any attention and continue "sleeping". He'll learn that meowing in the night won't get him what he wants! Playing with him more and playing until he's tired before bed time could help him sleep through the night.

Cats are also naturally crepuscular, meaning they are most active during twilight. So it's natural that he'd be hiding away sleeping the day away when you're not there. He probably already knows that he can roam around since he already does it when you're there. He's just being a cat and has found a place he feels safe and comfortable sleeping in.

Is there other reason you feel he's anxious?

I can’t read cats but I thought he meowed because he needed constant reassurance that I was paying attention (even when I was sleeping!!), or no I just went to work and not abandoning him in the apartment (he meowed like crazy when he heard the key turning before I went in the apartment).

Another thing that freaked me out a bit was he tried running out of the apartment - twice! - when I was on my way in. He ran up 3 flights last time before I grabbed him and took him back to the apartment and I suffered some scratches when he struggled. I don’t think he necessarily wanted to escape but he wanted to make sure there is nothing outside that would come in to harm him. Whenever somebody walked past my not-so-soundproof apartment, he would stop everything to go near the door to hear.

That’s why I feel he might not feel completely safe in the apartment unless I am around. Am I over interpreting him?

 

[recurringecho]

Haha, awww he sounds like such an adorable troublemaker! Part of his meowing could do him being in a new environment and want more of your company as a result, but I do think you are slightly over interpreting him as an anxious cat. Some cats are just attention hogs and will eat up as much attention as you give them, then demand more!

As for bolting out the door, I agree that it doesn't sound like he's trying to escape. I don't think he's checking for potential danger though, since he just went straight for it. He sounds super curious about the outside world. For anxiety/stress and wariness, look for signs like agitation, a constantly swishing tail, standing with body low to the ground, hiding all the time, wide dilated eyes, and slightly laid back ears.