New Adopted Cat Still Skittish

[Kazbo93]

We just adopted a 2 year old male almost two weeks ago. He’s a shy one and was very freaked out the first two nights, once he took up under our bed and we confined him to the room, he started to improve. He now eats twice daily, uses the litter box and at night when we go to bed he leaves to explore the rest of the apartment and usually spends it in the living room.

My concern is that he’s still spending most of his time under the bed once we get home. We’ve finally gotten him to respond to toys (feather wand) but he will only play under the bed. We’ve even gotten him to eat treats, but only after you put it down in front of him and walk away.

So really I’m worried that he’s not acclimating to us very well. We go to the bedroom few times in the evening to say hi (laying down on the floor next to him) and play a bit. But he’s still very skittish about us touching him and runs away immediately if we walk into a room he’s in. Is there anything else we could be doing to make him like us? I always read entice him with toys and treats, but we do that daily and haven’t seen improvement in a few days. I don’t mind if it takes him a while to let us pet him or physically touch him. I just want him to at least feel comfortable in the same room with us.

We also have a feliway diffuser in the bedroom where he spends most of his time. I’m just wondering if there’s any other tricks out there that we could be doing to make him feel more comfortable around us.

 

[Kieka]

Sounds like an undersocialized cat and you are making good progress. When dealing with a cat who is either undersocialized or very skittish/shy it can take a few months to become comfortable. Even once somewhat comfortable it take take years to be fully comfortable. Cherish the milestones like playing and pay attention to signals from the cat so that you dont push to hard or fast.

One thing you may want to consider is making under the bed less comfortable. Blocking access to it temporarily to take away that safety zone. Some cats can decide that they don't want to progress outside of that safety zone (especially if he is more towards undersocialized instead of just scared). By blocking under the bed you force him out of the comfort zone. It isn't detrimental in most cases and can help him reevaluate his place in the home. I am not saying take away all safety; provide a box or leave a foot deep accessible under the bed.

 

[Kazbo93]

One thing you may want to consider is making under the bed less comfortable. Blocking access to it temporarily to take away that safety zone. Some cats can decide that they don't want to progress outside of that safety zone (especially if he is more towards undersocialized instead of just scared). By blocking under the bed you force him out of the comfort zone. It isn't detrimental in most cases and can help him reevaluate his place in the home. I am not saying take away all safety; provide a box or leave a foot deep accessible under the bed.

Thanks for this advice! The last foster family he was with said he was very social with the other cats (and this lady had ALOT of cats, like double digits, plus a husband and kid). She said it took him about 2 months to get comfortable but he was also recovering from an injury. So we were hoping since he’s healthy, it wouldn’t take him too long.

But we will consider blocking off the bed at the end of this week (after he’s been here a full 2 weeks). I’m worried this could stress him out though and he’d regress? There aren’t many other “safe zones” he can go to and since he runs away from every room we’re in I worry he’d be more stressed than ever.

 

[caelesto]

It can take a loooooooong time for some cats to get comfortable in a new place. My Eleven took over a month (she was a semi-feral outdoor kitty before I took her in). She's still pretty skittish, but she makes a little bit of progress every day. It sounds like you're taking all the right steps to get your new kitty comfortable in his home. Don't be discouraged if it seems like he's taking a long time to get used to it. Good luck!

 

[Summercats]

If you have room, get a small cat complex/tree that has a bed underneath but is covered and a small climbing apparatus, to put in the bedroom if you can.
My brother had a cat that took awhile to get comfortable and under the bed was a favorite place. He now also likes the safety of high places such as a place to recline on the cat tree. If you block part of the bed a cat tree/climber with a covered bed at the bottom will give a smaller hidey hole.