So about two weeks ago we adopted a new cat. He is a male young adult. He was a outside stray that was slightly taken care of by the neighbor of a friend of mine who wanted to find a decent home for him. He is in indoor cat as of right now. I want him to eventually be in indoor/outdoor cat but I'm currently afraid to let him outside at the moment because of his behaviors. He refuses to come when he is called. Not to his name or to tongue clicks. He has explored the house and roams periodically with no issues but anytime we want to spend time with him we have to search high and low for him and pull him from wherever he is hidding because he just refuses to come. Also everytime I take him outside he runs off and tries to hide somewhere and refuses to come out till I find him and pull him from his hidding spot. I have tried coxing him out with toys or treats and he won't. I have also tried teaching him his name and getting him to come when called. He doesn't eat cat treats so I've tried using pieces of tuna to treat him but nothing seems to work. I'm at a loss at what to do. I know he will need more time but it doesn't seem like anything I do is making an progress. Any helpful advice is welcome.
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New Cat Help...
- Thread starter Rayvin
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I personally don't have an outdoor cat, but I do have a stubborn cat.
My wonderful kitten, Nala was in a shelter for her whole life before I found her. For months, she wouldnt come, cuddle, play. We would only see her when she ate, drank, or use the bathroom. Hell, she would only explore the apartment when we were in bed. Bottom line, she was very scared, and wanted her space. As much as i wanted to go to her hiding spot and drag her out, i didnt. I advise you to do the same. Let him come to terms and relax. He will come around sooner than later.
Nala still has her moments where she will not even glance at you when you call her. I trained her she will get a special treat when she comes. As soon as she hears the lunch meat opening she comes out from hiding and sits still. I usually do this so i can groom her since she has long hair.
Remember, cats do their things are their pace. Give him some space and he will come to you.
I hope this helped!
My wonderful kitten, Nala was in a shelter for her whole life before I found her. For months, she wouldnt come, cuddle, play. We would only see her when she ate, drank, or use the bathroom. Hell, she would only explore the apartment when we were in bed. Bottom line, she was very scared, and wanted her space. As much as i wanted to go to her hiding spot and drag her out, i didnt. I advise you to do the same. Let him come to terms and relax. He will come around sooner than later.
Nala still has her moments where she will not even glance at you when you call her. I trained her she will get a special treat when she comes. As soon as she hears the lunch meat opening she comes out from hiding and sits still. I usually do this so i can groom her since she has long hair.
Remember, cats do their things are their pace. Give him some space and he will come to you.
I hope this helped!
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Also, when nala chooses you to sit on, YOU FEEL SO SPECIAL.
totally worth waiting for her terms.
totally worth waiting for her terms.
Hello Ravin, welcome to TCS
It takes time to get your cat out and about as I think he is still trying to get himself used to be indoors and also he just came from your neighbor's house and that's what got him confused as he has not settled down yet. Give him time to gain confidence and never, never pull him out from where he is hiding. You may accidentally injure his limbs while pulling him out and also by pulling him out makes him wants to hide more. Let him come out at his own time. Keep trying till he comes out and don't take short cuts. It's going to be harder if he's afraid of you. So try to win his trust
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Hello and welcome, I would echo tabbytom's post. It will take a while for him to settle in. You can try giving him nice hidey spaces in social areas, like a box on it's side facing near a wall or if you want to splash out some of those cubes with holes in you can get. Try teasing him out of hiding with treats and a toy rather than pulling him out from under anywhere. Fruther down the line you can slowly minimise the places he is hiding to coax him into the open but this is alot further on.
If you want to spend time with him it's better to come down to his level maybe sit on the floor and read aloud, get him used to your voice. Try not to block off escape routes with your body so that he has to come near to you if he doesn't want to. Forcing interaction can be stressful.
Because he's stray and he's had to fend for himself, he might be a bit more wary of people, perhaps he'd been abandoned or hurt in his previous home. Patience really is key. keep us updated
If you want to spend time with him it's better to come down to his level maybe sit on the floor and read aloud, get him used to your voice. Try not to block off escape routes with your body so that he has to come near to you if he doesn't want to. Forcing interaction can be stressful.
Because he's stray and he's had to fend for himself, he might be a bit more wary of people, perhaps he'd been abandoned or hurt in his previous home. Patience really is key. keep us updated
I agree with the above posts. I might try some feliway diffuser to see if it helps. When he comes out, ignore him unless he approaches you. By all means try getting him to come out maybe once a day with treats or toys but if he is refusing, accept it. It is much better to build up a relationship with him then to yank him out. Please don't let him out. I think it will just add to his confusion.
