New Cat Suddenly Doesn't Want to be Friends

[Kelliestar4]

We adopted a new 1yo female cat about a week and a half ago for a trial adoption lasting about 3 weeks. We have another adult cat and so isolated the newbie in a bathroom. She was so sweet and wanted a lot of attention for the first several days. She was still visibly nervous, but still came out when I offered treats and demanded pets from me. She has never been interested in toys or playing. Anyway, a few days after we adopted her and after she started getting a lot more comfortable in her space, we decided to move her to the master bedroom/bathroom. We wanted to allow our resident cat to check out the bathroom she was in so they would get used to each other's scents (and the new cat hopefully would have several spaces she was comfortable with and could hide in when we introduced the cats). This turned out to be a bad choice. She unfortunately could fit under our big heavy bed frame and we couldn't get her out. We don't allow cats under the bed or couches because it is so hard to get them out and they tend to scratch holes in the frame. We had to remove the mattress and monkey board to get her out, which was stressful for everyone as you can imagine. We moved her back to her bathroom so she would feel safe again. We had to move her again a day later because our toilets needed to be replaced, so we put her in the guest room. That went off without a hitch. The toilets were replaced (which was loud and there were some new people walking into the guest room occasionally) but she was a trooper. Throughout this whole ordeal, she was still demanding pets and treats and generally getting along with us. We kept her in the guest room, figuring we didn't want to keep stressing her by moving her, and everything seemed fine. She was quite comfortable in her new space and seemed not really stressed (except once when she went under the couch and had to be gotten out). Then, yesterday morning, she suddenly didn't want to be touched. Her general attitude had not changed (still comfortable and confident in the room) but as soon as I went to touch her, she ran and hid. I didn't quite understand and thought I had startled her, so I lured her out with treats and then started giving her chin scratches. She was eating it up for a bit, and then bam! Swiped at me with claws, hissed, and hid. I tried again later that evening, but she wanted nothing to do with me. She didn't seem to care if I was in the room with her, but as soon as I moved toward her, she would run and hiss. It is the same with my boyfriend when he goes in the room. I'm not sure if this is a delayed reaction to stress or if something new happened we don't know about, but we're concerned. We only have a week and a half left of the trial adoption and she hasn't met our cat yet. We decided to delay that for a few days after the toilets because we wanted to give her time to recover from everything. If we wait too much longer, the cats will barely have time to interact before we have to make the decision to keep her. Honestly, I just want what's best for her, and I don't know what has caused her sudden aversion to us. If she doesn't start feeling comfortable around us again soon, we may have to give her back to the shelter after the trial. I'm really confused and I'm hopeful someone has some insight!

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, just to be blunt, that isn't really the way one should do things with a new cat. Most people do in fact set up a new cat in a bedroom as a saferoom, and let the cat hide under the bed. Thats one of the best places for them to hide, and hiding helps them feel safe. I understand that some cats claw into the boxspring or whatnot, but most don't. Between digger her out from the bed, setting her up in a bbthroom very briefly and then moving her yet again, this cat has had several very stressful experiences in a brand new home with new people and a new cat. She is likely very stressed. I can't explain why she was initially able to ignore the stressors, but stress is most likely what is going on.

 

[Kelliestar4]

Yeah, I understand that. Our bed frame is really low to the ground and our resident cat has gotten stuck several times underneath (once while having a possible medical emergency) which is why we don't allow them to go under there anymore. We did try to offer other hiding spots, but as you pointed out, there's nothing better than under the bed. I really didn't want to move her again after that, but with the toilet situation, there was no helping it. I've been trying to make the best out of a worsening situation since that first move and I'm at a little bit of a loss now.

 

[ArtNJ]

Unfortunately, the week and a half remaining in your trial period may not be enough time to form a bond with the cat. Rushing these things doesn't tend to work -- you kind of have to go at the cat's pace and let them be the boss of how you interact. You just have to do the best you can and see what happens. Try to spend time in the guest room just being quiet and hanging out; maybe using a phone or laptop. You can try to lure out with treats and toys. However, if she is now lashing out, she might need a bit of a break.

 

[Kelliestar4]

That's what we've been doing. We have a fairly small house, so that room is where my boyfriend does his work. That's actually why we moved her to the master bedroom first; we figured that it would be quieter with less movement than the guest room. Now we don't have the option of giving her a break (at least from our presence. We've stopped trying to interact with her and are giving her as much space as possible.) *sigh* it's a bit of a mess. I know we'll just have to try our best with her and make the best decision for her when the time comes.

 

[ArtNJ]

Yeah, unfortunately three weeks is not uncommonly going to be kind of tight in terms of a trial period for an adult cat. You do have a chance though -- this is a very young cat after all, and they tend to be more adaptible.