New Cat Very Scared

[gennarose]

My partner and I recently adopted a 2-year-old rescue, named Luna. We were informed that she has had a rough start to life, being sized from a hoarders home and living in quite bad conditions. As a result, from this, she is very timid and afraid, and suffers a few allergies for which is on a special diet for.

Going in we felt prepared, but after a week I can’t help but feel anxious as she is still hiding from us and will hiss when we go near her in the morning after spending the night in another room. She is eating and using her litterbox fine, and we can occasionally get her to come out of hiding with some food, and she will briefly let us pat her before retreating again.

I guess I’m just after some reassurance that in time, things will get better. Ideally, we’d like to come home from work to cat that wants to see us, rather than one that does that opposite and hides.

I have tried a Feliway diffuser, but this doesn’t seem to be making a difference.

Please help, I just want happy and healthy girl.

 

[1 bruce 1]

My partner and I recently adopted a 2-year-old rescue, named Luna. We were informed that she has had a rough start to life, being sized from a hoarders home and living in quite bad conditions. As a result, from this, she is very timid and afraid, and suffers a few allergies for which is on a special diet for.

Going in we felt prepared, but after a week I can’t help but feel anxious as she is still hiding from us and will hiss when we go near her in the morning after spending the night in another room. She is eating and using her litterbox fine, and we can occasionally get her to come out of hiding with some food, and she will briefly let us pat her before retreating again.

I guess I’m just after some reassurance that in time, things will get better. Ideally, we’d like to come home from work to cat that wants to see us, rather than one that does that opposite and hides.

I have tried a Feliway diffuser, but this doesn’t seem to be making a difference.

Please help, I just want happy and healthy girl.

Personally, I think you're doing fine =)
A week isn't a long time compared to a life time of not-so stellar conditions; and cats aren't stupid and won't automatically assume all is well when their environment changes. She maybe hasn't had the greatest 2 years on this planet, and probably was never someones "true pet". And even though her former home might not have been great, it was the life she knew and now that's all different; new place, new people, and having lived in a house with a large colony of others, she's probably feeling a little weird being the only cat.
If she's eating, using her box, and will accept brief touch, I'd consider this encouraging.
Others will have better ideas, but something that's worked for me with any super-shy ones..if she can't quite get past hiding or hissing when you walk in the room, you might try spending time "with her" without her being the center of attention. Take a book or your phone in the room, sit down facing away from her or with your side to her and ignore her and let her explore a quiet room with you in it, without asking her to interact. Call a friend and chat with them, etc., just hang out in the room without asking much of her and letting her curiosity take over.
I liken a cat like this to a small, shy child. If you put a kid like this in a room with a few adults they barely know, they'll probably be more relaxed if the adults talk amongst themselves and ignore the kid for awhile to let him or her get comfortable around them.
Relax, if you can, and enjoy the experience of helping her come around =)

 

[catlover73]

It does sound like Luna had a very rough start. She also probably had very little human interaction too. It sounds like she just needs more time to learn to trust because of her background. It is good that she is letting you interact with her at least a little already. It is just going to take time and patience for her to adjust.

I adopted a young adult cat years ago that was physically abused and was scared of everything. She was even scared to eat. She would not even touch cat food and I was scared she was going to starve. I had a good vet at the time that had me start feeding her baby food with a very long-handled spoon. My vet provided the spoon and was able to guide me through working with her food fear. I was told to focus on getting her to eat and then transitioning to cat food. It took longer to work through her food fear then it did for her to learn humans were safe to interact with. It took time to earn her trust but eventually she did become a social cat that wanted to spend time with us. She did learn that is was safe to eat her cat food too. Over time she became the first cat to greet us when we got home and even started sleeping with us. The only thing she would never let anyone do is pet her with their feet. I had another cat the loved foot pets and Baby-T would leave the room during the time my other cat was enjoying his foot pets. Cats do things in their own time frame when they are scared.

Here are some things that helped me with my baby. I would sit in the room she was hiding in and just watch tv at first. I did not try to initiate any contact. She eventually would walk around the room if I did not move. Once she started walking around the room I changed it to sitting on the floor talking to her about my day or reading to her. She would then walk around and come close enough to sniff me. My next step was to bring treats into the room while sitting on the floor. At first I would throw the treats across the room and she would eat them. The next step was to sit on the floor with my hand open and let her sniff me. She gradually began to pet my hand with the treats then I would pet her briefly. I avoided forcing interaction and let her set the pace. It required a lot of patience but things did get better over time. You are actually one step ahead already since Luna is not scared to eat. I truly believe you will eventually build a bond with Luna but it is going to take time and patience on your part. It is not impossible at all for things to change. My baby did over time get to the point where she would hang out in the room when we had company. She would let our close friends pet her and sometimes even hang out on the couch with them. This can be done but you need to give Luna time to learn to trust and it has to be done in her time frame. I did things in steps and yes sometimes there were setbacks but things did get much better.

 

[1 bruce 1]

It does sound like Luna had a very rough start. She also probably had very little human interaction too. It sounds like she just needs more time to learn to trust because of her background. It is good that she is letting you interact with her at least a little already. It is just going to take time and patience for her to adjust.

I adopted a young adult cat years ago that was physically abused and was scared of everything. She was even scared to eat. It took time to earn her trust but eventually she did become a social cat that wanted to spend time with us. Cats do things in their own time frame when they are scared.

Here are some things that helped me with my baby. I would sit in the room she was hiding in and just watch tv at first. I did not try to initiate any contact. She eventually would walk around the room if I did not move. Once she started walking around the room I changed it to sitting on the floor talking to her about my day or reading to her. She would then walk around and come close enough to sniff me. My next step was to bring treats into the room while sitting on the floor. At first I would throw the treats across the room and she would eat them. The next step was to sit on the floor with my hand open and let her sniff me. She gradually began to pet my hand with the treats then I would pet her briefly. I avoided forcing interaction and let her set the pace. It required a lot of patience but things did get better over time. You are actually one step ahead already since Luna is not scared to eat. I truly believe you will eventually build a bond with Luna but it is going to take time and patience on your part. It is not impossible at all for things to change. My baby did over time get to the point where she would hang out in the room when we had company. She would let our close friends pet her and sometimes even hang out on the couch with them. This can be done but you need to give Luna time to learn to trust and it has to be done in her time frame.

I think there's something about not initiating contact that really solidifies trust, because if someone doesn't want attention at that moment, it's a polite thing to respect those wishes.

 

[catlover73]

I think there's something about not initiating contact that really solidifies trust, because if someone doesn't want attention at that moment, it's a polite thing to respect those wishes.

I totally agree with you. My baby's first hiding place was my roomate's laundry pile. My room had dumped her hamper to sort her laundry and Baby-T decided that was her hiding spot. My room mate was really nice and we wore the same size clothes. We actually shared all my clothes for two weeks because we did not want to freak out an already scared cat. Eventually my room mate slowly worked through doing her laundry. I took my summer bedding and dumped all of it on the floor for her to hide in since it was winter when I adopted Baby-T. My room mate followed my lead on how to bond with Baby-T. One of her big moments was when she climbed on my room mate's bed and took a nap. My room mate woke up from her nap and stayed laying in bed for a few extra hours because she did not want to startle my sleeping cat.

 

[Jackattack0101]

I think patience is key. When I brought my boy home he was terrified of coming out of the basement of my house. It took him at least 2 months before coming out of the basement to explore more. Just let her come to you and don't force anything on her. Just get her used to you being around you and I think in time she'll learn to trust you. Some animals adjust quickly but a lot of rescues have a lot of deeper issues that need time to heal.
The first time I brought him to my vet I mentioned his nervousness to her and she said that there is different kinds of food geared towards helping animals with stress. Maybe ask your vet about this to help relax her a little bit.

 

[Furballsmom]

Wow you've gotten some absolutely fantastic advice!
catlover73 my word, if everyone could find a roommate like that!!

 

[Kid Indie]

I think the few reassuring pats that you get should be promising on your behalf. Seems she hasn't gotten much healthy companionship in her short span and to all of a sudden receive it certainly would make anyone unsure of it. She probably is needing to get comfortable to her surroundings FIRST before welcoming human interaction. I know it may seem rough but you must be patient. Try not to have expectations on when she will be come around but just let her learn to trust her surroundings first and foremost.

Do not be discouraged, relationships of any kind take work and effort. I will say if you are looking to find a family oriented feline it is basically a shuffle of the deck. All of their personalities differ and if the one you welcomed home isn't what you expected replacing her may bring you a even more bad experience. It could be worse she doesn't sound docile as she hasn't shown aggression towards you. The timidness just seems like unfamiliarity w her surroundings. Give it time possibly move her food bowl into your main room now that she's adjusted to eating it will kind of force her to share a presence w you, minimal as is. Over time she may be welcoming to the idea of sharing more space w you outside of eating.

I hope time brings you both together. Hang in there!

 

[Chris_Takas]

G gennarose Many years ago, my mom had adopted a feral kitty after her mom and siblings were killed by a fox. She was the only to survive. Naturally she was scared of everything and everybody. To make a long story short, for the first 3 month she hid under the sofa only to come out at nights for some food. my mom constantly talked to her in a calming voice and had naps in front of the sofa on the floor. After said 3 month, she came out to explore her new home but as soon as we tried to pet her or even just to touch her she would hiss and run away. it took another 6 month or so before we were able to pet her for a few min. She purred and enjoyed the company. But the slightest sound would trigger some sort of anxiety and she would hide again. This went on for a very long time. but fast forward a few years, she is now the most affectionate loving older kitty! she is so protective of us that she picks fights with dogs, crows or any animal that comes close to my parents estate. (and she will win every time)
Sometimes you dont know what the kitty has been through and it might take weeks or month for her to feel comfortable and secure. but if you pull through and guide the little one through her first month/years, you will be rewarded for your patience with lots of kitty love!
Give her some time and space to get used to her new environment.

 

[1 bruce 1]

G gennarose Many years ago, my mom had adopted a feral kitty after her mom and siblings were killed by a fox. She was the only to survive. Naturally she was scared of everything and everybody. To make a long story short, for the first 3 month she hid under the sofa only to come out at nights for some food. my mom constantly talked to her in a calming voice and had naps in front of the sofa on the floor. After said 3 month, she came out to explore her new home but as soon as we tried to pet her or even just to touch her she would hiss and run away. it took another 6 month or so before we were able to pet her for a few min. She purred and enjoyed the company. But the slightest sound would trigger some sort of anxiety and she would hide again. This went on for a very long time. but fast forward a few years, she is now the most affectionate loving older kitty! she is so protective of us that she picks fights with dogs, crows or any animal that comes close to my parents estate. (and she will win every time)
Sometimes you dont know what the kitty has been through and it might take weeks or month for her to feel comfortable and secure. but if you pull through and guide the little one through her first month/years, you will be rewarded for your patience with lots of kitty love!
Give her some time and space to get used to her new environment.

Very cool story!! =)
And cats are really quite sensitive to our moods and the over all feel/energy in the house. If we humans are upset, they'll know something is up.
As hard as it is gennarose, try to just keep things simple and as normal as possible and keep yourself relaxed and happy with any kind of progress =) It'll get there!