New Kitten Won't Come Out From Under Couch

[marblesmom]

Hi all-

We just adopted a new 6-mo-old orange male kitten. Background: he was found on the street at 3.5 mos, and has lived with a foster since then. He was with several other cats, and got along fine wth them and would play with them. Foster mom says he is totally a submissive "omega" cat He has a very meek personality. He's quite nervous with new people, will crouch and slink and sometimes will let out a halfhearted quiet hiss, but then once you pick him up, he immediately purrs and settles for the most part and will stay on your lap. But you can tell he is still a tad bit nervous. He is a conflicted kitten

Brought him home last night, and he immediately went under the couch like foster said he would. He won't even move for treats or toys. Twice, we pulled the couch out and got him out. He is so nervous when we get him out, he backs up and hisses a little, but once we got him out, he would let us hold him, purred, sat next to us on the couch, and even explored the room a little before going back under the couch.

I slept on the couch and he got up to eat twice and to to use the little box twice, but was under couch the rest of the time.

We have a 1-yr-old cat (keeping her blockaded out of the room for now)- so new kitten certainly smells her in the room and can hear her sometimes.

Wondering if we should keep purposefully taking him out occasionally so he can interact with us? Or completely leave it to his timetable? And how long would you expect he may take to stop living under the couch? I totally know it's normal right now, it's only been not even a whole 24 hrs, but wondering how long to expect and how to handle it. The foster said she typically takes 3-5 days to introduce a new cat to resident(s), but if he won't even come out from the couch...

And he is in our living room. We have it blocked at one end with a standing-up tall gymnastics mat and at the other end with a covered gate. It's inconvenient and ugly- we know it's temporary but it'd be nice to get rid of it as soon as we are able (We don't have another room to use for the kitten) We do have another family room for us to be in, though.

Any thoughts/experiences/advice? Thanks, and sorry for the novel!!

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

You are doing all the right things. Remember cats don't like change. It takes them awhile to get used to new surroundings and new people. I wouldn't push him as far as the other cat is concerned. Also spend time in the room with him, but let him progress at his own free will. It won't take long before he will adjust and want to be in your lap,

 

[susanm9006]

If a new cat is hiding, I would not normally recommend taking them out since they will adjust mich quicker if left to explore at their own pace. However, since your resident cat is being blocked from the living room, her previous territory, you might want to move the new cat to another room where he can stay until he adjusts. You can then start introducing the two cats slowly though scent exchange and supervised meetings.

 

[marblesmom]

I would put him in another closed room if I could... we don't have an extra one though. Our resident cat has enough other areas of the house that she's fine

 

[marblesmom]

Well. This am, I thought he'd be under there forever. But he's been warming up throughout the day...
I just found him on top of the piano.
Guess he's not as scared as I thought!

 

[Etarre]

Progress! Cats are curious creatures, which will help lure him out of hiding. Once he feels more comfortable, he'll want to explore his new space. He'll likely still be skittish and easily startled, though.

 

[duncanmac]

Well. This am, I thought he'd be under there forever. But he's been warming up throughout the day...
I just found him on top of the piano.
Guess he's not as scared as I thought!

It's only been a couple of days. As long as he is eating and using the litter box, you should be good. Don't put his food and litter under the couch - make him come out to use it. Just a few feet away is enough for now. What I did with my shy boy to encourage him to explore was to leave a few piles of treats around for him. They were always eaten overnight, so I knew he was exploring.

Next step is sitting in the room and just talking to yourself/the cat so he gets used to the sound of your voice. Sit on the floor fairly far away if you can.

 

[ailish]

Ailish hid during the day for a good month and a half. She would come out at night to eat, use the litterbox and eventually to explore. I pretty much let her do her thing, since she was eating. Eventually she came around, although she is a very shy cat for people other than me. Even company downstairs, she mostly stays upstairs, can scare her if there are loud, having-a-good-time voices. With me she's pretty bossy and opinionated and she's a fearless killer with rodents and snakes.