My newly adopted female (approximately 2 years old) is still spending most of her day hiding under my bed. When she hears my voice she will come out and snuggle with me, however, as soon as I stand up or make any sudden movements she goes straight back into hiding. She is very friendly but still very nervous. I have her litter box and food near my bed since that where she is hiding, however, I have heard that this is encouraging her to hide because she does not have to venture out to find food/litter. The only time she ventures out to explore our apartment is when I lay down for bed at night and she spends the majority of the evening in our living room. However, she will refuse to leave the bedroom if I am sitting in the living room. Should I still let her acclimate to her new home or should I try and encourage her to venture out and explore. I feel like I have made progress with her and I am nervous about going backwards. I am wondering if it is time to slowly move the food and litter out of my bedroom. What do you all think?
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Newly adopted cat still hiding after one week. Should I let her be?
- Thread starter amedan25
- Start Date
It sounds like she is progressing very well and getting more comfortable. Since she does spend time in the living room I think it is okay to do a very gradual move of her food and litterbox and see how it goes.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Great! Thank you. I didn't want to force anything
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- Mar 29, 2021
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One of my favorite cats I ever had, bless her memory, was on the kill list at the shelter because she was deemed "too shy to adopt". When I brought her home, she promptly tore out the bottom of a chaise chair, crawled up into it, and spent most of the next week or so invisible to us. Food was eaten and the litter box used, but we never saw her. Slowly but slowly she got used to us, and by the time she passed away she'd spent years glued at my side - coming downstairs to get me if I was late going to bed, then sleeping snuggled against me the whole night.
All of that is to say - patience is your best friend! She's already snuggling with you, which is just marvelous. Our success came from lots of soothing tones, lots of visits to the room, rewarding her whenever she came out, and being willing to do everything on her schedule.
I think the idea of moving the box and food away incrementally is great. All cats are different but I suspect she'll be fine with it. You can always backtrack a bit if necessary. Two steps forward, one step back is still progress!
All of that is to say - patience is your best friend! She's already snuggling with you, which is just marvelous. Our success came from lots of soothing tones, lots of visits to the room, rewarding her whenever she came out, and being willing to do everything on her schedule.
I think the idea of moving the box and food away incrementally is great. All cats are different but I suspect she'll be fine with it. You can always backtrack a bit if necessary. Two steps forward, one step back is still progress!
