Rehomed A Cat

[Dags]

Long story short. Wife got a cat, we renamed Zoey, from her brother, who has 1 dog and now 2 cats (was 3) the house also has 2 young kids who in my opinion terrorize the animals. From what I was told Zoey spent a lot of time hiding, I am guessing from the kids. She has been with us for about 2'ish weeks and she seems to spend her time hiding here. At night the wife will find her, pick her up and she will sit on my lap or her lap and loves the brushing and petting. She will roll around wanting her tummy rubbed and her head scratched. If I get off the sofa for a drink she seems to take note and gets on edge but its not until I start walking back that she tends to take off and hide again. I image its just time and she needs to get use to us but is there something I can do to make it easier on her? For the most part during the day I kind of ignore her and just leave her be in her hiding spot. I don't really go looking for her and I don't really see her at all. I do hear her at night playing with some toys and on her scratching post so she is roaming around when we are in bed.
Should I just leave her be and when she is ready she will be more social???

Thanks

 

[Etarre]

Hi Dags! I recently adopted a cat who spent a significant amount of time in a shelter, and she's quite jumpy, so we're also working hard to try to make her comfortable, and wondering how to help her settle in. I think it's great that you and your wife are giving Zoey a home free of children who terrorize her, and it might take time for her to get over whatever negative experiences she had there.

I've noticed with Juniper (our kitty) that she is particularly skittish and likely to hide if multiple people are moving around in the room at the same time. She prefers to interact with one person at a time, and seems more secure when we're sitting quietly watching TV or sleeping (as opposed to Sunday chores, which are particularly trying for her).

We're making slow but steady progress, and although I know it's difficult to be patient when a cat seems so scared of you, I think it may just be a matter of being patient and letting Zoey figure things out at her own speed. When we do make a breakthrough with Juniper, however small, it feels magical. She now sneaks into bed for a cuddle pretty much every morning when she wakes up (around 5AM, when we're snoring away), which I take as evidence that she likes us. I hope Zoey gets more comfortable with you, since she clearly enjoys cuddles and petting.

Good luck!