Settling In An Adopted Cat-accidents

LozzyPiper

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Hello,

We have rescued cats as a family in the past, but I can't really recall what happened as they settled in. Partly because our more recent boy was so confident!

Yesterday evening our new fur baby arrived (18m old female). We let her out into the litter box so she knew where it was, then hid under the sofa the rest of the evening. We did the usual thing, had a quiet evening, softly spoke to her and left her to it. About 3am I woke to her crying, and she climbed up on to our bed and explored our bedroom. The same thing happened about an hour later. It felt like she was becoming more confident with us.

This morning she was hiding under the bedside table and didn't come down for breakfast, and I found that she had peed on the bed in our spare room. Of course accidents happen, and moving home must be very stressful, so I didn't scold her. Has anyone else experienced this when a cat is settling in? Did it resolve itself?
 

rubysmama

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Hello and welcome to TCS. :touched:Congrats on the new kitty. :bouquet:

Sorry about her peeing on the bed though. :( Do ensure you clean the bedding with an enzyme cleaner so that the urine scent with be completely gone. Here's a TCS article with more info: How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens

As well, an article on How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home | TheCatSite

Partly because our more recent boy was so confident!
Is there another cat/pet in the home? If so, that makes things more complicated.
 
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LozzyPiper

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Is there another cat/pet in the home? If so, that makes things more complicated.
Thank you so much! Thanks for the articles also, will definitely be having a thorough clean!

No pets in this home at all. My previous cats were family cats at my mum's house.
 
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LozzyPiper

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How's your girl today? What's her name, BTW?
Her name is Pumpkin. She is still hiding, but in very close proximity to us. She slept overnight as well and ate some of her chicken, which is a good sign. Hoping that she'll come out and explore again while we're at work. In the night she came onto the bed to give me a couple of head-bumps, so again that's a good sign. Hoping she'll come around in her own time. I know she had no problem toileting with her fosterer and had a clean bill of health from the vet, so hopefully it's just the stress of moving.
 

rubysmama

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Awww... she sounds like a sweetie pie. :hearthrob:

When you can, feel free to post of pic of your precious girl.
How To Add A Picture To Your Forum Post | TheCatSite :camera:

Is the litter box easy for her to find? If your home is large, it might help to put out more than one litter box. But hopefully the bed accident was a one time only thing. :crossfingers:
 
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LozzyPiper

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Awww... she sounds like a sweetie pie. :hearthrob:

When you can, feel free to post of pic of your precious girl.
How To Add A Picture To Your Forum Post | TheCatSite :camera:

Is the litter box easy for her to find? If your home is large, it might help to put out more than one litter box. But hopefully the bed accident was a one time only thing. :crossfingers:
I will definitely post a pic when I get a good one! The box is quite easy to find, as we are living in a small two bed mid-terrace house. Not sure where we'd put another one, but if it happens again we will look into it! Thanks for the advice.
 

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I would definitely add one more litter box for now, preferably one on each level. You could remove it later if she will be ok with using only one (some cats are not). And actually it's usually a good idea to confine a new cat in one room only, so that she's not overwhelmed by the new territory. Maybe she was too stressed to go out of the room she was in and use the litter box? So for a few days i'd have her in one room with litter box, her food etc till she feels confident in this room, then enlarge her space.
Good luck!
 
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LozzyPiper

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I would definitely add one more litter box for now, preferably one on each level. You could remove it later if she will be ok with using only one (some cats are not). And actually it's usually a good idea to confine a new cat in one room only, so that she's not overwhelmed by the new territory. Maybe she was too stressed to go out of the room she was in and use the litter box? So for a few days i'd have her in one room with litter box, her food etc till she feels confident in this room, then enlarge her space.
Good luck!
Hi, thanks for the response. Keeping the cat in one room until they acclimatise isn’t actually very common in the UK, and all my previous cats have just been let out to explore. This cat was similarly released to explore her foster home, which was much bigger than ours. All my previous cats have also done well with one litter box, but we’ve just put a makeshift one in our bedroom where she can go for now, should she not want to leave the room. That'll have to do for now, as I wouldn’t be able to go get one until tomorrow otherwise.
 

rubysmama

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Hopefully there's been no "accidents" today. Keep us posted on her progress.
 
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LozzyPiper

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Hopefully there's been no "accidents" today. Keep us posted on her progress.
Last night was pretty good. She came out of hiding about an hour after we went to sleep. She had a drink, ate some food at used her makeshift litter tray (hooray!). She gave us loads of headbumps and showed her appreciation with lots of purrs. She slept with us all night and played with my husband this morning. She’s wary of going downstairs, but she seems very comfortable with us now.
 

rubysmama

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That's a great update! Good girl, Pumpkin. :catlove:
Any pictures to share yet? :catman:
 
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LozzyPiper

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She’s really comfortable with us now. She still doesn’t come into the living room when she is alone (we have a camera to check), hopefully that’s just because she’s busy sleeping/playing upstairs. Despite this she’s using her tray downstairs happily now, preferring it to the one upstairs (which she’s only used once in the last 3 days). As she was used to one tray when in foster care, I was going to start gradually removing the spare, as it’s not practical to keep one in our bedroom. I was thinking of gradually reducing the mount of litter in it until it’s just an empty box, then all being we, remove it. Is that a sensible way about it? Any other suggestions?
 

rubysmama

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So happy to hear she settling in so well. :catlove:

The usual suggestion I've seen for moving a litter box, is to slowly (each day) move it a bit closer to the location you want it to be. In your case, I guess that would be moving it down towards the other one, and then finally getting rid of it. But moving it down stairs, wouldn't be easy.

BTW, the "recommended" number of litter boxes, even for just one cat, is 2. That's because some cats are quirky and like to pee in one, and poop in another. Or they don't like to use the litter box unless it's clean.

How Many Litterboxes Should You Have?

I originally had 2 litter boxes for my Ruby, but removed the 2nd one years ago, and she was fine. However, she's recently had a few "accidents", so I've brought back a 2nd litter box, and now she's using both of them. But, no accidents. :thumbsup:
 
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LozzyPiper

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So happy to hear she settling in so well. :catlove:

The usual suggestion I've seen for moving a litter box, is to slowly (each day) move it a bit closer to the location you want it to be. In your case, I guess that would be moving it down towards the other one, and then finally getting rid of it. But moving it down stairs, wouldn't be easy.

BTW, the "recommended" number of litter boxes, even for just one cat, is 2. That's because some cats are quirky and like to pee in one, and poop in another. Or they don't like to use the litter box unless it's clean.

How Many Litterboxes Should You Have?

I originally had 2 litter boxes for my Ruby, but removed the 2nd one years ago, and she was fine. However, she's recently had a few "accidents", so I've brought back a 2nd litter box, and now she's using both of them. But, no accidents. :thumbsup:
Hi, thanks for the reply. I know she was using just one in her old home, and has no problem peeing and pooing in the same tray (she’s being doing both in both of hers here). Unfortunately we can’t move it down the stairs slowly as upstairs we only have two bedrooms and a 2x2ft hallway before our thin and narrow staircase. So I might just have to remove it and hope for the best. If there are any accidents we could potentially put one in the spare bedroom but will obviously have to be moved when we have guests.
 
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