Shy Cat Issue--next Steps?

[suzan30]

I adopted Charlie, 3 weeks ago, and have been working diligently to help him adjust to his new home and his new brother, Ollie. Both are about 1 year old and both were rescue cats. I was told when I adopted Charlie that he is shy and will need patience. I prepared a room for him, with a litter box, kitty condo, food, and toys, and spent some time in the room several times a day. At first, he hid constantly but gradually started coming out for petting. He would rub against me and purr loudly when I petted him. Unfortunately, he developed an eye infection, then had a reaction to the medication. He was in pain and hated the drops in his eyes and withdraw completely. After a week of treatment, he is much better and has been coming out to be petted and will eat while I am in the room. Now I have two problems--1) Charlie shows no inclination to every leave his room. I have tried sitting outside the room and calling him, making a little trail with treats, waving a cat teaser, etc. Nothing works! I know it is a bad idea to force him out of his comfort zone, but I feel bad that he is confined to a small space. 2) I have been trying to hold some supervised playtime with Ollie. There is no hissing or growling, but they are not playing together either. When I throw a ball, etc. Ollie responds but Charlie just keeps looking on from the sidelines. Sometimes Ollie will sort of poke Charlie with a paw, which I think is an attempt to initiate play, but Ollie gets scared and retreats.
Any ideas of how to move beyond our current state?

 

[susanm9006]

I would try confining Ollie to a room, preferably not the room Charlie has been in, for a day or two and opening Charlie door so that he can explore the rest of your living space. It is important that you not try to engage him or even look at him or he will likely retreat. More than likely this will get him out and more confident about his environment. Once he is less fearful you can start bringing Ollie out for some joint playtime.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Just to make sure the bases are all covered, I'm going to link a couple of our articles for you as well.

16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
Introducing Cats To Cats after the fact, but some good stuff.

 

[suzan30]

Just to make sure the bases are all covered, I'm going to link a couple of our articles for you as well.

16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats
10 Must-know Tips For Happy Living With A Shy Cat
Introducing Cats To Cats after the fact, but some good stuff.

 

[suzan30]

Thanks so much for the advice. I think we are moving forward slowly. Today I was supervising a play session and Ollie did a bit of grooming of Charlie (licking his face). Then, they both lay on their sides and did a bit of play fighting, no hissing or fighting. I am routinely feeding them together and that is going smoothly. One issue is that Charlie still needs eyedrops and I think this is contributing to his timidity. From his perspective, I am the mean lady who alternately makes nice and then manhandles him, although I try to be gentle.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

He will forgive and forget quickly enough once the meds are done. Cats don't hold grudges about stuff like that, I've found! You are doing a stellar job of integrating those two!

 

[suzan30]

Well, I may have been too optimistic. The cats seemed to be doing better, so I left the door of the "segregation room" open so that Charlie could explore a bit. He did come out--but has gone into hiding in my basement. After some intensive searching, I found him and decided I would leave his food in the segregation room to encourage him ot come back when he was done exploring. I was then awakened in the middle of the night by intense meowing (not sure which cat it was) and found Ollie and Charlie in the living room staring at each other with tails moving wildly. I put Ollie in the bathroom, but while I was doing that Charlie then darted back into hiding.

I guessed I moved too quickly. Now I am not sure where Charlie is (not that my house is that big, but the basement in particular offers lots of places to hide). I placed some food and water where I saw him hiding before and there is a litter box there. Should I just give him time to come out when he's ready?

 

[susanm9006]

Yes, don't try to find him or take him out. He will come out when he feels safe. I would keep Ollie confined until you see signs of Charlie coming around. Would be good to know who was doing the howling but it seems a good sign in the interaction between the two was that Charlie was at least standing up for himself.

 

[suzan30]

Charlie has emerged. Here he is at play. He is still acting skittish when I approach him but seems to be enjoying exploring the house. Ollie does not seem to be bugging him.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Slow and easy. You're doing fine. We all stumble here and there with these introductions.

 

[susanm9006]

He sure is a pretty guy. Glad he seems to be coming around. Maybe it was his howl and he put Ollie on notice.

 

[suzan30]

Me again. Sorry to keep asking questions, but I am super anxious that my cats get along. Charlie is well and truly done with being segregated. He seems to be moving around the house with confidence and there have been no cat fights (yeah!). Two things have come up. Charlie, who has been completely silent to this point, is now meowing a lot. I am not sure how to interpret this--anxiety? more comfortable than before? Also I am not sure how to handle feeding. Both cats get wet food twice a day but Ollie will quickly eat his and then move onto Charlies bowl. I have tried putting the food in different places and closing the door so that Charlie can eat in peace, but instead it just upsets him. Any ideas?

 

[susanm9006]

Charlie is progressing. I would take the meowing as him being more comfortable. As far as meals, after Ollie finishes his pick him up and shut him in a room until Charlie finishes. If you leave a gap of at least a couple feet between the two dishes you should be able to nab Ollie without disturbing Charlie.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That's how I read the meowing, as well. He's getting chatty with you and Ollie.