Hello everyone! I adopted two beautiful young rescue cats (a brother and sister aged about one year old) 10 days ago. They're both extremely timid around people and were at the rescue centre for quite some time (five months) as a result.
When we took them, the shelter lent us a metal crate and advised us to keep them in that with all their things for the first week, so they could get used to their new surroundings slowly, before introducing them to the rest of the house one room at a time and ultimately, the garden.
Unfortunately I accidentally didn't close the door to the crate properly on the second night and they escaped into the kitchen/diner. Since then things have been coming along quite well - they've both been getting slowly bolder, wandering round the room, playing with their toys and enjoying looking out of the windows into the garden, as well as sunbathing together on a rug on top of their crate!
However, two nights ago one or both of them somehow managed to open the bottom doors to a big cupboard that sits in my dining room. Since then the female cat (who is by far the most timid of the two) has taken to spending a lot of time in the cupboard during the day. The door is just a couple of inches ajar, so we can't see her.
She does come out for short stints of play and to eat at mealtimes, but is no longer sleeping on top of the crate in the sun with her brother and is opting for the cupboard instead. I think he misses her company, as he's chirruping quite a bit and periodically goes looking for her (although now he's fast asleep on top of the crate on his own!)
I was wondering - is it best to just leave the arrangement as it is and let her spend long amounts of time in the cupboard? Of course if she's happy then I'm happy - but I'm also a little worried that she will become more withdrawn again just as she seemed to be gaining confidence! Any advice would be much appreciated.
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The litter tray
Nervous rescue cat hiding in cupboard
17 replies
Sunshine49 · 29/01/2018 10:19
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