I've adopted a cat - help!

[Bikeridergo]

Posting here for traffic.

Totally new to the whole pet thing! We've recently adopted a cat. She's 2 years old. We've followed all the instructions and guidance from the shelter.

She's been with us for 5 weeks now. She came from a family with children, several other cats and multiple dogs too.

When we first brought her home, she immediately hid. She's now much better but still hides for considerable amount of the day. She can be stroked if you go to her but she will pretty much always walk/run off.

She will scram and try to bite very often. She won't let us pick her up (at all!).

Toileting, eating and drinking is all fine.

I was under the impression that after 5 weeks she'd be a bit more, erm, approachable

Is this typical behaviour for an adoptive cat? I was hoping she'd be snuggling on my lap by now and sleeping on my bed!

Ignore the cat, they hate this and will soon come and demand they are SEEN!!
I have been trained to jump to attention. He can even get me to move so he can have my chair, or get up so he can have his favourite bit of the bed. He has sharp claws and I don't.

My 2 lived under the kitchen table for months after I first rescued them.
Then one day they decided not to.

I sadly lost one a couple of years ago but her sister is still with me and is the smooshiest lap cat ever.
Just be patient. Let her do her thing.

We adopted our current cat when she was 14. She hid behind the TV for the first three weeks and threw up every day. Within three months she had taken over the house and the dogs bed! She’s now curled up on DH’s shoulder and she totally at home.

I got a rescue 18m ago.

She’d been used for breeding and was traumatised.

For the first month she hid behind the washing machine upstairs.

Then she moved into the covered dog crate but would not come out. Only ate when no one was looking.

Next 6 months she gained confidence and slowly explored upstairs, but wouldn’t come downstairs.

We’ve now had her 18m and last night she slept on my bed for the first time. She is a little bit needy and follows us round a lot, but doesn’t seem to know how to ask for/accept fuss. She won’t sit on my knee, just walks all over me purring getting face rubs.

She gets a bit better every day. It has been a very slow process though.

I reckon pp have it. Ignore her and let her come to you.

We adopted a 1-year old cat from a lovely family who were downsizing. She had always been with her sister (littermate), and they also had teo other cats and two dogs. She was absolutely terrified when we brought her home, wouldn't eat and hid under a bed upstairs all day. It became clear that she missed her sister, who was adopted by someone else. She has eventually become used to us and our two old boy cats, and happily sis on our laps & sleeps on our bed, but it has taken time and patience. The sad thing is, she really misses curling up with another cat, one of our boys occasionally lets her cuddle up and she's really happy, purring loudly. I think whatever happens to them in their first 12 months affects them for the rest of their life. I really wish we'd adopted both her and her sister though :(.

It is a time thing really. Cats generally are creatures of habit and don't willingly do change. Especially major change.

I had our cat from a kitten, but the real major change in his life was when he was two years old and I got an 8 week old labrador puppy. The cat took six months to forgive me and accept the dog. It could not be rushed. It had to go at his pace or not at all.

I agree that it is often better not to pick the cat up unless essential, especially it is a cat who has been unused to being handled. Many don't like it much.

Let him go at his own pace. He will hopefully come to you when he is ready. For now he is sussing it all out and learning to trust it just can't be rushed.

My cat was quite an aloof creature his whole life. I handled him gently occasionally right from kittenhood just so that he would be more accepting whenever it was necessary (e.g. to go to the vet) but he was never really a cuddle cat either. He would rather have jumped up onto the back of the sofa or armchair to try and shove the human occupant off so that he could have it for himself.

He was a real character cat, but not a cuddly one. He was good at controlling the dogs though. He would have made a great dog trainer.