New cat-teething problems

[Catsins]

Si, we brought home a cat yesterday. She’s 4 years old(extremely cute!)
she’s been hiding away for pat of the time. Under a bed, behind the fridge, IN the sofa.
she cane up to bed last night but peed in the duvet. I carried her downstairs and she peed mid-carry. She’s eaten since she’s been here but has yet to use the litter tray.
i want to make this as easy for her as possible.i bought a little cat house for her today so she ca. hide in that rather than behind the fridge! But so far she’s been uninterested. Many tips his to help her along?

Keep her in one room to start with, to get her used to the environment, with access to
litter tray, food toys etc.

Give it time, it will take time, but be patient.

and YABU for not attaching a photo! 😉

Yes you need to keep her more contained in one room. It is too overwhelming for her. Just put her in one room with the litter tray, food etc and the door closed and let her settle. You can go in occasionally and give treats, strokes etc. Gradually give her more access to the house.

Get a feliway plug in diffuser - it's a pheromone that will help her to feel more relaxed. Let it on all the time.

Just be very patient and let her become more comfortable and settled, which she will do once she feels more confident. I’m presuming she’s not feral/semi-feral as the process would take a lot longer here.

Use your voice all the time, talking away like Dr Doolittle so that she becomes used to you. Keep the home environment fairly quiet and relaxed too. Some cats like listening to classical music!

Don't worry too much about her hiding away initially - she should soon find her own places to rest and sleep. Cardboard boxes with old clothes of yours will help.

When she does start using the litter tray, don't keep it 100% clean initially. Cats much prefer to return to their own scent and she’ll soon recognise that it’s her toilet.

There are plug-ins and sprays such as Feliway which can help anxiety.

Good luck! 😻

As others have said, keep her more contained and get some Feliway.

Offer her some treats but don’t spend time trying to coax her out of hiding for them. She’ll come out when she’s ready so if she doesn’t show interest straight away just leave them out for her.

The peeing on the bed could be because she’s still feeling frightened. However as an owner of two spoilt moggies. I know they can sometimes be really fussy when it comes to litter. One of mine would rather pee on a sofa, or give himself a bladder infection, than use anything other than Catsan clumping litter. Also keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t have a bladder infection. She probably doesn’t, but a stressful situation like a new home can cause them and they do tend to try and pee on soft things with an infection.

Sounds like she’s landed on her paws in a caring home and I’m sure you’ll be getting cuddles from her before you know it!

Yes op we need a photo!

My cat hid for the first couple of days, then warmed to us, she just needs to adjust bless her x

Thanks everyone. I took your advice and left her downstairs rather than bring her up to bed with me.
i can’t apologise enough for not attaching a photo. What was I thinking?!
Here she is on a rare appearance from her hiding spot!

Yes this is what we were told to do. Keep her there for a week or so. Feliway may help or Zylkene calming tablets.
Most of all you need patience. It takes time. Our rescue cat had for an entire month! After that getting settled in nicely.

What a gorgeous cat, thank you for paying your cat tax so promptly.

I am sure she'll settle in nicely.

I read recently about three days to decompress from being transported to their forever home, three weeks to become accustomed to you and the new routine, three months to become confident that you are the best cat mummy ❤️

Aaw lovely cat!

She'll get there. We adopted a new cat a few months ago. He opted to stay in the living behind the couch for four days. Poor thing wouldn’t eat either (long story, but he was mistreated by previous owners). He gradually popped his nose out and then got brave enough to explore the living room for a few days and discovered the food. Every day, a new exploration.

He’s currently asleep upstairs on dh’s dressing gown.

She’s so sweet. Loves a head scratch. Her little black nose is extremely boop-worthy

One room for now and let her come out in her own time. Don't even try to pet her yet let her come to you.

Just gone downstairs. Can’t find her anywhere! She can’t have gone far though. She’d eaten her food and had pooped in the litter tray, so that’s progress

What a lovely tuxedo and hooray for litter tray progress! Yes it takes time, one of our childhood cats hid behind the fridge for the first week, we just couldn't get him out. He was soon the boss.

Finally located her on the windowsill watching the world go by

How has the cat settled in now?