How would you tackle this?

[hiddenhome]

We are going to adopt a rescue cat in about three weeks. He's a two year old neutered male who's a bit nervous, but very friendly and engaging.

We have been advised to keep him in just one room for a couple of days when we first get him home. Somewhere quiet where he can adjust to life as he's been in the rescue shelter for a few weeks.

What I was wondering is, if I put his cat litter tray and food in there, won't he continue to expect to find them in there once he's allowed the run of the house?

Would he learn that his litter tray is in the kitchen if I were to show him? My other rescue cat learnt very quickly, but the house was smaller and I didn't have to keep her confined when I got her home.

The only quiet room I can think of is ds2's bedroom as our bedroom has our other cat in and that's her territory. The downstairs of the house is pretty busy.

Can you keep to downstairs only? So that he can go to kitchen/living room?

Really, if he is nervous he needs to be around people rather than keeping him away.

I would like to keep him downstairs, but it's quite busy and I don't know how I'd stop him from going upstairs.

Do you think he'd cope in the dining room if I put his bed under the dining table? We don't have visitors or anything, it's just with the dcs being off school.

Once he is used to your house and a bit braver, i would start moving the food and the litter tray further out of the room over time until it is where you want them to be. Show him where it is and let him explore a bit more at the same time.

Cats are pretty smart imo, mine was terribly nervous when we got him in march, and not socialised at all, but now he is v friendly and if it is feeding time he will pretty much follow me anywhere with a bowl of food in my hand.