Rescue cat is terrified

[Squaretoe]

We picked up our new little girl yesterday! She is from a Romanian shelter and apparently she was in a van for over three days before she got here so she is not a happy girl at the moment! She has been here for just under 24 hours and has been hiding behind various bits of furniture basically the whole time. She has eaten next to nothing, and has used the litter tray once. I don’t know if she’s had anything to drink since she’s been here.

Feliway is arriving later on today, and I’ve been playing relaxing music for cats to try to calm her down . What else can I do? The lady at the shelter has been in touch to check on her and has been helpful. I’m freaking out a bit that she’s traumatised and will hide forever.

Even without being Romanian and travelling in a van she would have been nervous , so really she is doing well!

I cannot remember much about our cats when new, but i remember the little black one crying downstairs at night so I brought her up to my room in a box but she demanded to sleep on my bed, cheeky thing!

Thank you all. She is getting better every day! Last night she came into the living room while we were in it and had a sniff around, this feels like a big step! She’s eating well and using her tray. She even had a little play with one of the toys we left out! I think the noise from the children being home is not helping so we are out as much as possible.

Cautiously checking out the bribery Dreamies i’d offered.

She's beautiful.

She's lovely! She'll get used to your children in time as long as they let her come to them when she is ready.

Oh she's beautiful, and a brave lady.
What's her name?

Stunning

Of course she is. I would be too. Make her bed, food and water easily accessible and then (all of you) go about your business around her and she’ll let you know when she’s ready. Might take hours or days but don’t push it.

“I think the noise from the children being home is not helping so we are out as much as possible”

Sorry, disagree. She needs to become accustomed to and comfortable with your family’s daily life. Just be sure the children understand they are not to approach her, she must come to them when she’s good and ready.

she’s beautiful. rescue cats are the best. my boy had been squeezed and had a hernia at 5 months. his gums were bleeding and his eyes were a mess. i’ve had him 2 and a half years now.

from this, to this!

Roast chicken off the hot counter is also good bribery mine is like a rat up a drainpipe the second he smells that!

I feel like we’ve taken a step back today, her chosen hiding place of the day was between DD1’s bed and the wall, so both DDs have been sneaking off and trying to stroke her all day and the poor thing has been trapped! Obviously I have told them again and again to leave her alone but she’s clearly been spooked by this so tonight she has disappeared completely :( we have searched the whole house so she’s obviously found a really good hiding place. Hoping tomorrow is better!

Pets at home sell zylkene capsules you can mix in her food. Cats are so highly strung I can’t believe they transported her in a van for 3 days.

I am a bit surprised that the shelter would home a traumatised animal in a house with such young children to be honest. I really hope this works out for you and it sounds like it has done for others which should give you hope. Don’t be too hard on the kids though, they are naturally going to want to interact with her and are very young to understand the concept of patience!

@Squaretoe

I feel like we’ve taken a step back today, her chosen hiding place of the day was between DD1’s bed and the wall, so both DDs have been sneaking off and trying to stroke her all day and the poor thing has been trapped! Obviously I have told them again and again to leave her alone but she’s clearly been spooked by this so tonight she has disappeared completely :( we have searched the whole house so she’s obviously found a really good hiding place. Hoping tomorrow is better!

I would block access to the DC's rooms and make sure she has plenty of high up spaces so she has somewhere to escape - scratching posts, bookshelves, hammocks etc. Cats like to be up high.

@caitlinohara

I am a bit surprised that the shelter would home a traumatised animal in a house with such young children to be honest. I really hope this works out for you and it sounds like it has done for others which should give you hope. Don’t be too hard on the kids though, they are naturally going to want to interact with her and are very young to understand the concept of patience!

When I went to collect her I did wonder if they’d suggest a different cat to be honest... hiding again today, I think I’m going to get some Zylkene today to see if that helps her.

It can take weeks. Lots of patience, hiding places and she needs to feel safe so maybe have one place where she hides and can be completely undisturbed, tell the children that's her quiet/sleeping place and not to "wake her" (depending on their ages!)
The safer she feels, the more she will come out and start interacting
Does no harm to chat away and ignore her so she gets used to the every day noises

I agree it can take a lot more time after everything she has been through. I adopted an 11 year old cat who had been a stray for over 3 years just before lockdown. It took weeks for him to come out of his hiding place when I was in the room, although he always purred when I stroked him. It was 3 months before he explored the whole house, but he is now a lovely affectionate boy who sleeps in my bed.

All of your stories are giving me hope! Thank you all for replying and for the advice, I am taking it all in.

How is she now OP?

Would she not have needed to be quarantined if she came from Romania? Has a vet seen her?
She is lovely 😍

It took my rescue dog months to be 100% comfortable. Give her lots of places to hide, continue keeping the kids away from her and have patience - one reason my dog loves me more than my husband is because I never go to touch him, I always let him come to me. My dog had never had an owner before so had no concept of being loved, your cat may be the same.

Don't try to bribe her to come out or anything. Just keep putting food down, keep her litter tray clean and leave her be.

@cosycatsocks

Would she not have needed to be quarantined if she came from Romania? Has a vet seen her? She is lovely 😍

Romania is in the EU so animals can travel here (at the moment) on a pet passport.

She’s getting better each day, last night she came right upto me and sniffed my hand! We are leaving her to it most of the day but she comes out in the evening and we’re managing about 20/30 minutes of play with a ball of string before she gets bored.

She has been to a vet in Romania and has been vaccinated and had worm and flea treatments. Her pet passport says that she’s been signed off by two vets to be able to travel over here. I do want to take her to our vets soon but I don’t have any immediate concerns so I’m going to let her try to settle down a bit more before I put her in the carrier again.

Her favourite hiding place at the moment is in my wardrobe!

Have you got any of those treat stick chews? We called them “swallows” as they went down without being chewed.