We brought home a new rescue cat yesterday to join our existing two cats.
it was a home-to-home rescue so I’d met the cat before in its previous home and had a good chat with its owner so I felt pretty sure we had got the kind of chilled out, confident cat that would settle easily.
We’ve got him home (into a quiet room away from our other cats), he’s gone straight under the sofa, is growling and hissing at us and hasn’t moved an inch (not even come out overnight).
What can we do to help him settle and can anyone reassure me that this will get better?
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The litter tray
Terrified new cat…have we made a mistake?
CatCatastrophe · 17/03/2024 08:22
CatCatastrophe · 17/03/2024 21:38
Reassuring to know that confident cats emerge after a fearful start! All our previous cats have been pretty chilled from day 1 so whilst I know that it’s not unusual for cats to hide I really wasn’t expecting it from this cat.
He’s not moved from under the sofa in 36 hours now…how long can they go without using the litter box? Or eating and drinking?
SallyWD · 17/03/2024 21:44
He'll come out at night when you're asleep. My cat did this for a month. It felt like we didn't have a cat but every morning I'd see he'd used the litter tray and eaten his food. Eventually he got fed up of hiding.
CatCatastrophe · 17/03/2024 21:38
Reassuring to know that confident cats emerge after a fearful start! All our previous cats have been pretty chilled from day 1 so whilst I know that it’s not unusual for cats to hide I really wasn’t expecting it from this cat.
He’s not moved from under the sofa in 36 hours now…how long can they go without using the litter box? Or eating and drinking?
lifebeginsaftercoffee · 18/03/2024 09:10
That all sounds very positive! I would maybe try something high value like tuna or sardines or dreamies if he's not eating normal cat food.
Toddlerteaplease · 18/03/2024 06:47
One of mine hid for a week. She ruled the house with an iron paw, when she did emerge.
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