Bit of reassurance for my new rescue cat

[dentsdubonheur]

Hi everyone - I brought home a rescue cat on Wednesday, so we're going into day 3 of her being home. She's called Harlequin, or Quinn for short, and she's a two-year-old tortie.
I chose her because when I went into the room she was in (to actually look at another cat), she was so friendly - loved coming over for a stroke and a belly rub - that she totally won me over.
Now I've brought her home and she has spent all waking hours hiding in an underbed storage drawer and only coming out at night (I know because I have a little cat camera in her room and it alerts me). Yesterday evening I did manage to spot her sat on the windowsill when I came in, but she looked absolutely terrified of me - all tensed up and crouching in a ball. 😥
I guess I'm just after reassurance that this scaredy cat period will pass - I've read loads of websites and Reddit threads saying this is normal and that sometimes they hide for weeks or even months, but just want to hear your positive stories of cats that came out of their shell.
I live on my own and aged 41 and single I am fully leaning into my 'spinster cat lady' aesthetic 😆 so was really looking forward to having a snuggle bug to keep me company.

I had a semi-feral rescue tortie - I love torties. She did the same for about a week. She would only come out of hiding if I was not in the room. At night I could hear her playing with the toys I left her!

I got her used to my presence by going into the room, sitting on the floor, reading a book, and ignoring her (important to sit on floor so at her level, not above her on a chair). I would sit there for say 20 minutes then leave, then go back a bit later, rinse and repeat.

Don't look directly at her or approach her, that will be interpreted as a threat. If she ventures out glance out of the side of your eyes, and let her come to you. She will eventually!

She's very pretty!

I had one that hid for a week. Just leave her too it. It will be well worth your patience.

Thrifty, who we got in February, was another one that demanded attention in the rescue but was completely intimidated by being somewhere new. Weirdly, she did come out for a fuss at mealtimes - likes being stroked before she eats - but disappeared under the furniture again immediately after. It was several days before she'd come out at other times and a few more before she'd sleep where we could actually see her. She also used to watch the other cat, who's one of those terminally curious kitten-cats, to see whether what she did looked safe and fun before taking the plunge.

I think it's that the rescue is familiar so they can accept attention from people who look nice, but a new home is all different so they don't trust anything at first. That she comes out and plays when you're not looking is promising. I second the advice to sit quietly in her room so she's used to your presence as kind of part of the furniture. I'm sure you'll have your snuggle bug back in a little while. She's just got to build her confidence. She's beautiful, by the way, but you know that.

All the smells, all the noises, the space & furniture is all new to her. She needs time to adjust.

TempCat (Rex) is the friendliest, nosiest cat known to mankind. Runs to the front door if he hears a knock, rushes out for pats from any delivery person, loves having tradespeople in the house and won't leave them alone, meows at the front door if he hears the neighbours key in their door (I'm in a flat). Everyone who meets him laughs at how much he loves people and attention.
BUT
for the first week or so he was here, he retreated under my bed and curled up on the underbed drawer (snap!) for hours at a time. I think he liked the dark and the small space, as it made him feel safe. He was very jumpy at loud noises from outside especially loud scooters and cars going up the driveway of our block of flats anything like a bang. Presumably you don't know what she's come from, whereas I knew he'd lived very rurally and city noises were all new to him.

So just give it time. Some Feliway may help and just sitting outside the door to her room talking quietly. I'd chat to Rex when I knew he was under the bed and he'd often eventually cautiously come out.

Ahhhhh, she's a dish. Give her time, she will come around.

My daughter and I got a 2 year old cat, Missy, from a lady whose dog had taken a sudden dislike to her, despite her being in the household since a kitten.

When we brought her home she was extremely nervous and hid away from us. She actually used to hiss when we ventured close to her. After a couple of days she became more used to me but continued to hiss at my daughter to the extent that we thought we'd have to return her.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks and she was perfectly fine. Missy is now 12 and my daughter is her absolute favourite person. I am just the hand that feeds lol

What a beauty!
Just to reassure you, this is very normal for many cats. I got a rescue cat who hid for an entire month! He only came out at night to use the litter tray and eat. However, he's now very much at home, ruling the roost actually. He has us all treating him like a king! He's very affectionate and a real lap cat.
Just give her space. Let her hide. Don't ever force her out of hiding. I used to sit near my cat's hiding place and read to him so he got used to my scent and voice.

Ah thanks everyone! I think I just need to be patient - I've wanted my own cat for years (having grown up with them as children) and so now I have her, I'm desperate to give her a cuddle!
But I will let her come to me - I've been sitting in the room for 15 mins or so a few times a day, just chatting inanely to her or reading news stories from the BBC News app (I like to think she was as disgusted and dismissive as I was about the JD Vance 'cat lady' comments!)
I've got all the other stuff sorted - Feliway plug-in, food separate from water and both separate from litter tray, catnip toy, one of my t-shirts left on the bed so she knows my smell as well as her blanket she had at the shelter.
She is eating and pooping, so that is a good sign - I will update when she starts coming out of her shell more!

oh - and here's another pic of her watching birds out of the window (taken via my cat cam last night!) I just love her colouring!

1. She is gorgeous
2. she absolutely will come out of her shell. It’s just the new environment. If you want her to feel secure in her new home (feeling security will bring her personality out) then play with her. She needs to feel her raw cat energy in her new home to feel like she owns it.

look at Jackson galaxy on youtube

What a lovely cat! As a fellow cat-owning spinster I understand exactly where you are coming from. My lovely cat was exactly the same for the first week or two. However, she then started becoming bolder and now has no personal boundaries whatsoever and wants to spend about 20 out of every 24 hours on or near me.

PS I am absolutely loving all the childless cat lady memes all over the Internet. Though I don't know whether Kamala Harris actually has a cat! Perhaps she should get one just to troll Vance

Ah - thanks for the tip about Jackson Galaxy - not heard of him before but just watched his video about setting up 'base camp' for your cat - I'm doing all the right things, but good to have it confirmed!

She's a calico cat (her markings) she'll soon settle in

Tortie and whites are my all-time favourites!! I've got two now, one long-haired and one short-haired and a big soppy cream/white boy! I've had several over the years and the only one that wasn't particularly feisty was my sweet dilute tortie!

She's gorgeous. She will come round. None of my three hid when they came but it did take some time before they would properly deeply sleep! Just takes them a while to acclimatise to their new home.

You are very lucky to have such a gorgeous girl. 😻

She is very pretty, no wonder you picked her!
As a previous poster has said, it's all strange smells and sounds to her right now, be reassured it's a phase and soon you'll be commenting on threads about cats hiding, saying 'my little girl did that but now....'
Do you have a name for her yet?

Okay ignore the last sentence: I see you has the perfect name for her!

That picture at the window is hilarious!

Normal behaivour as others have said.
My two lived under the sofa for at least a week.

She’s beautiful. She will soon settle in. A packet of dreamies wouldn’t be a bad idea, then when she comes to you offer her a treat.

Yip I have a rescue tortie who hid on a shelf in the utility room for the first week. Now she literally won't leave me alone. Your girl will settle in and before you know it you too will have a cat who miaows outside the toilet any time you have the audacity to shut the door.

She’s beautiful!

Our boy was into everything on night one, purring like a little train, and all about the tummy rubs. Day two he was hiding behind the TV stand (which is an open unit so still in plain sight) and hissing like a little demon. He barely ate for a couple of days, and toileted overnight. Day four he seemed to turn a corner, which was good because I was starting to worry we had adopted a snake, not a cat!

Four months in and here we are.

Awwh it will pass, one of ours took about 8 weeks to venture out of the little room we had set up for them she spent the whole time hiding from us. Funnily now she is the more confident one, loves fuss and is so good with the kids, she's never frightened now.

Mine hid behind the washing machine and only came out at night for weeks. We just left him to it and when he did come out didn’t make a huge fuss. With a month he was out for good.

she is beautiful

Commonly called tortoiseshell (tortie) in the UK. Calico’s American.

My neighbour adopted two kittens who were absolutely terrified at first
One barged in to my home earlier as the other launched himself through the window

I've had two rescue cats
First one got out the carrier, looked around and sat on my lap and fell asleep as I ripped up the "settling in your new cat" leaflet
He was very much "I am your cat and you are my human forever now"

Second one got out the carrier, slid under the sofa and watched me for 30 mins. Came out, explored the house and demanded to sleep under the covers with me that night. He's incredibly affectionate but a year on is still to sit on my lap!