Struggling with new cat

[Kitty979]

This is day 2, the first day she was very quiet but now she is meowing most of the night. I shut my bedroom door and she is meowing at it throughout the night. I feel as though she is intolerant to wet food but she won’t eat her kibble. She has been purring and doing biscuits on my chest this morning but then goes back to pacing and meowing again. She has fresh water, food down and fresh litter box. Her poo is also slightly mucusy

Cross post. Thank you. I’ll definitely give the Feliway a try

She's doing amazingly- she has taken to you very quickly.
As already said most new cats to your home hide - one of mine hid for 2 days, one for a week. And even after that they normally take their time to get confident with the other guests in their home!
Not sure whether you have but if you have had random cats come into your home before then they may appear more confident- this is because it's their choice and they get to know your house on their timeline.
It's sort of upto you if you want her in your bedroom and bed, but she wanted it last night. Our last cat used to meow outside the bedroom doors to be with someone- sometimes I used to hope my daughter would answer her bedroom door to him as he didn't make for a great night's sleep being a big boy that wanted to be on you! I couldn't listen long though - he and my daughter knew I'd let him in!
The stomach upset is common when they're stressed. We don't notice cats' stress like dogs - they're quieter about it, but more prone to it, and more needy of company than we have been led to believe previously - not all cats perhaps but seems your one is.
You must be doing a lot right in her eyes - she already seems quite keen on you - she will be ruling the house soon enough.

When I got my old rescue cat who was my companion for 8 years through thick and thin she did and wouldn't come out for ages. I tried to force it to soon as I'd never had a cat before and she climbed in the fireplace and hid on the shelf. After retrieving her she and a lot of cleaning I let her hide till she was ready 🤣 I agree she's doing very well so far. Took mine about six months to get that close. She used to hide up a tree in the garden whenever our food delivery came for the first 2 years. Let her in. She might meow or she might be used to sleeping on the bed in a previous home. The wet food on an empty stomach might have caused the poo with the stress. They often don't eat to start with with stress so I guess it tempted her. Enjoy it and try not to fret

You definitely need feliway, yes.

Oh OP, she sounds perfectly normal!

Remember, she's used to being with other cats or at least in the vicinity of other cats - but now she's alone in a new environment with a new human, it's no wonder she's a bit confused and out of sorts.

Is she going to be an outdoor cat once she settles down? I wonder if a lot of the behaviour is because she either wants company or because she used to go outdoors at night in her old home.

Exactly! She's not a robot, she's a sentient being who has been placed somewhere completely unfamiliar. She has no idea wherevsge is or who you are. It takes weeks for them to put their scent around the house so it smells familiar.
Try Feliway and Zylkene calming tablets. She's very stressed.

Feliway didn't work for my cat but Zylkene works wonders. You can get it from Amazon.

Oh bless her it's all new and scary

And don't worry about having to struggle to get Zylkene tablets into her - it comes in capsules that you can break open & spread the powder on their food, a couple of mine used to argue over who got to the food first so they could lick off the delicious sprinkles!

Indeed, it's derived from milk so it tastes creamy and appealing to cats. It's very natural, not addictive. It's surprisingly effective.

I think the rescue should have homed her with her sister so she is totally bereft i would say; new home sibling missing.
re the food always good to have some dried for her down but use good wet will not her hurt her she may have an upset tummy for a while anyway. make sure she has water.
you are her mummy now so need to be ready with the cuddles etc.
you will both find your way gradually but you are doing well especially as its only early days. lovely puss like mine!

Do you not want her to sleep in your room?
Loads of people don't, that's fair enough, but if you would consider it, open your door.

Come on OP it is only day 2.

Some rescue cats hide for days before even interacting with their humans...

In term of the food, the rescue centre should have given you the details of what she ate when she was with them so just follow those instructions.

I would leave the door of your bedroom opened at night.

My rescue cat made herself comfortable on my bed on the second night and just went to sleep!

I agree with all this. My rescue cat hid for an entire month, but we heard him crying every night! It was heartbreaking.
You're generally supposed to keep the in one room for a week or two when you first get them. This is to allow them to slowly get used to the sounds and smells of the house. If you're not doing this, I'd give her the option of sleeping with you at night.

Hi Op we've taken on a kitten 3 yrs since our beloved old cat died.
When we got him he hid behind the unit in his room.
We left the pet carrier out too as they like to hide.
Out black cat often goes on the dvd player under the TV and she is 11.
It takes about a week or two for them to get used to a new place and people sounds smells and food.
As we both work I got my young one in a routine and he seems confident now knowing when it's wake up time and treat time.

Sounds like you didn't get any guidance from the rescue which is poor. But actually for day two she is doing well so will settle in nicely.

Cat protection website has leaflets and videos on various aspects of cat ownership. Jackson Galaxy on you tube is good. And as you've found you will always get advise on here.

Beautiful cat 😺

Out little rescue, now happily snuggled in but it did take a while

Our boy was a hide-y hissy thing for the first few days. He ate in secret at night until he was finally bribed with a little bit of tinned tuna. Once he settled he preferred to hang out in the kitchen for a good six weeks - although he was besties when you went through. Now he’s a lovely cuddly boy who loves his cosy bed by the radiator and will fight for his space on the heated throw. Photo of him below.

Previously we had a girl cat who we adopted direct from her family where she was being stressed by noisy children. She slept behind the living room curtains for about a week although she was in my lap on night one.

You sound like you’re doing fine and it’s very early days!

@Judystilldreamsofhorses love him!

Cats hate closed doors.

Give her time. It is normally weeks before a rescue cat is settled in.

Don't they just?! Ours ripped up the carpet on the landing outside two bedroom doors as they were pissed off about them being shut (teens' rooms - they didn't mind the cats sleeping with them but didn't want to have their door ajar and the cats would wake them up miaowing and ripping the carpet in their bedrooms because they couldn't wander out at will through the night).
🙄 Cats are sods! We now have wood floor on the landing and only our bedroom door is open for them - they sleep on our bed and prowl around the house in the small hours as they please.

How's things going now?

Keep your door open at night, as PPs have said.
Re the wet food - I think you have to introduce new food a tiny bit at a time as new food can upset their tummies.
Make sure she has somewhere safe to retreat to, eg a box on its side/a table with big cloth over where she can get under.