فك يو
CAT UPDATE + requesting advice from cat people!
فك يو
Mickey (the cat mentioned here and here ) has generally relegated himself to the aforementioned upstairs hallway, i would assume because it's high up and he can look down at the hallway below
فك يو
(though the hallway below is unfortunately not very well-trafficked at all, so he's not seeing much, and he's almost entirely deaf so he likely can't hear much activity even when my sister and her boyfriend are in the kitchen next door)
فك يو
they're concerned that he's unhappy/depressed and worried that he's not settling in well, but it's also barely been six days
LiberBEARian
:< oh baby
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(i told them that if THEY are unhappy having him there i will 100% take him no questions asked, but they said that no, that's absolutely not the issue, they're happy to have him but they're worried about how long it's taking him to settle in)
LiberBEARian
yeah six days is not enough to settle in
فك يو
but six days really doesn't sound like that much time to me!
فك يو
yes exactly
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
It’s definitely not enough time
فك يو
they say his appetite is fine which also seems like a good sign to me
Dalrint
One of my friend's cats stayed in the same room for nearly a month before finally being willing to venture out.
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
I got a pair of kittens from a rescue and it took weeks for them to adjust
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
He’s also old so that may add to his adjustment period
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
He’s probably staying in the same place bc he feels safe/secure there
فك يو
mmmmm yes i was wondering about that, too; old + deaf + recently lost his lifelong owner and then had days of strangers coming in and out of the house he shared with said owner
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
Yeah like- my elderly cat is 19, and even though she could go elsewhere in the house, she basically lives in my bedroom and barely leaves it. Except to eat since her food is in my bathroom.
فك يو
(thank you guys, i'm passing on some of these comments so they will hopefully be reassured)
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
As long as he is eating properly and using the litter box, he is probably okay. Just adjusting
فك يو
he also did do a lot of exploring when i first brought him; he walked around the entire downstairs before finding this hallway and deciding to stay put
فك يو
no attempts to hide from me/them/the dog, no skittishly scurrying under furniture, but he clearly likes being high up
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
That seems normal to me! And he was actually willing to explore so that’s good
ᴇʀᴏɢᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢ 🍆
He probably just likes that hallway
Mouth Powers
Optimal Vantage Acquired
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
Most cats need a space of their own and not to be let out of it for a while
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
They are territorial so need tht space and time to settle, if they can he should have a room, even a bathroom, that is just his
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
Also adjustment time varies...6 days is not long at all though
فك يو
sister is a bit worried that the dog is what's making him not want to venture out, but the dog was around while he was exploring the downstairs
فك يو
he seemed wary of him, but never stressed or frightened, never tried to run and hide, etc., even when the dog was barking excitedly at him
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(dog loves cats and always wants to make friends, cats don't love him lmao)
thepenguinred
poor dog
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looking through my pictures of their house - this is the hallway he's claimed https://images.plurk.com/7lGnNPMxrqPjQyF756XKVg.jpg
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the door at the top of the stairs (usually closed) leads to a bedroom, and the door visible at the bottom left (closeable but usually open) leads to the kitchen
فك يو
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ would you recommend closing the kitchen door for a while as well?
فك يو
https://images.plurk.com/4QSgzHelew6HaSkSH2T155.jpg looking down from the top of the stairs, though that open door is generally closed as well
ɢʟᴀᴍ★sᴛᴀʀ
i agree with everyone else! six days is a completely normal amount of time. a lot of people recommend to just keep a new cat in one room - bathroom, bedroom, etc - as they get used to a new home, because cats take a long, long time to adjust.
ɢʟᴀᴍ★sᴛᴀʀ
add to that the fact that he's older, deaf, and has just experienced a traumatic loss, i honestly wouldn't start worrying until it gets to be like a month and a half
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
i would honestly rec him being in a room by himself if possible? or like somewhere with no interruption except what is obvious (like, you open th edoor and he can see you open the door)
ɢʟᴀᴍ★sᴛᴀʀ
to put it in perspective, when i got mimmo he wouldn't come out from under the bed when i was in the room for over a month
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
if this hallway area can be closed off to just him that would probably be ideal, at least then he can adjust and get his scent in that area and at least have time to cope without potential interruption at random
ɢʟᴀᴍ★sᴛᴀʀ
i do kind of agree with the above, having him in a room by himself while he adjusts
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
he will venture out when he has a comfortable place of his own, naturally
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
like we had two kitties once that they had to stay in our side room after a spay for 2 weeks because of stitches and whatnot
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
but they kept trying to leave with us, didn't want us to go out, etc
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
so then when their wounds were good and they were fine to run and jump and play we opened the door to let them out and they just sat at the doorway and stared like what
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
and it took some time to seduce them down the stairs but they had already established Their Room and would run to it if anything happened they didn't like
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
they just gotta have that spot they know is Theirs first built up to be confident enough int he new area...this guy's current issues may make that take longer but that's to be expected
فك يو
passing all of this on, thank you
ɢʟᴀᴍ★sᴛᴀʀ
yeah, you just have to be patient with him while he acclimates. again as long as he's not hiding where you can't see/get to him or actively exhibiting distress i really wouldn't worry
ɢʟᴀᴍ★sᴛᴀʀ
as long as they can spend some time with him every day that's what will help him get acclimated most imo
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
and as bad as it sounds a lot of people suggest spending that time with them and feeding them solely when you do
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
so then they come to associate you the good human person with food and warm up to you quicker
ɢʟᴀᴍ★sᴛᴀʀ
SOMETIMES CATS NEED TO BE BRIBED BECAUSE THEY ARE FICKLE CREATURES TBH
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
BUT old guy is probably socialized enough really maybe just leave dry food and come with treats???? but always always come with something
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
come with treats, a new toy, come with fresh water or wet food or a new bed or blanket
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
also if they can do basic nonsense tasks in the new cat area?
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
sit and go through emails on the phone or laptop, read a book, that sort of thing. just so he can get used to them being in his space.
فك يو
update from jenny: it's an old house with old/inconsistent heating, and pretty soon closing that door will mean it'll get far too cold in there because keeping it warm means relying on heat from the kitchen; they're going to see about moving him to one of the bedrooms!
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
if they can try to make sure there isn't spots for him to hide they can't get to. like under the bed if at all possible could be blocked off if there is one there.
فك يو
o7
فك يو
i really appreciate the advice/info from all of you; we're dog people in this family haha
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
basically a big problem with new cats is if they have a spot to hide that you can't get to them if there is an issue or something that's a concern...but it does vary by cat, some will hide for weeks and others aren't into it. he may not be.
فك يو
we've had cats and they've been lovely but cat 1 was acquired when i was five and jenny was 3 so that's not particularly helpful, and cat 2 was literally feral so she was uhhhhh a special case (and we were also young children when we got here, so)
فك يو
*her
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
cats!!
فك يو
they also have a cat who lives in their barn and they had another adopted-when-the-owner-died indoor cat for a few years who died a few months ago, but he apparently adjusted immediately??
فك يو
his introduction to the dog was far more difficult tho so idk, i guess it evens out
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
adding to this thread that when I got my cat a few months ago, I gave her one room to explore and kept the door shut all the time, and even then she still spent a month hiding underneath the futon and back in the corner of the room behind a shelf.
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
I had to take her to a vet because she wasn't eating or drinking either, But so long as the cat is actually eating and drinking, then it's doing all right
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
like others have said, I wouldn't start to worry about it until about 2 months in. cats can take a very long time to adjust if they're not used to a lot of people or a lot of places
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
sometimes you can encourage them to explore by leaving treats in places that they might go to
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
But mostly it's just waiting until they're comfortable
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
And sometimes it happens all of a sudden... My cat literally went from hiding one day, to coming out of her hiding spot and head-butting me so that I would pet her the next day
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
And then one day suddenly decided that she wanted to be on my lap all the time
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
What my cat really liked when I first got her, was a dark and small space with only one entrance that she could watch, which I set up under my futon and draped the blanket over the front. The futon was late enough that I could move it and get to her if I needed to.
⸙ 𝔃𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓸 ⸙
light enough*
𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏
does he have places he can perch downstairs that would give him a good vantage point. any cat furniture cat tree thingy
فك يو
they do have a cat tree! he has some arthritis in his back legs so it's difficult for him to jump up onto it, though
𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏
oh no baby
𝕚𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕖
yeah, cats can take a long time to settle. it was at least a month for Fili to settle and then another year before he seemed 100% completely comfortable. many cats are slow to adjust to change
𝕚𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕖
I also echo putting him in a room by himself so he can have a space that's his own
𝕚𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕖
is he's wary of the dog, then have them only interact by having the door cracked for a while
𝕚𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕖
*if
𝕚𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕖
introducing cats to a new home is a series of baby steps. sometimes you get lucky and have a cat who doesn't give a fuck and adjusts pretty quickly, but I would say that's an exception to the rule
𝕚𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕖
(our cats are still adjusting, and it's been almost a year since the new one came in. it's so much better than it was but still not quite there yet)
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
yeah the cat needs to be comfy in his space before the dog is involved tbh
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
like imagine if you moved into a new home and as you opened the door for the first time with no notice all of your neighbors are in your bare living room to welcome you
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
you don't know how you got there but they're there, and asking you where the bathroom is, but you don't know because you just got here
sᴡᴀᴍᴘᴄᴀᴛ ғᴇᴠᴇʀ
you gotta get used to your space before you want people in it, cats are the same way
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