Adopted cat problem need advice

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Bufford

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Yesterday I adopted an 8 year old declawed indoor cat from an owner who is moving overseas. Being older he is set in his ways, and lived in a home without another cat, but has always been friendly towards other cats.

Anyways, since yesterday the cat will not move from his hiding spot under the steps. Late last night I tried to move him downstairs, I reached under and he bit me pretty good, growling and hissing enough that I could air up tires, so I just left him be.

His litter box and food is downstairs, and my other cat has been using the new cat's box and eating his food.

This morning he is still in the same spot under the steps, it is hard to say if he went down stairs to use the box, or if he is holding on. I just hope he doesn't use the rug or mess up under the steps.

For the time being I placed his bed and toys next to his hiding spot.

Should I just leave him alone?
 
Bufford said:
Yesterday I adopted an 8 year old declawed indoor cat from an owner who is moving overseas. Being older he is set in his ways, and lived in a home without another cat, but has always been friendly towards other cats. Anyways, since yesterday the cat will not move from his hiding spot under the steps. Late last night I tried to move him downstairs, I reached under and he bit me pretty good, growling and hissing enough that I could air up tires, so I just left him be. His litter box and food is downstairs, and my other cat has been using the new cat's box and eating his food. This morning he is still in the same spot under the steps, it is hard to say if he went down stairs to use the box, or if he is holding on. I just hope he doesn't use the rug or mess up under the steps. For the time being I placed his bed and toys next to his hiding spot. Should I just leave him alone?

Bufford, we went thru the same thing a few years ago (neighbor went away to college, no one to keep her cat) with not only another cat in our house, but also a black lab. It took almost 4 days for the visitor to come out from under my son's bed. She actually made up with the lab before she made up with our other cat. They kind of just tolerated each other for the two years we had her, no fights or anything, but when one cat would come into the room, the other one would just get up and leave. It was so funny to watch this, and the dog could have cared less what either of them were doing. Give it some time, but you might want to try and keep the other one out of his litter box & away from his food for awhile. Good luck.
Be safe.
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Cat's are overwhelmingly territorial.
Either your existing cat has intimidated the new one, or the new one is simply waiting to be "invited" by the dominant one.
Their bigger cousin, the mountain lion male, will establish a territory of almost 80 miles in diameter.
Give it another day or so.
Also, make water readily available - dehydration is not good.

And play Barry Manilow music.
 
Yeah just give it some time, and he will get use to the idea of being someplace new. Right now he is just scared and confused, and maybe missing his owner.

A few years back I took in a kitten when I already had a full grown cat. The kitten just wanted to play but the adult didn't want anything to do with her other then to beat up on her. after about 2 weeks of being the referee thing settled down and they became inseparable till the young one died. The older cat still wanders around calling for her "friend". When I moved up here to Winnipeg my mother took both cats in even though she has 2 already, all 4 cats got along fairly quickly, but there was a definite pecking order between them and you could see little clicks form where one would protect the other.

As for the litter box worries you could just move the box to the same area as the cat so he can use it where he feels safe.
 
Bufford said:
Should I just leave him alone?
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Thats what I would do. I bet that the more you mess with him, the longer it will take for him to acclimate. Maybe throw him a cat treat once in a while, and then walk away.
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Cat's are overwhelmingly territorial. Either your existing cat has intimidated the new one, or the new one is simply waiting to be "invited" by the dominant one. Their bigger cousin, the mountain lion male, will establish a territory of almost 80 miles in diameter. Give it another day or so. Also, make water readily available - dehydration is not good.
And play Barry Manilow music.

This is classic . . . :D :thumbup:
Be safe.
Click to expand...
 
Jake my 16 year old cat is very tollerant towards the new cat and I hope that he can get the ball rolling for me by calling the new one out. I am backing off from going near the new cat except for offering a treat under the steps. It's hard to say if he came out of hiding during the night, but the food dish has been going down faster than normal, unless Jake is eating more of the new cat's own food provided by the original owner.
 
Yes,just leave him alone.It could take a week(maybe two), for him to warm up to his new home.
 
It takes time for the cats to work out the territory. Trust me that if the cat is housebroken and needs to use the litter box, he will almost always find a way to get there.Trying to force him may cause him to rebel, so let him be.

Keep food and water around and clean the box often. Things will probably work out soon.

If you are really concerned that he feels cornered, put the old cat in a closed room ( with a litter box, food and water) for a few hours to let the new cat explore safely. If the new cat will come out, you can do the same with it for a few days, to let the cats get used to the smells and all.


We adopted a 24# Main Coon Cat the looked like a bobcat. Our older American longhair had been a solo cat for nearly ten years when Bobcat ( obvious name) came along. Both were neutered males. Bobcat hid under the bed and avoided the old car at all costs. After a few days of this we took a large dinner plate and opened a can of tuna. We put the juice in the middle and a good helping of tuna on each side. In five minutes both cats were at the plate eating. A few minutes later, the tuna gone, they were both lapping up the juice. Another plate that night sealed the deal. They became as close as litter mates from then on. They would even snuggle up with each other when curled up by the fire.
 
The new cat left the hiding spot under the steps and has now set up camp inside my old black and white console TV set (yes some of us still have one of those kicking around) way back behind the shop in the basement.

Good place for him to feel safe and has ready access to the litter box, food and water. He sure had to go, as he left his mark. All are good signs.

The two cats are communicating, Jake spends alot of time sitting on top of the hot water tank not far from the new cat. All seems well so far, Jake is more content having the new cat and grooms himself much more now.

Now the wait continues until the new cat becomes comfortable to make an appearance, that may take awhile.
 
Expect a few cat fights. They will not last long, and will be far less violent than they sound. This is just part of the way they work out the order of priority.
I think why the tuna thing worked for us so well was they were both been solo cats, and had no pre-established order to maintain. They just decided they would be co-alpha.

This brings back a good memory of those two ( they are both gone ,now).
They would play a cat version of Marco-Polo at night sometimes. Just after we had gone to bed, the cats would usually come in and hop up on the end of the bed. If they were not ready to go to sleep yet, one would go downstairs and the other would stay upstairs. Then they would start calling each other. The old guy could say "hello" so clearly it sounded like a person calling up the steps ( took me a bit of getting used to when there seemed to be an intruder calling "hello" to us at night). Before long, Bobcat learned to make the sound pretty good ,too. Once they started calling, the cat who started the game would move about the house and hide in a new place, calling out "hello" every minute or two.The searching cat would call back, then go look for the hider. Once the search cat found the hider, they would romp through the whole house, playing catch-me-if-you-can, making a racket, and finally collapse on the floor by the bed - which we were in....awake by now. They would laugh...I swear ,it was really a cat version of laughter...and roll around together. Then the cat who had done the seeking would go downstairs and become the hider. Luckily they only did this for a while, then they would curl up together on the foot of the bed and go soundly to sleep.
 
Wwe adopted a kitten a couple months ago. It was almost funny to see the older cats reaction over time.

The kitten wisely nested under our bed for a few days and everytime the older cat saw it it would raise holy you-know-what. At first his "personal" space was about 25' but over the next few days it shrunk to about 3'.

They are still working things out, especially when she wants to play and he wants to sleep but all worked out very well. He does get to eat first though...

Best of luck with your adoption. You're doing a good thing.
 
I am calling him 'invisible cat' for now. He is out of his hiding place from the old TV and there is traffic heard during the night as there are clearly two cats moving about the house. Food dish is going down and litter box filling up quicker than before indicating that 'invisible cat' is eating and drinking just fine. I am just going to have to wait until 'invisible cat' becomes 'visible cat'.

No fighting at all, and Jake is much happier than before, grooming himself more and sleeping less. I hope Jake can call him out as invisible cat seems to have a case against me. Maybe he is blaming the loss of his old home on me?
 
Yep, occasional fights. Need to learn to distinguish between "golden paws" and something more serious. In at least our case, bushy tail on the dominant cat is a bad sign.

Our junior cat was described as "very shy and you'll never see him, certainly not a lap cat" when we adopted him. He's now my most aggressive (though still twitchy) lap cat!
 
Invisible Cat is camping out behind a set of drawers in the shop. He won't move from there except during the night. It must be uncomfortable for him to sleep on a pile of left over steel cuttings from the bandsaw along with all the dust.

He must hear my conversation with Jake the other cat who is gentle and likes to meow and talk to me. Jake has made no hostile moves towards Invisible cat. For now I am just ignoring Invisible cat until he either gets bored enough to come out or dies of boredom.

He is eating, drinking and using his litter box, and interestingly Jake uses his own and does not use the new cat's box as I was concerned that he might. Still waiting for invisible cat to come out into his new home, handing out goodies doesn't seem to help so far.
 
Try setting out some real attractive food, like tuna, on a small plate about 2-3 feet outside of the place where he hides. Do it when you have been in the shop for a while so he knows you are there. When he comes out, keep on doing what you are ,but talk to him. If you can get behind the cabinet when he is away, clean the area up and put a blanket back there for him to lay on. Having his own "space" is important.

I have a good name for your cat - Aoratos
 
I was in the shop for a bit and noticed that invisible cat was in his hiding spot face down in a serious state of depression. He is mourning for his family he had for the first 8 years of his life. I can tell that he came from a very loving home with children. I have no kids here, perhaps that is part of the problem.

I placed a can of expensive cat food infront of the hiding spot and his eyes opened up wide, and while I worked I talked in a gentle tone trying to coax him out.

I left the house for a couple of hours and he came out of his hiding spot and sat up on the shelf. That is one big step forward. The only problem is that Jake now steals the expensive food from Invisible cat. At least they are not fighting.
 
Put out more, or give Jake some of his own so he's not hungry enough to go after the other cat's dish for a bit. Cats adapt but it can take a while, they're definitely creatures of habit and unless it's a feral cat or one very used to spending a lot of time outside they are not particularly bold in new environments.
 
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