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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   4467 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 5, 2023

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Yesterday I obtained a new cat. She is ten months old and very precious.

In my house, she has opted to hide either in my closet, under my bed, or under my couch the entire time. I cannot be sure she has eaten or drunk anything, though she did use the litterbox well. I am always keeping food and water available to her.

Can you advise me on how to handle this situation? Or even offer reassurance? I feel very concerned for her.

If it's been less than a week this is normal and not concerning. Especially since she's 10 months which means she's old enough that she'll take time to warm up to you (under six months they have less fear). Make sure food and fresh water are easily accessible. If she's using the litter box then she's eating and drinking.

Normal cat behavior. We've moved a couple times with our two cats and one of them will, upon moving in, without fail, find the craziest spot to hole up in and basically stay there for days. Like it takes 20 minutes to even find him.

I took care of my parents' cat at my house once and he basically did the same thing for the first week. He eventually came out of hiding. I'd say give it time.

If she's unfamiliar with you food is the main way to win trust and affection. Maybe make kibble available at all times and offer tastier food when you are present. Physical height can be a big factor in cat relationships, I have a very skittish cat and he gets scared of me when I'm standing up or walking briskly but will happily sit on my lap or let me pet him if I kneel.

I'd try feeding her some sort of gourmet canned food in a small room while you just lie on the floor and mess around on your phone or something. Look at her but don't stare and don't react if she comes close. Let her check you out and sniff you when you're on her level and not moving very much. When she gets comfortable hold your hand out and let her sniff it before petting her.

Ten months old is kind of a tricky age. Really little kittens you can just grab and pet and if you're persistent they'll ID you as their mom. That's probably not a good idea with her, it'll take a lot of patience.

You could isolate the cat to just one room until she feels comfortable exiting and exploring.

It's pretty normal for cats to hide out in a new environment. When I left my cats with my parents for a couple of weeks they spent all day under the couch and explored by night.

My last cat (an adopted stray) didn't want to come out of the bathroom for a couple days after moving in. As long as the litterbox, water, and food are easily accessible from whereever she's picked as her safe place(s), I wouldn't worry if it takes her a while to realize the extent of which new places are safe.

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