We adopted a cat........question - Page 3

Demitra1 · ‎03-11-2010

Thanks again. All advice and tips duly noted and understood. The shelter called him Spot, which my DH thinks sounds like a dog's name. I asked the vet tech if he would be confused if we gave him a new name, and she said no. We want to interact with him a little to decide on a name.

dooBdoo · ‎06-27-2010

Plaid Pants... GMTA!

Few things reveal your intellect and your generosity of spirit—the parallel powers of your heart and mind—better than how you give feedback.~Maria Popova

mewsmomtoo · ‎03-05-2014

Hi demitra, I just want to second what dooBdoo & KathyPet said. Start him in a smaller room and let him get used to the sounds and smells of your home. Go and spend time with him in there. When he seems confident and is comfortable you can widen his world. A little patience now will be repaid with years of happiness with your cat. So nice of you and your husband to give this little guy a home <3 <3 :-)

Topaz Gem · ‎03-10-2010

Ditto what everyone else said...give him all the time he needs. When you bring a new kitty home, it's purrfectly normal to want to interact with him right away, but kitties often have an adjustment period; some kitties need longer than others. Don't force him by taking him out of his hiding places, even though you have the very best of intentions. I guarantee that it will get better every day. Please continue to post updates and a photo if you can! :-)

"Summer afternoon-summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~Henry James

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

I think those who adopt kittens and young cats without knowing their purrsonality are brave. The OP sounds like me - I know that I would want a lovvy, cuddly snugglebunny cat, and would not be happy with a standoffish cat or a formerly feral cat that might but might not ever really bond with me. I have had two couldn't-care-less cats, both from early feral backgrounds. One (current kitty) I took on because she was my mother's.

Love-of-my-life kitty (deceased early of cancer) jumped into my arms from his cage, put his arms around my neck and started kissing my ear the moment we first met. He bonded to me instantly. Should I ever have another kitty (highly unlikely due to multiple circumstances) I would again seek out a cat that wanted me, not one I had to woo. But like I said, I admire those kitty parents who take a chance.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

hsawaknow · ‎03-15-2011

I'm glad you adopted a cat/ kitten. As for him being distant don't worry. I adopted a mother/son and it took the son months to warm up to me. To this day he wants nothing to do with my kids or ex husband...just me!

Sleep sweet Bo 3/19/08 8/4/18

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

Kitties are like a box of chocolates "You never know what you're going to,get". My two are a brother and sister adopted at 4 months. I love them both but they are very different just like people!

Demitra1 · ‎03-11-2010

Moonchild......sweet story! Our other two cats were strays but they took to us immediately, so that is why I have been stymied. But, good advice has been given, which we will follow. I sure hope he warms to us. I did ask the lady at the shelter when I first called about his demeanor and she said he was sweet. Maybe they tell everyone that. Lol Anyway, I'll update our progress.

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

On 3/29/2015 demitra said: Moonchild......sweet story! Our other two cats were strays but they took to us immediately, so that is why I have been stymied. But, good advice has been given, which we will follow. I sure hope he warms to us. I did ask the lady at the shelter when I first called about his demeanor and she said he was sweet. Maybe they tell everyone that. Lol Anyway, I'll update our progress.

Please do keep us updated - and good luck! :-)

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Jeremiah 2911 · ‎03-11-2014

Congratulations on adopting a precious new kitty! (I love cats!

I have some suggestions:

Keep your new kitty in one bedroom with his bed, litter box, food and water. Go into the bedroom several times a day, call him over, give him some tasty treats and sweet talk to him. Treats help a cat to focus on food rather than on fear.

Also buy a feather toy of some type and play with him while he is in the room. This helps him to forget his troubles and focus on playing.

After 2 to 3 weeks of being isolated in a bedroom, start taking him out of the room and supervise him in your living area for an hour or two. Give him treats while he is in the living room, pet him and sweet talk to him. Then return him to "his" room.

Every now and then a cat might have trouble acclimating to a new home. Then you might need to use a large wire crate to help keep him in an open area where he can observe your household and get used to what's going on around him.

If you find that your kitty is continuing to hide during the day and isn't acclimating to his new surroundings, you can encourage him to get used to your home by placing him in a large wire crate for 1 or 2 hours daily. He can sit in the crate and observe the sights, sounds and smells of your home. A few weeks of being able to observe his new surroundings while being "safely confined" in the crate (for 1 to 2 hours at a time) will help him overcome the fear he has of his new surroundings.

This is also a good method to use to integrate hostile cats into a home with existing cats (or dogs).

Buy a large wire crate and put into the crate a small bed, a small, open litter box, food and water. Place the crate in an area that is the most busy in your home, such as the kitchen. Take him out of the bedroom and place him gently into the crate. Give him a tasty treat and sweet talk him while he is in the crate. Walk over to him several times during his stay, feed him a treat and sweet talk him. Don't leave him in the crate more than two hours at a time.

Remember that his wire crate is to be used only as his "safe haven". Don't use the wire crate as a "time out" and/or for punishment. (I realize that most of us already know this but I usually include this information as there may be someone reading here that needs to know not to use the crate for anything but a safe haven for their pet.)

After your kitty has been integrated successfully into your home, the crate can be stored away and used later to contain your kitty during emergencies, home renovations, sick or after a spay/neuter surgery, etc.

We adopted one of the most fearful, skittish and hostile cats ever known to man. The shelter discouraged us from adopting her -- warning us that she couldn't be adopted out to a home with any other cats. After she was overlooked at the shelter for 7 months, we decided to adopt her anyway, deciding that we would train her to tolerate our resident cats and teach her to live without fear in her new home.

We successfully integrated her into our cat family by placing her in a wire crate for 1 to 2 hours a day. It took her about 3 months (of 1 to 2 hour daily crate sessions...) to tolerate our resident cats and to acclimate to her new surroundings. It was a definitely a challenge to integrate her with our resident cats, but four years later she toodles around our entire home, happily sharing the love with everyone in the family.

Hope this helps.