Adapting to new surroundings

Hey all,

I have done a search but still have a question about cats adjusting to new surroundings. Today I got 2 new family members. 11 month old kittens. A brother and sister. No names yet as the names they came with are not quite right for them. Their photos are in the fur photo section in the cat lounge.

Anyways the female will hiss at me every once in awhile. She just jumped up on the couch where I am laying atm and looked at me. As soon as I said Hi to her she hissed at me. Not too concerned yet as she is in a new and very strange place. She will also come and sniff at my hand from time to time and has licked it once. Her previous owner said she has to adjust to males. Her brother will sniff at my hand and lick it, but will not let me touch him just yet. again not too concerned as I am an unknown. He also discovered the fish tank and loves the fish.

I realize every cat is different but as far as adjusting, on average how long might it take? So far they have slept in the middle of the floor even though there is a hiding place in the room and both have played with me a little bit. And they seem to still have a pretty good appetite. Is there anything else I can do to make them more comfortable in their new home?

Thanks for your time

Full adjustment-6 months
Less hissing-1 week, unless they are really timid then 2 weeks
relaxed quite a bit-2 weeks

thanks. since I first posted this thread the female jumped up on the couch with me. hissed at me ever so softly and laid down by my feet for a few minutes. The male allowed me to pet him for a minute and was purring up a storm. Now he is doing 'laps' around the couch. walk on the floor in front of it and walk across the back.

Sounds like things are going well. Enjoy your adventure with your new kitties!!

update

Well It has been close to 2 days since they arrived. This morning the male jumped up on my lap for a quick scratch. Earlier this afternoon as I was laying on the couch, he jump up with me and settled in between my legs and we napped together. Currently he is on the couch with me and propped up against my leg. I just got done doing a good scratching session. Every time I stopped he would stretch and move a little closer to my hand. She hissed at me once so far today, only because I made a real sudden movement. She is also on the couch with me relaxing. Just out of arms length so no scratching her. She was playing a little about an hour ago too.

I got a few toys this afternoon and so far they have looked at them and played with the fake mouse I got. Best toy so far is a piece of sting.

Update 11.7

Hello all,

I decided to update this thread instead of making a new one. I am making leaps and bounds progress with Charlie. Today he took a nap at my feet and every so often he would go get something to eat or drink and stretch and then come back to lay down by my feet. He also allows me to pet him for 15-20 minute stretches and just purrs up a storm. I think I now know his limit as when he is ready for me to stop he turns over and shows his belly. If I dont stop soon enough after he shows me his belly, he then goes to put all four paws on my hand, no nails protruding. Once I pull away he turns over and does his own thing. Today is also a lot more vocal.

Now onto Lola. She is making a little progress. Yesterday I got some treats for the kits. Well I tried to give her some and she would just sniff at my hand so I had to put the treat on the floor in front of her before she would try and eat it. late last night I tried it again and this time she would use a paw to knock it off my fingers and then eat it. Well this morning I decided to put her into my master bathroom as it is a smaller space. I had her in my room. Well since I did that she has make a little progress. I would go into the bathroom every couple of hours with the treats and give her one or two. Never ate it out of my hand even though I tried. Well just a little bit ago she actually ate a treat out of my hand. So progress made there.

She used to hiss/growl at me when I sat on the floor or held my hand out to her. After the hiss/growl she would sniff at my hand every single time. Never let me touch her though and never tried to paw or scratch me. Well after she took the treat out of my hand she let me lightly touch her and give a quick little scratch to her cheek for just a brief moment without any hissing or growling. She also let me touch her briefly as she was grooming Charlie. Lola is becoming a little vocal as time go on too. Just not as much as charlie

well that is the progress that has been made for today. Hopefully tomorrow will bring Lola closer to liking me and trusting me.

It just takes time. I've had my cat home for a little over a month and while you can tell she's much more comfortable, she's still got a ways to go.

You can try one of those Feliway pheremone diffusers to help them stay calmer.

It sounds like you have the right stuff.

You might try lying on the floor and see if they approach you. Some cats find that less threatening.

Congratulations on your new kitties...they are both gorgeous!
It sounds like they're coming along fine....you're doing great with them!
When we first got Zoe it seemed a little strange for us and her...she was a little skittish at first, but gradually that just all went away without even thinking about it and now she's just part of the family and she knows it that at any given time one or all of us will scoop her up for some hugs and petting...she loves it and is very spoiled!...

Update 11.11

Well here is a quick update on Charlie and Lola.

They have started to play more and more by themselves in the past several days. Earlier tonight I can hear them running through the house and they round the corner into the living room and they tear through into the kitchen and then go back to do it over again. We have also discovered their favorite toy. A ball that has a bell in it tied onto the end of a string. When they see me get it out they immediately get up from napping and start to chase the ball. We play for about 15-20 mins at a time. By this time they are just laying in the floor and just humoring me by pretending to bat at it. They will also be on my bed asleep when I wake in the morning. After their super loud 5am romp around the house of course. Only have been doing this the past two days now. I need to get curtains up over the blinds. I have noticed in my sleepy stupor that is predawn and just starting to get brighter outside. I hope if it stays darker till I get up that all will be well with the romps at 5am

Charlie is the more vocal of the two. He will call out just to hear himself I think. He allows me to pet him when ever I come up to him. He will all of a sudden jump up from a nap run around the house and then go right back to his spot for another nap.

Lola is changing more every day little by little. She tends to follow me around the house now. I will go into the bathroom and when I open the door to come back out she is there sitting waiting on me. (usually just her but sometime Charile as well) When ever I am in the kitchen she will follow me around as I get a drink, fix dinner, or whatever else I am doing at the time. One day she followed me around the kitchen and half growled at me half meowed. really strange as I could not figure out what exactly why she was doing it. She will rub up against my legs if I am standing still cooking or doing dishes. For the most part she still will only let me touch her if she is in the laundry basket. I can now touch her paws when I pet her when she is in the basket. Not for long, but it is a start so one day I can start to trim her nails. Every once in awhile I can pet her when she is out and about in the house, but that is few and far between. She is still skidish and will jump if I make a sudden move or a sudden noise. She has only purred once or twice in the past 3 or 4 days. Never for long. It seems that she will start to enjoy the petting then realize that she does not care for me yet and stop the purring. The funniest thing she did so far is that today when I got home from shopping (getting food for the family for when they get home tomorrow) she was in the laundry basket, eyes barely above the rim acting like she would jump out and attack the bags. As soon as I put the bags away and out of sight, she acted like I took the best toy ever from her even though she got no where close to the bags.

That is about it for today. Tomorrow they get to meet the kids. And boy will my kids be in for a surprise. The cats will be in for the bigger surprise b/c the house will be a whole lot noisier with the wife and kiddos back.

update 11.18

Well today was a huge first. Lola will now come up to me and sit on my lap and let me pet her. Currently she is laying across my legs as I type this. Success

Awesome! She is starting to trust you! And your patient approach is paying off!