New Cat Still Hiding

Hello,
I took in a 3 year old Calico Female Cat 3 months ago and she still won't come out of the furnace room.
On rare occasions ahe will come to the door when my wife calls her for a few pets and then back in the room she goes.

We put her bed food and water in there for her hoping that she would eventually come out.

She's not aggressive. She enjoys being petted when we come in to her, she'll even purr.

But 3 months now and she won't come out (at night she does though when when we are sleeping)

What can i do to help her come out and join the family?

Thanks,
Wes

also, we do have two small children 3 and 2.

where did you get this cat??

Has it been to a vet?

Have your children been in contact with the cat? Have they been taught( this is not being mean) how to approuch and or touch the cat?

Welcome to TCS

Hi Wes

We had the same problem with our kitty Lily. She was only 3 months old when we first got her, and super shy. It's taken her a long time to come out of her shell (had her for 3 years) , and she's only now just starting to let friends pat her. She's very affectionate and loves to snuggle on the bed with us, and will now come up to us for pats, but is just a very shy cat.

You can try running Feliway which is a pheremone which relaxes cats. I think it helped Lily come out of her shell intially. You need to make sure she has plenty of safe places to go where the kids can't reach her - lots of cat trees and vertical space. If she likes to play, get yourself a Da Bird cat toy (the original with feathers on the end). This one toy did the most for bringing Lily out of her shell. It gave her so much confidence.

Once the kids are in bed, bring the toy out and have good play time with her, and reward her with treats or her favourite food.

Doing this on a regular basis will help establish trust, and give her confidence.

Good luck!

Hello, The cat was an indoor cat and came from a married couple who couldn't keep her because they were moving.

She was up on all her shots and no not to the vet. Can't imagine why she would have to go. She eats and drinks well. She was always an indoor cat so she doesn't have contact with other cats or outdoor pests.

We haven't allowed to kids to touch her yet because we don't want her to freak out. Although they will come in with us and say hi to her. In her prior family she was around a few kids that came and visited form time to time.

We use a friendly voice when talking to her and continued using the same things she used before joining our family, ie,. food, kitty litter, she even came with her bed and scratched post/hotel.

My mom said it can take quite a while for a cat to come around but I wanted to run it by all of you,
Wes

i mention the vet as cats can hide illness very well ... and her not coming out in a few days to a few weeks may signal something going on ...

Feliway and Rescue remedy may help

Did you change her food , litter , type of food dishes in the move?

i agree with the try play time after the kids are in bed to build a bond