Hi, Yesterday my wife and I adopted Trinity, an 11 month old black girl. We adopted from a no-kill shelter that we are familiar with and was told that she was originally brought in as a kitten and then was adopted but brought back after a couple months with the owners complaining she was "too shy"!
She looked to be in good health and had seen a vet recently and had all shots up to date. The only thing I noticed was some dander and matted hair on her back just in front of the tail. Even after one brushing it was looking alot better.
We placed her in a bathroom off our bedroom with a necessary supplies, food, a bed, and a covered litter box.
We would play with her for about 5-10 minutes every hour and within a few hours should would greet us upon entry and show us plenty of affection, however she would still go lay behind the toliet when she seemed to have 'enough'.
We brought her home around noon, by 6pm she hadn't gone the bathroom yet. Around 8pm I noticed a very small puddle of what looked like water just outside the litter box. After cleaning it up I took the hood off the box and moved it in the bathtub. While playing with her she must have gone again because I found another wet spot, although this time too it looked like water and had no smell (to me), near she went before.
I moved the un-hooded litter box back near its original position, and she checked it out but had little interest.
Throughout this time she would eat small amounts of her dry food, but we did not observe her drinking any water.
She had no problems throuout the night, and this morning I hoped to find she had a bowel movement but I found a clean litter box, and nothing on the tile floor.
So far I have a few ideas, one is that we are using a scented clumping litter and she had unscented clay litter before, so she doesn't like the strong scent from the litter. However she did walk around and actually laid in the clean litter a couple times so I know she is not completely averted to it.
Another idea is she is just stressed out from everything and might be a little backed up or apprehensive.
Finally I'm thinking she might be sick/ill with something as her favorite place to rest (when not playing with us or being petted) is behind the toliet, so maybe she is not feeling too good. Its hard for me to tell because she is a new cat to us and we are under the assumption that shyness is part of her behavior.
We left her with some fresh food and water and a couple toys while we are at work today. We also left the radio on a classical station in the bedroom so its not so quiet in there. When I get home if she hasn't had a BM or wet then I'll be calling the vet. If she has, but it is outside the box I'm going to make a trip to the store for another litter box and some unscented litter.
I just wanted to post this here to see if anyone else conferred or had any other ideas or suggestions.
Thank you!
We placed her in a bathroom off our bedroom with a necessary supplies, food, a bed, and a covered litter box.
We would play with her for about 5-10 minutes every hour and within a few hours should would greet us upon entry and show us plenty of affection, however she would still go lay behind the toliet when she seemed to have 'enough'.
We brought her home around noon, by 6pm she hadn't gone the bathroom yet. Around 8pm I noticed a very small puddle of what looked like water just outside the litter box. After cleaning it up I took the hood off the box and moved it in the bathtub. While playing with her she must have gone again because I found another wet spot, although this time too it looked like water and had no smell (to me), near she went before.
I moved the un-hooded litter box back near its original position, and she checked it out but had little interest.
Throughout this time she would eat small amounts of her dry food, but we did not observe her drinking any water.
She had no problems throuout the night, and this morning I hoped to find she had a bowel movement but I found a clean litter box, and nothing on the tile floor.
So far I have a few ideas, one is that we are using a scented clumping litter and she had unscented clay litter before, so she doesn't like the strong scent from the litter. However she did walk around and actually laid in the clean litter a couple times so I know she is not completely averted to it.
Another idea is she is just stressed out from everything and might be a little backed up or apprehensive.
Finally I'm thinking she might be sick/ill with something as her favorite place to rest (when not playing with us or being petted) is behind the toliet, so maybe she is not feeling too good. Its hard for me to tell because she is a new cat to us and we are under the assumption that shyness is part of her behavior.
We left her with some fresh food and water and a couple toys while we are at work today. We also left the radio on a classical station in the bedroom so its not so quiet in there. When I get home if she hasn't had a BM or wet then I'll be calling the vet. If she has, but it is outside the box I'm going to make a trip to the store for another litter box and some unscented litter.
I just wanted to post this here to see if anyone else conferred or had any other ideas or suggestions.
Thank you!
