New cat hiding in a place I cant get to him, wont come out even for tuna

waldeinsamkeit

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Hello everyone,

About a month ago I took in two rescue cats from my friends dad. They were living in a house with about 15 other cats, weren't neutered, and not socialized. They were taken to get neutered and then brought home to my house. I have currently have two cats of my own, and my roommate has one cat. I did what I was supposed to do which was leave them in a quiet room with a hiding spot, complete with their own litter, and food and water, and toys etc. They were separated from my other cats and had the bathroom plus a walk in closet in the bathroom all to themselves. For three weeks I'd in there and sit down, read a book out loud etc. They started coming out of the hiding spot in the closet in the bathroom for affection and play time. I slowly introduced them to the other cats. It got to a point where all the cats were playing together nicely and I thought I'd let them out for the night to see how it went. This was about after a month of slowly working with them. Anyhow, when I awoke the next morning three of the cats were out, but the littlest one was nowhere to be found. I finally remembered that there was a crawlspace up above my kitchen that he probably got to, and sure enough he was hiding under the boards of the crawlspace. He wont come out for food, at least not while I'm around. I've tried leaving tuna, which he liked and would eat before. I am not sure if he's going down at night to use the litter, or if he's just staying up there all day and night. I'm going to try some Feliway, but I was wondering if anyone had any input on what I should do. I'm not sure if I should try harder to get him out of his hiding spot, or if I should just put food and water up there and hope he comes down on his own time. I worry that left alone he'll never come down and start to play and interact. The second cat that came with him is getting integrated into the family and comes down to play, eat, sleep etc. It's just the littlest one that wont come down. My instinct is to try to get him out of the hiding spot and put back in the bathroom alone until he can get comfortable with humans again. However I worry that the extra trauma of me trying to get him out of his hiding spot will just make things worse. He's already pretty traumatized cat, before he came to me he was attacked by a dog, until the former owner saved him. Again, any help or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Nerissa
 

catwoman707

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I'm sure you already figured out that allowing him to be out in the house was too much at one time for him.

When you have a feral cat put into a home, it's all so unfamiliar and overwhelming, so they hide. Little by little, in one room only and caged if possible is where to start. Then out of the cage, then back into the cage but into different rooms, and where the ferals can meet and smell your cats, etc. Baby steps!

Do NOT put food up there where he is hiding for the cat. He will never have a reason to come out and face his fears, so you need to get him to cooperate through his hunger. It's the only way besides using force, which yes, this will be a huge setback.

When all goes to bed for the night, set a trap with tuna. If it won't work the first night, it will certainly work the 2nd night. A cat is a survivor, they will not starve themselves to death.

You did everything else right, great job! However the newness and unfamiliarity of the rest of the house was just too much to take in.

Once he is trapped, just backtrack a bit and take it from there.

Good luck!
 

feralvr

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I am also going to suggest you set up a trap with the tuna. :nod: Put all of the other cats away in a room for the night (and this might take a couple of nights :dk:) That way when the little one comes down for food, he must go into the trap to get the tuna. IF you don't get him re-trapped, then he will never come down and spend his days up there away from you. This is totally normal feral cat behavior and it was way too soon to be letting them out of their confined space. I would make sure they are much farther along in their socialization before allowing them free roam of the entire house. They will find a place to hide. OH I remember when this happened to me many years ago. A feral kitten got out of my foster room and ran into the basement and basically climbed the walls. Found a spot to get into the rafters and there was NO way I could take the ceiling apart to get to him. I had to re-trap this kitten and it was very stressful for me as I worried he would starve to death up there. BUT after two days, he gave in and was trapped. You must only feed him in the trap. GOOD LUCK and please update soon. :cross: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:

p.s. Bless you for taking in these kitties! Don't worry, the little one will come down and you can start over. All is not lost here! :nod:
 
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