Feral kitten still hiding after two weeks- is this normal? Help!

Hi there! This is my first post on this site.

2 weeks ago, my boyfriend and I adopted a cat/kitten from our local animal shelter. Dora is nine months old, and was at the shelter for about a week and a half before we adopted her. Before that she had had no human contact as far as we know. At the shelter she was shy but warmed up to us quickly; we met her there twice before taking her home and by the second visit she was approaching us to be pet! 

When we took her home she was (understandably) frightened- she hid behind our couch for about an hour, then moved to our bookshelf and eventually allowed us to pick her up and hold/pet her. We stayed in the living room petting and holding her for the rest of the day, and she seemed happy, or at least not scared. But that night she hid under our guest bed and hasn't "hung out" with us at all. She eats and uses her litter box, but never when we're in the room (since she is hiding in the guest room, we've put the litter box and her food and water in there). She's explored the living room a little bit, because we have another litter box for her in there, and occasionally we'll catch a glimpse of her late at night going to use that one. We've made eye contact/she's seen us looking at her a few times, and she freezes and then slinks off. She doesn't run away anymore (she did the first time she saw us after the first night), which leads me to believe she isn't as scared, but I just don't know how much longer I can expect her to stay in hiding/if this kind of behavior is normal.

Everywhere I've looked says it can take cats around two weeks to come out, but today marks two weeks and I'm getting worried.

Any advice or feedback would be really appreciated

Thank you on Dora's behalf for giving her a home!   She's definitely not a feral since a feral cat would never have let you handle her as much as you already have.   Perhaps she was abandoned and spent some scary time on the streets before getting to the shelter though which has left her with some fears.    With a new cat it is always best to keep them in one room only to start and spend time, hours, in the room doing other things like reading to get her used to your presence.    Every  now and then try to interact but don't push it too much - play time is always a good ice breaker.    She's probably hiding as a reaction to yet another change in her environment and left over fears from all she's been through - give her some time and she should come around.

It took about 3 weeks for out rescue, who we think was a stray, not feral as she was easy to handle, to stop hiding under the bed all the time.  Once that happened, it took a little more time for her to venture down the stairs and join us in other areas of the house.  As Bastfriend said, she just needs some time to kind of get over the shock of the new home and routines she is now dealing with.  I'd go in several times a day to talk to her, and just putter around the room so she'd get used to hearing our house noises.  I also left low soothing music playing on the TV for her and bought a Feliway diffuser, which I do think helped her.  Made sure I brought food and water, cleaned her box the same time every day so she knew what to expect.  And, when possible, gave her scritches and pets.  Tempting her with treats got her to inch out from under the bed, close enough so I could make contact with her, once there, she really enjoyed being touched.

She just needs more time.  2 weeks is very short but she'll be fine.  My little shy one is now a totally different personality than I thought she would be.  Still very sweet, loving and gentle, but a real energetic spitfire as well.  Patience is all that's needed, and I know it gets difficult at times, but believe me she will come around.

Keep us posted.  We love hearing success stories.

maggiekshaw said:

 Before that she had had no human contact as far as we know.

......We've made eye contact/she's seen us looking at her a few times, and she freezes and then slinks off. ......

Everywhere I've looked says it can take cats around two weeks to come out, ..

Click to expand...

She isnt doing badly at all, if she hadnt no human contact before. This 2 weeks is surely for friendly, human used, but shy cats. Yes, it could be correct.  She isnt human used, so count it will take longer.

You ask surely why she was pettable?  Instinct and fight for survival.  She knew you were her best practical chance, so she did her outmost to grab it.

Now she is safe and inside, so now she plays it safe.  Let her do it, let her take a step at a time.

Eye contact in cat world is NOT friendly!  Home cats do learn looking in eyes is oK and what people do. Or if you want, it is part of socializing into a home cat.

For free living cats looking into eyes is not friendly, even hostile...

So look sooner at the ears, or a little aside.

You may look on with half closed eyes = friendly.

Yawn when you see her = friendly.

Standing on all fours - strech yourself forward and backward = friendly.

You can try and sit down, or even lay down on the floor (have a blanket!) = non threatening.

Or lay on the sofa and read a book. Aloud if you wish... = non threatening and entirely neutral...

With a little luck she will dare to come forward in such situations...

Tx for adopting her!

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

Hey all, thanks for the responses! They're reassuring and full of advice I'll definitely be following. I'll be sure to keep y'all updated!

Dora started meowing a lot tonight, which was a little worrisome because the only other time I'd heard her meow was when in her carrier on the car ride home. She seems fine though (my boyfriend peeked under the bed to check on her), so maybe she was just bored? I don't really know.