Our new kitty.

We just adopted our female cat on the 21st. She is a year old and spayed. The Humane Society said she came in on the 12th of this month and was pregnant. She's been fixed since then. She's been through a ton of changes. She will come to me if I hold my hand out to her but she's spending a ton of time hiding under my bed or couch. We have two daughters that are 2 and 4. How long do you think it will be til she adjusted to our family? Thank you!

First, congratulations on your new addition! We'd love to see some pics of your new girl. Does she have a name yet?

Every cat is different in how long it takes them to adjust. It really depends on their background, personality and how well socialized they were before coming to you. Some cats it can take a matter of days/weeks others it could take months.

Did you get to interact with this kitty much before adopting her? What, if anything, was the shelter able to tell you about her background? You are correct in saying she has been through a lot of changes in a very short period of time. She still has hormones in her body and, depending on how far along her pregnancy was, it is possible she may mourn the loss of those babies.

It is often advised to confine a new cat to a small room with all the necessities (food/water, litter box, toys, bed/blanket...) and allow them to adjust to the family and the rest of the house at their own pace.

I also suggest investing in a cat tree or two, tall enough that your daughters cannot reach her, just in case she needs a break or if she is intimidated by them. This will also give her a place to survey her new home.

Thank you so much for your reply! Her name is Kit. We also call her Kit Kat. I just found her online and got approved the next day and picked her up. They didn't give me any details about her background unfortunately.

She came out from under my bed this evening to us and even played with my oldest daughter!

I will definitely invest in a cat tree for her.

She's been so awesome tonight! She has been on the bed for a while. She finally used her litter box and ate!!

Kit Kat is gorgeous!  I'm sure you've asked your girls to be really gentle with her, and not to make really loud noises that may frighten her. 

It sounds to me like she's settling in beautifully.

Thank you!
I have. My 2 year old is a bit loud but she's getting better around her. I can't wait for her to be 100% comfortable with us. I'm so glad we got to rescue her.

She is gorgeous! I love her facial markings

Kit is soooo cute! Looks like she is making herself right at home. I suspect she will be well settled in, in the next week or two. =)

You're doing everything right. Just give her time, patience and consistency. Keep doing what you're doing and don't force her out of hiding. She still needs a place to hide from time to time. My cat has been with me for a year and a half now and he still wants his alone time under the recliner in my bedroom.

Thank you! She ate all her food last night and used her liter box more. She even slept on my bed some.

Sounds like things are going great! Congrats on your new addition! She is gorgeous!!!

Thank you! She's spent most of her day under my bed again. My girl's have been pretty loud today so she may have been scared.

What a cutie!!  I second (third?) the recommendation for a cat tree or two.  My kids are close in age to yours and our cat tree is a real safe-haven for Mooch and Noodles!  

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day; but it sounds like she is making great progress settling in!

Thank you!
She came out tonight and played with my girls. So glad she is warming up to them. I will definitely get her a cat tree.

That's great!!  My 5 year old SO wants a kitty she can play with and pet; but we had our 2 in a very low key, quiet house for almost 5 years before she came around. They just don't want much to do with her or especially her little brother.    Our cat tree is around 5' tall; so tall enough that the girls can get up top to be away from the kids.  But it's also not so big that it didn't fit in our last place (which was about 1000sq feet I think).  I highly recommend them to anyone with little kids around.

Aww lol I understand. My girl's love her but can be quite loud and scare her. My 4 year old does great at keeping calm most of the time. Where should I buy a cat tree?