Please Help Me!!!

My husband and I adopted a 2 year old male neutered cat on Monday and have a few strage behaviors we are trying to work through:
1. He was very social at his foster home where there were many cats, dogs, and children. With us, he will only come out from under the bed once we are going to sleep. He absolutely will not come out during the day...what is going on here??? Last night, once he was on our bed, we did turn a light on and although he was a little cautious, he was ok...Again, this was never an issue at the foster home - does he have to be around other animals?
2. Litterbox: We got him on Monday - showed him the box. Didn't use it MOnday or Tuesday. Wednesday night he pooped in the litterbox and peed on my bed. Why would this occur? I didn't look like a spraying to me. I'm hoping it was a fluke, but I'm concerned. Again, he never did this at the foster home.
3. Last night after lights were out and he came on the bed and then we turned the light on as I said in #1...I noticed he was drooling...any ideas?

He eats..but only at night. I know he doesn't come out during the day when we are not at home because I have left a trail of treats and they are never touched. We did buy Feliway to see if this helps. Any suggestions????? I feel so bad for him!!

Thanks!
Christine

Your new cat may be a little scared with his new surounding and thats why he is hiding while you are there . He needs to get used to the new smell and sounds first . To him you are new to him and don't know if he can trust you yet . Be sure if you just leave him alone and ignore him he will come out in his time when he start trusting you . So don't worry about that part , I went through this a few times myself .
Now the peeing part could be behavior problem due to the new change in his live or health related . Did the cat see a vet lately ? He may has a infection and need teatment . You may want to make a apointment with your vet with that cat , just to be on the save site .

Christine, is he the only cat in the house?

It really is perfectly normal for him to hide. This is big adjustment for him, and he has to have time to think it through and find out if he is indeed safe. He is stressed out, and peeing on your bed is part of that stress. The danger sign is that he could be making himself ill by being so stressed. I would give him two litter pans, not one, so he can pee in one, and poop in the other. I would also invest in a good enzyme cleaner and run your bedding through the wash with this cleaner. Nok-Out is really good for this.

The fastest way for him to relax, is for you to ignore him. IF he has been to a vet, and has been pronounced in good health since you brought him home, then just ignore him. Feed him, make sure he has water and you can also sit on the floor near where he is hiding and read out loud softly to him.

he could be drooling because of stress, or a tooth problem, or he simply found something on the floor and ate it. A vet visit is a good idea though, if you haven't taken him to see your vet.

Don't pursue him if he runs from you, don't poke your head under the bed when he hides from you. Just see to his basic needs, his vet care, and then just try ignoring him. It does work

Thanks...he has been to the vet and everything is fine except he was treated for ear mites. There is a vet at the clinic who specializes in cat behavior and she's faxing me a brochure. She thinks it is abnormal that he comes out at night but not during the day and wants to try and figure out why. He is the only cat in our house but when he was in the foster home with the others he never showed any of this behavior. We'll see! As long as he uses the litter box I don't care that he won't come out.

Christine , some cats are more shy and will hide in the beginning . Also remember that he was used to the foster home and was feeling save there . Be sure when he starts feeling save , he will come out .

Give it some time.. poor guy he does sound stressed.
I hope he relaxes soon. You have been given great advice

It really isn't abnormal for him to hide during the day, and come out at night. At night, when the world is asleep, he feels safe, plus his prey drive is in gear then and it is natural for him to be out and about during that time. Please don't be swayed by your vet's summation that your cat is abnormal. This is NOT abnormal for rescued kitties!

Please see this thread, and meet Lucky a cat who hid for quite awhile underneath the owner's bed:


The story of Lucky

Hissy,
I heard you are the cat expert!! Thanks for replying. Do you think it is odd that he NEVER showed this behavior in the two foster homes he was at that had other cats and dogs? He never hid at either one. I feel bad for him. My husband and I are being patient and we are hoping that his mistake on my bed was a fluke. Is there anything we need to do to try and make him more comfortable around us during daytime or will he just come out when he is ready?
One note-he was adopted prior to us to a couple that had no other animals and no kids and he did the same thing there (but he never had a litterbox issue). After a month he was still hiding all day and they brought him back to the rescue. We don't want to do that but just a note of reference.
Thanks again!
Christine

Christine, I would tend to think that he did indeed hide right at first, unless they got him as a really young kitten. With "many" cats you tend to lose track of a few and not give them due diligence. Plus this foster mom wants these cats adopted out, so she may just be telling you what you want to hear. There's nothing wrong with that really- animal shelters (some of them) will do that all the time, simply because they are so overwhelmed with animals they need to move them out quickly, and would you adopt a cat if they had told you "Oh by the way, this one hides from people all the time?"

Again, his behavior is normal. I know it doesn't appear like that to you but it is. I have so many cats here that when I first got them, they hid under the bed, in the rafters, under the armchair, tore open the lining of the box springs of the bed, and crawled inside.......LOL Just don't take it personal and let him decompress. I would strongly urge you to invest in a bottle of Nok-Out and get that bedspread washed, so you don't have a repeat performance. You need to use the enzyme cleaner to break down the urine all the way or the cat will return in about 3 days and urinate on the same spot again. Just don't give up on him, he will come around. Add another litter pan, make sure you are not feeding him really close to where the litter pan is, and IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE........ Unless of course he starts acting really sick, you see his third eyelid or he becomes lethargic, then get him to your vet!

Will do! Thanks for your great advice!

Last question - sorry!!
I looked for Nok-Out on Petsmart's website and couldn't find it. Any idea where I can buy this or do I have to order it?
Thanks again!!

You can order this wonderful product here:

Kalever.com

Would it help to have another cat there with him? If he did this at his previous home with no pets, not at the rescue with other pets, and now again at your home with no pets could he maybe not like to be alone? Maybe if one of the other cats he was with in the foster was there, that would help. Just a thought.

Max is doing much better! I think the Feliway is really helping. he has been coming out on his own and although a bit cautious and jumpy this is a HUGE improvement. Also, since his first accident, there have been none since...using the litterbox without a problem!!! Thanks for your advice and support!!!!

REALLY glad to hear that Max's coming out! I SWEAR by Feliway! It really helps in various ways.

Will be looking forward to seeing pics of him! Grin. Having a cat around is a real joy and I KNOW you and ur family will really enjoy having Max around.

I continuously laugh at my 4 cats on a daily basis- they are so fun to be around. I'm sure with time, patience, care, love and toys, you will be laughing at Max's antics soon!