Nervous Cat Help!

[jen1030]

My boyfriend and I brought home a cat from an adoption center a little over a month ago.  She was about 2 years old and we were told she was nervous around cats but fine with people, and she seemed very cuddly when we met her.  We closed all the bedroom/bathroom doors for the first couple of weeks, she hid under the couch (which has about a 3 inch space) and wouldn't come out when we were home/awake.  We let her into the bedroom for a while and she had a coy set-up under the bed for a couple of weeks.  She was perfectly happy to be petted when we crawled under the couch with her, but she still wouldn't come out when we were around.  This led to her pooping in our bedroom because she wouldn't come out to use the litter box.  We kicked her out of the bedroom after that (the bedroom is carpeted but the living area is hardwood so cleaning would be easier) and we blocked off the space under the couch in an effort to get her to become more sociable.  She hid in the litter box for a day, then we brought home one of those carpeted little cubbies for her to stay in, but she just moved to a corner of the kitchen and then she pooped there.  When we went to clean up the poop she ran and forced her way under the couch where she's been staying for the last couple of days.

I'm sorry this is a long story,  I just really don't know what to do.  At this point I'm not sure she will ever be a cuddly kitty but the least I can do is try to make her comfortable in her new home (without leaving too many messes for us to clean up).  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ondine]

One thing that occurred to me - she may not like the litter.  Has she used it at all?  My cats won't use anything but clay - they refuse to even consider wheat, corn or any other type.  And it had better be Arm and Hammer non-scented.  Nothing else gets touched.

You may need to sequester her in the bathroom for the interim.  It will certainly make it easier to clean things.  She can have all her needs in there (hopefully its a big enough room).  If you have a second bedroom, that would work too, depending on the floor covering.

This is one of those times when patience is your best friend.  And I mean patience - getting her used to her new digs may take months, so hang in there.  Thank you for adopting her.

 

[thevegancuddler]

Agreed, the litter is definitely something to check on. I think sequestering her is the best move. Think of it this way - you adopted her from a shelter, where she was likely in a cage almost all of the time. That's a tiny space! And now she's in a completely unfamiliar setting, with unfamiliar people and unfamiliar scents. And it's HUGE. That's terrifying! I'd keep her in the bathroom for a good week and see how she does (or any other small room that you can close off). This will allow her to slowly adjust to one room, and feel comfortable. You'll also reduce the mess and be able, hopefully, to figure out why she's defecating outside the litter box.

Some cats are VERY particular about their boxes, also. My Noelle is one of those cats. It's not like I'm a slob about the litter box, but more than any of my other cats, she needs it to be PRISTINE, or she won't use it. Also, this is a long shot, but you didn't clean the box with anything citrus-scented, did you? Cats will avoid that like the plague.

 

[katluver4life]

I'm going to pipe in and third the advice of confining her to a small room with everything she needs. Including that hidey box you bought her. She's very frightened and cats will sometimes just go where they are hiding cause they are too afraid to go find their box. It would be better to have her someplace small, but big enough for you to spend time with her.

You need to work on gaining her trust and ally her fear. Playing soft music, like classical or harp, goes a long way to help sooth cats. Sit and just talk to her, reading a book out loud helps, just so she becomes accustomed to your voice. Let her come to you, let her make the first moves. Keep treats near, offer them out with an open palm on the floor. If she doesn't come to you, put them on the floor at a distance from you close to her, slowly work towards moving them closer to you. Installing a feliway diffuser would be a good idea to try too.