New cat scared of everything

[hatte59]

I recently adopted a  3 yr old spayed female cat from the animal shelter, when I brought her home she did all the things a new cat would do ie: investigate every corner, room etc... she played with all the new toys I got for her, she ate well and adjusted to her litter box just fine, now after 2weeks of normal behavior she is acting scared of everything.  I have to carry her from my bedroom to her litter box and I make her walk back by herself but she is so frightened the whole she slinks and walks carefully.  She will only stay in my bedroom on my bed unless I actually take her off the bed.. there are many other things, I don't want to write a book.  She eats ok but I have to coax her to her food dish.  I just had to put down my 15 yr old Maine Coon about 4mos ago and thought maybe the smells of her was the problem but my new cat was fine up until now.  This has only been happening for 5 days.

i would really appreciate any feed back from you or anyone else who has had this happen.

Thank you so much 

 

 

[lamiatron]

Originally Posted by hatte59  

I recently adopted a  3 yr old spayed female cat from the animal shelter, when I brought her home she did all the things a new cat would do ie: investigate every corner, room etc... she played with all the new toys I got for her, she ate well and adjusted to her litter box just fine, now after 2weeks of normal behavior she is acting scared of everything.  I have to carry her from my bedroom to her litter box and I make her walk back by herself but she is so frightened the whole she slinks and walks carefully.  She will only stay in my bedroom on my bed unless I actually take her off the bed.. there are many other things, I don't want to write a book.  She eats ok but I have to coax her to her food dish.  I just had to put down my 15 yr old Maine Coon about 4mos ago and thought maybe the smells of her was the problem but my new cat was fine up until now.  This has only been happening for 5 days.

i would really appreciate any feed back from you or anyone else who has had this happen.

Thank you so much 

I would suggest keeping kitty in your bedroom or whatever room she feels the safest in (spends the most time in) with litter box and food. 2 weeks is not enough time for her to get used to her new home, and clearly there is something making her feel unsafe... so keep her in the bedroom, where she seems to be feeling the safest. Leave the door open, and see if she'll venture out, if not, then its fine. She will do this on her own time.

I would also suggest some calming treats, as this will help with new kitty's stress levels, and try to keep her at least some what balanced so she's not at a constant state of fear and stress. Also feliway diffusers might help you, or calming sprays. All these can be found at Petco or Petsmart.

As for the reason why your new kitty is scared, it could be that she is finally started to pick up scents that your prev. kitty left behind, it could be freaking her out, to sense another cat in the house but never come in contact with it...she's probably anticipating something. Feliway diffusers should really help with this.

also another reason could be that she is hearing animals, or feral/stray cats outside. We maybe not notice the sounds and smells, but cats certainly do. Maybe try to keep her away from windows, as seeing other cats outside could make her feel stressed out.

1) keep kitty in bedroom with food litter and water and toys so she feels secure

2) she needs more time to get used to her new home

3) try getting feliway diffusers to help calm her down, and try claming treats

4) try to keep an eye out for any outside animals that might be stressing her out

I hope this helps. 

 

[hatte59]

Thank you for this input.  We do have a lot of feral cats in our neighbor hood so that is definetley a possibility and the fact that she is smelling my last cat and not ever seeing her, I actually thought of that, because I sometimes feel like I am hearing her feeling her too and cats are so much more sensitive,  I will definetley put her food and litter box in my room, I have been leaving her in there with the exception of taking her out to eat and do her business.  I had never heard of calming spray I will for sure try that right away, and get her some calming treats.

I will try move my post to it's own thread when I figure out how to do it  lol, not too good at some of these things 

IMG_1063.jpg

• hatte59
• Feb 26, 2014

Kali Kitty

 

[catspaw66]

 
 I had never heard of calming spray I will for sure try that right away, and get her some calming treats.

I will try move my post to it's own thread when I figure out how to do it  lol, not too good at some of these things 

Feliway makes a diffuser that puts out the 'calm cat' pheromones. It is a little expensive, but most people say it works well.

Only the moderators can move posts. Click on the little flag in the lower left hand corner of the post, and ask to have your posts split off, or report a post that is offensive .  I am going to flag your first post and ask a moderator to split it for you. They will probably move the first post and all the replies.

Welcome to TCS. You have a beautiful tortie. What is her name? Is it Kali Kitty?

 

[lamiatron]

Nature's Miracle Calming Spray

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10880924&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

Whisker City Calming Spray

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10870890&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

these are links to the calming sprays. I am currently using Nature's Miracle, with mixed results.

Mixed results meaning, the cat that it was intended for, she avoids it like the plague -____- and that cat that it wasn't intended for, LOVES IT, he rolls around in it and licks it.

By lick it i mean, you have to spray this directly onto anything the cat spends most of it's time on. I spray it in some cardboard boxes where my girl likes to play, her cat bed, the scratching posts. I do it daily, and over time i'm noticing a difference in her, she's not as skittish, and feels confident to venture out of my bed room and play freely. She still runs and hides if there are sudden noises, and when I or anyone makes sudden movements or try to pick her up, but i've only had her for 3 months. She probably needs more time. The only time I've noticed the spray having any major effect on my girl is when i spray a bit on her brush, and brush her with it. Then she's forced to come in contact with the spray...and i notice her behavior change...and she's a lot calmer and more relaxed.

The Whisker City spray lists actual pheromones in it's ingredients, where the Nature's Miracle does not...so when i'm done with Nature's Miracle I will try Whisker City. You can also try Sentry Calming Collars. I did not opt to get this because my cats don't wear collars at home, and when i put a collar on my girl, she always manages to take it off some how -____- lol

Your little girl is absolutely gorgeous! give her some time...and she will get used to her new home.

I would agree with @catspaw66  and say that feliway diffusers would be the best bet for you, since you still have scents from your prev. kitty all over the house. The calming spray would be good for immediate relief i would say, something you would only spray on her belongings and in your bedroom. 

All kitties need a small and safe place when they first come into a new home. I had to keep my cat Charlie confined to my bedroom for 2 weeks before he felt brave enough to explore the house and venture out on his own (out of the bedroom i mean). My girl Jet is still going on 3 months, and will rarely come out of my bedroom **sighs**, but she's doing MUCH better than when i first got her (never coming out from under my bed).

I always spray the calming spray on their things before i go to work, so they don't feel "stressed out" from me not being home, and then again before bed time at night.

 

[hatte59]

thank you so much for giving me these tips, I had my other Kitty for 15+ yrs and It has been so lonely without her, she was my best buddy.  I can't believe how much I miss her.

When I decided to get another Kitty I found Kali at the humane Society and immediatly  knew she was the one, when I got her home she was great she acted like she had lived here forever and then two weeks later she just completely changed. Now she's so afraid of everything something has really scared her and I have no idea what it could be.   I really hate that she won't come out of the bedroom on her own, but I did what you suggested and put all of her things in my room and I can tell that she feels better about it,  but I don't even get to see her its like I still don't have a cat  

Yesterday I brought her out and brushed her and she let me do that without trying to get away, and today I brought her out again and kept her on my computer table with me and she hung out for awhile but as soon as I let her down she went back to her room.

I have never had a cat that has done this before but like you say it hasn't been that long so I am just playing with her in my bedroom and she seems to be ok with that.

Its nice to know that I know have someone that knows what I am talking about.   Are both of your kitties girls, and what are their names?

I has been nice talking with you.

I hope you have a nice evening

 

[hatte59]

I am sorry,  I just re-read your post and see that you did tell me your kitties names  lol,  just a small brain freeze !!

 

[hatte59]

to: Catspaw66

Thank you for responding to my post.  I will definetley check out the feliway calming spray.  My little girls name is Kali, but when I adopted her it was Butterscotch, but that name just didn't

really roll of my tongue and it didn't seem to fit her.  I am still not sure of Kali but she at least responds to it.

Thank you for the welcome and the nice compliment to Kali, she is really such a sweet kitty!

 

[lamiatron]

 
thank you so much for giving me these tips, I had my other Kitty for 15+ yrs and It has been so lonely without her, she was my best buddy.  I can't believe how much I miss her.

When I decided to get another Kitty I found Kali at the humane Society and immediatly  knew she was the one, when I got her home she was great she acted like she had lived here forever and then two weeks later she just completely changed. Now she's so afraid of everything something has really scared her and I have no idea what it could be.   I really hate that she won't come out of the bedroom on her own, but I did what you suggested and put all of her things in my room and I can tell that she feels better about it,  but I don't even get to see her its like I still don't have a cat  

Yesterday I brought her out and brushed her and she let me do that without trying to get away, and today I brought her out again and kept her on my computer table with me and she hung out for awhile but as soon as I let her down she went back to her room.

I have never had a cat that has done this before but like you say it hasn't been that long so I am just playing with her in my bedroom and she seems to be ok with that.

Its nice to know that I know have someone that knows what I am talking about.   Are both of your kitties girls, and what are their names?

I has been nice talking with you.

I hope you have a nice evening

Charlie is my boy kitty. he's 7 months old now. Jet is my girl kitty and she's 5 months old now. I adopted Charlie a month before Jet. This is actually my first time having cats ever.

And having Charlie alone for the 1st month was AMAZING. He really was my miracle cat. i was warned about having cats, and how they're different from dogs (been a dog person all my life) and how they are finicky and hide all the time. The shelter told me he might be hiding for the 1st week so not to be worried. I brought Charlie home, and he was hiding for the first hour, but then after that, he was all over the place! he just wanted to explore, he wanted to eat, he wanted to poop, he wanted to cuddle, he wanted to conquer. And he's been like that since day one. He never gave me a hard time. So i guess i would say, he's more like your first cat. Charlie is very social, very friendly, and loves children and other animals.

I adopted Jet a month later, because i noticed Charlie was getting lonely, and by that i mean he would be sleeping or hiding all day, wouldn't eat, wouldn't use the litter box, unless i was home with him. and when i came home he was SOOO ATTACHED. It was more than just love. It was kind of sad, because I knew he missed his litter mates. So i figured it would be best to get him another cat, so he had a play mate. Jet, however was not the same as Charlie.

First off with Jet, the shelter told me she was 3.5 months old, which actually turned out to be a lie. They told me she was friendly, ate and used the litter box with no issues. That was a lie. They told me she was a stray, and they guesstimate she wasn't in the streets for long. That was a lie. I didn't learn this till a week after having her at her follow up Vet Check up (follow up after getting spayed), she was actually only 8 weeks old when i adopted her. After bringing her home i learned she is deathly afraid of humans, which made me feel she could be borderline feral? and she DID NOT know how to use the litter box (accidents EVERYWHERE). on top of that she was sick, had a fever, and later the vet diagnosed her with feline herpes. She was my little problem child, and on top of it all, VERY skittish, scared, and shy. I COULD NOT get her to eat the first week i had her home. She lost half a pound that first week... I had to syringe feed this thing. I had a rough time with her. Charlie actually taught her how to use the litter box.

She's MUCH better off than she was when i first got her, but she's still shy and skittish. she'll run even from me sometimes. and sometimes i'll have good weeks with her, where she's lovable, cuddly, will approach me, and be with me. and other times i'll have weeks where she hides from me. doesn't want to come to me, spends the most of her day under the bed. made me think what could have happened to her to scare her so much!! just like your kali. Jet inhabits my bedroom and rarely comes out. I live with room mates, so she's scared of them and will not venture out if they're around. recently she has been venturing out of the room...when i come home from work i'll leave the door open, and Charlie runs out...Jet slowly follows, but she mostly stays at the door way. sometimes she'll run and play with Charlie, sometimes she'll just stand there and observe.

Give your girl some time. be patient, and i know she's different from your prev. kitty, but she will come around. My Jet came around SOO MUCH compared to how she was when i first got her. and she used to HISS at me for EVERYTHING. Hiss at me, hiss at my bf, hiss at Charlie, hiss at her food. her toys (she still hisses at her toys. she's weird, then she plays with them right after hissing at them). now she never hisses. at me or Charlie at least. she approaches me when i come home for cuddles. you will have progress too. just be patient with your girl.

Try to spend time and do whatever activity you can with her in the bedroom. try reading to her so she gets used to your voice. read a book, read your emails, read whatever. read out loud. when you're feeding her, or bring her food, try to sit beside her on the floor, or behind her and pet her and praise her while she eats. Ever since i started doing this with Jet, i've noticed her behavior starting to improve. I've been doing it for 3 whole months, and i still do it. its a great way for kitty to bond with you and learn you're not only the huge weird looking cat that brings food. but you bring love too.

leave your bedroom door open, and you'll see one day kali will just venture out on her own

i would definitely put the feliway plugins all through out your house, especially places where old kitty used to be. I heard they take a few days to work...but...great results once they do finally kick in to kitty's system