Expert: Tina - 1/19/2007

Question
Hi.  Just brought home a beautiful 2 year old Siamese/Lynx point from the humane society yesterday. Not much history available on him -- but he was not neutered until just this week (at humane society) -- so may have been a bit wild.  He was in a room with several other cats when we picked him up (so he's ok with that -- although he is the only cat in our house).

Now that we have him home, he seems terribly frightened, hiding under the bed in our guestroom.  I put a litter box in that room (which I see he found, yay!), food (so far uneaten), blanket and a toy.  My question is about how much time I should spend in the bedroom trying to coax him out -- or should I just leave the door shut and let him acclimate to that room for a while on his own?  He did let both my husband and I hold him and pet him at the humane society -- and for a little while yesterday at home before he discovered he could get under the bed... so I am hopeful this is just an adjustment issue.  But he looks so scared... I feel bad for him.

thanks.

Answer
HI Jodi,

How wonderful that you adopted your new friend from the shelter. Hiding under the bed for up to a week is completely normal, especially for a cat who has spent some time in a  cage, and at this point I would not try to coax him out. Just leave water food and litter close by, and keep him confined in one room so he doesn't feel overwhelmed.

It is a good idea however to spend lots of time in the room with him, not paying direct attention to him. For example, sit on the floor or in a chair reading a book, so he can smell and see you but you are not appearing to be a threat. Eventually his curiosity will overcome his fear and he'll venture out - probably first at night.

Hand feeding him treats such as chunks of chicken may also help get him to approach you.

Here are more tips on helping your new cat settle in in this article I wrote:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/careguide.html

Best wishes for a long and happy companionship!