We have to remember that our new shelter cat is experiencing a radical change in their environment. We know our home is so much better than the shelter. Cats know it too, but with their characteristic caution, and their deep need to understand their territory, they can often act in ways we might not expect.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
The way we should look at it is remembering how we feel on our first day at a new job. We are thrilled to have a job and we have varying levels of thrill about the job. We are eager to make a good impression, and anxious about what might be asked of us.
That’s the new shelter cat’s challenge, too.
Give them a tour. We should have a litter box, meal area, and sleeping place already set up for them. If we have other cats, dogs, or small children, and feel these cat areas should be in a separate room for best introductions, we can bring the cat there and let them explore it themselves, while we exclaim over the wonderful qualities of each in our best real estate salesperson way. Remember, if we are happy and pleased about these things, our new cat will feel reassured.
Sometimes a new cat just appears, and we need to come up with these areas on the fly. That’s also okay. They don’t have to be in their final form. After all, the cat might have their own ideas they want to see implemented.
Their sleeping area can be as simple as an old towel bunched up on the floor. They will probably find their own spot. But showing them we have A Spot sends the signal that we know what we are doing.
If the cat is okay with being carried to these spots, do that. But if the cat wishes to explore on their own, follow them and give them a guided tour. Having us near can be reassuring, and allows the new cat to see we are caring and willing to work with them.
Give them their space. Some cats are curious and confident enough to start exploring everything immediately. But many cats will want to find a place to hide and think things over. We should let them.
This can come before or after the tour. If it’s before, keep a close eye on the cat to see if they venture forth in search of food or litter, and try to have it handy so they can find it right away. This is a good reason to have a separate room set up for them at first. If we have the litter box in the basement, the food in the kitchen on the first floor, and the cat is hiding under the bed upstairs, we have set up a difficult situation for a new cat to handle.
Cats who want to hide aren’t necessarily shy cats, or will turn out to be unaffectionate. We can’t judge how fast the cat will cope during the first few days, or even weeks. This is a complete revamping of everything the cat has known. Even the brightest and boldest cats might want a quiet space for thinking and planning.
Give them their time. A common mistake is to look at how the cat is coping over the first few days, and jump to all the wrong conclusions. He doesn’t want to be held! She is going to be shy! I’ve picked the wrong cat!
We wouldn’t want our new boss to base their evaluation of our new career on our first few days, would we? While we are still learning where everything is, figuring out work relationships, and trying to find the bathroom?
So it is with cats.
We bring a cat home knowing our love is a given. But the cat may not. They do want to make a good impression, and many cats feel that bumbling around, risking a scolding (or worse!) is not the way to make friends and influence humans.
Such cats will be cautious, wary of everything, and even hide for a few days. But this doesn’t show anything about the cat… except how they react to having their whole life uprooted and rearranged within a few hours.
I’ve gotten many panicky emails about seemingly miserable cats during these first few days… and a few weeks later, I get lovely emails gushing about how wonderful the cat is now.
That’s the cat we picked out at the shelter. That’s the cat we bring home.
That’s the cat we get… once the cat has reset.
Relax. That’s all that’s going on.
Got here from a Link or Search?
There’s more ways to care for our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on CAT CARE.
Thanks for stopping by! Find me on Facebook. Sign up here and get the FREE eBook, Ten Cat Tricks (Every Human Should Know.)
When we first decided that we wanted to give a cat a home, we fully intended to rescue one from the local shelter and visited on a number of occasions both to meet the cats and to speak to the staff about how best to welcome our new pet home.
As it turned out we discovered and fell in love with a troublesome little kitten at a farm shop we visited and our plans to take in a cat from the shelter were temporarily abandoned. We did however find the advice given to us by the staff invaluable.
One of their suggestions was to use a product called Feliway, which we could use as a plug-in, which helps to ease stress and keep cats calm. It really helped little Walt settle in and was invaluable when – to Walt’s annoyance – we brought our second cat home a few months later
Feliway broadcasts soothing pheromones, some cats really respond to it!