Scardey Cats - need advice please

Margoriglick

Have ordered one of them diffusers, hopefully it will help a little.
Think its going to be a long road, but a worthwhile 1.

SnowyOwl_2

Oh I forgot to say earlier, well done on adopting adult cats. Little kittens are adorable and cute but that really is a very temporary phase. My first two cats were grown ups, about seven years old out of the Mayhew Home in London. One of them, Oscar, died fairly young unfortunately (I was heartbroken) while the other one, Tabitha, lived to a spritely 18 years old - so I had her for 11 fabulous years. I hope you get at least 11 years with your two. They will come out of their hiding place in due course. Oscar and Tabitha hid under my bed for about a fortnight...once they realised they were safe in my house they practically superglued themselves to my lap for cuddles.

wannabepennypincher

We adopted a feral kitten and getting him used to use took quite a while but he is such a sweetie it's totally worth it. The 3 things that helped most were the feliway diffuser, prawns and Da bird/mousie.

He couldn't resist the smell of prawns and would poke his nose out, I would have him follow a trail of prawns to his bowl of food- one of the other cats used to stand over him while he ate (adorably cute!)
He quickly associated me with food and started to trust me a little.

Da Bird was another thing he couldn't resist, he would sit in his hidey hole (we had a cave type cat bed in the living room so he could watch and feel safe) and eventually come out and play. Until Da birdy he would just sit in his cave only coming out to eat and pee.

I also used to just sit near him and read so he could get used to me, let him give me a real good sniff. I tried not to pet him too quickly incase it put him off, I saved the petting for just before food as that was when he liked me best!

Really just give it time and try not to push things too fast, my little guy 2 years snuggles up in bed beside me now and purrs like a motorbike when you pet him.

Bailey101

The Feliway diffusers are great - I recently rehomed a 4 yr old cat and was having huge problems. She was getting really territorial over the spare room and my other cat was terrifed of her (lots of hissing and posturing from both). I tried the Feliway and noticed a difference within a few days - within a week the cats were best of friends and new cat was wandering around the flat as she's lived here all her life

I've heard from other people who have used them for various things (being scared, peeing on the carpet etc) and they've all had positive results as well.

They are quite pricey, but the refills if you need them are a bit cheaper then the whole kit, and you may not even need it after the first refill runs out. They last for about 4 weeks and I never bothered to replace mine as it had done it's job so well.

xxx

Fire_Fox

If the Feliway works I would suggest keeping a refill in stock as, with nervous cats, you may well need it after the four weeks are up plus they are great if you have house guests or someone else feeding when you are away. Maybe offer your cats lots of scratching opportunities to spread their own pheromones about your home, and perhaps don't wash any bedding?

Like Wannabepennypincher I recommend Da Bird, Da Mouse and Da Sparkler - MSE because they stand loads of rough play, you only need one wand and can purchase refills for the attachments. :money: These and many other awesome toys can be found in the Purrsinourhearts shop; all profits go to cat rescue and the customer service is top notch.

Lilith1980

When I got my rescue cat Charlie, it took him a good few weeks to get used to the sounds and smells of my flat. There were bare floorboards which creaked a lot and these used to make him cower, but he got used to them eventually. We kept his litter tray and food bowl in one room and he had a place to run behind if he got nervous.

When I moved a year ago this took him probably about a month to get used to the new place. He was a right monkey, he kept jumping on the kitchen surfaces and would call if I went upstairs - I think it's a security thing with him.

Now, sure enough, he is the one who runs the house lol. After a year of being here, he has only just started getting on the window ledges and having a nosey on the outside world even though he goes in the garden, so maybe cats are forever growing and changing their habits.

Maybe your one cat will always by a bit shy and timid, some are like that. Enjoy them though, they are all characters :-)