Invisible cats - help,

[Donna]

I moved yesterday into my Oh house, since I brought the cats up they have hidden in the room we are using for storing all my stuff. They haven't come out for food, drink or using the litter trays.

They are scared of my Oh cat. What can I do? We are keeping him away from them and he is outside in the garden now to try and keep him away from them, but they are still hiding. I actually haven't seen Misty since she ran into my stuff and hid.

Should I be worried they not eaten or used their trays?

[Velvet]

Fir the meantime keep them in that room, door closed. Put food, water & litter tray in there & leave them to it. It may take a while, days, weeks etc - in meantime please dont keep the other cat out of his house, he was there first. Let him sniff round the door where yours are if he wants to, that will get him & yours used to each others scentwith no pressure on confrontation. Just leave yours to it & take off the pressure

[Donna]

Well they have not moved for 24 hours. Not eaten, not used the litter tray, nothing...

I have moved some bits around so I can see them. they are just hiding.

I cannot keep a door shut as it is all open plan. I have tried to coax them out for food but they wont come out.

[yola]

Oh Donna - how dreadful for everyone, including Chloe and Misty. They must be very scared. All I can say is please persevere. When I brought Myshka back he hid behind and inside the back of the piano for a couple of days before tentatively venturing out.

Is there no a quiet room your two could be shut into whilst they get used to the smells of the new house and the new cat?

Lots of luck x x

[Mags]

Donna, how are Misty and Chloe now? Has there been any sign of improvement in their behaviour yet?

[DC1346]

It's entirely natural for the cats to be upset. They are after all, quite territorial. The other cat's scent is probably all over the place. Your cats need a space of their own. If you can give them their own space away from the other cat, in time, the other cat's scent will fade while theirs will grow stronger.

A few years ago, I lost my job in Tucson. I was lucky to get a job in a small rural community. The house I moved into had been sitting empty for about a year. It had a pet door in the back and a stray cat had moved in.

The stray fled after I arrived with the movers but my cats were terrified. The other cat's scent was all over the house. I found Jasper Baby shivering behind the refrigerator. Bob and Tabitha hid under my bed. Scraps REFUSED to come in-doors for a week. He sat in the backyard and yowled at me.

Of course, I now know about the stray in hindsight. At the time, I couldn't figure out why my cats were so upset. My confusion lasted for about three weeks. One night I awoke to the sound of a dreadful cat fight. I found Bob hissing in the parlor. The hair on his right cheek had been scraped off and he was dripping blood on one of my Persian carpets. A trail of blood led me to the cat door. I followed the trail into the backyard and saw it end at the fence.

I initially thought that Bob had gotten into a fight with one of my other cats but when I checked, Bob was the only one with injuries. I soon realized that I had a stray ... Catzilla ... a huge 20+ lb. feline bruiser.

The cats began to settle down when I began locking the pet door at night.

In time, the other cat stopped coming. I wish I could say that he got tired of trying to get into my house but I'm told by a neighbor that he was hit by a car, just one block away.

[Donna]

Originally Posted by Mags

Donna, how are Misty and Chloe now? Has there been any sign of improvement in their behaviour yet?

They have moved again since into our new home. We have three feliway plug ins going. My two cats still hate each other and hate my OH cat, but we do see my cats now... they come out for food.. and Chloe always sleeps in the living room. Misty sleeps on the landing.

Chloe has a broken toe at the moment - we are not sure what happened but she had ventured into the garden and came back bleeding.. there is a ginger cat next door who is not very friendly, so do not know if he was chasing her or something.

Anyway, upshot of it all is that the cats all live here together, all eat and use the litter trays, all have their own relaxing spot, but do not particularly like each other!

[angieh]

Sounds rather like my dear old Merlin and my lovely Smudge - they lived in a sort of state or armed neutrality, never actually fighting and living contentedly under the same roof so long as they didn't actually meet one another!

Glad to hear that your trio have at least decided to eat and use their litter tray. I hope Chloe's toe heals up well - I understand even human toes don't get bandaged up if broken, so lord knows what they'd do with a cat's toe!

[felix66]

Its difficult for a new cat to enter an already "claimed" territory. In our last house we rescued Kramer, a long haired blue kitten.Extremely nervous but sort of settled in. When we moved house, Kramer became a different cat, vocal & confident, because there was no top cat. When we brought Darcie-lu home, she lived behind the sofa for over 3 months, but she was a special case(her mother had clung onto her so was not socialised) Then Bailey, our ginge/white made friends with her. Then Minstrel let her on the bed, then Madison made friends, unfortunately, Kramer passed away, but three years later shes now a confident part of the family(completely mad- has no brain). Some cats settle quickly, others can take years. Youve just got to be patient & supportive.
And were about to do it all over again in 6wks(eek)
But theyre so worth it arent they