Senior cat hides from new owners

Megntexas89

I recently moved and gave my cat that's 13 years old to a friend of mine she will not come out the only time that she comes out is to eat or potty and she isn't really adapting very well my question is is should I go and visit her it's been about a month and a half or will this be too hard she's never had another family before so I was her only family any advice will be helpful thanks/b]

dispatch.o

It's probably less about you than it is about it being a totally new place full of strangers.

Cat's are hyper-territorial and creatures of habit. You just essentially took away all of her territory and gave her to owners who may not follow the routine she's been used to her entire life. I don't think visiting would hurt or help, it just takes time.

Jasconius

13 is a pretty rough age for a cat to adapt to a new household

Do they have other pets? Other pets make it tougher

Bliss 101

Yeah, cats get primarily attached to environments, not people. Familiar objects might help. For example, when I took my cat to visit my mom on Christmas, he liked to hang out in his familiar cat carrier. From there he'd start making timid little excursions to explore the room and eventually the rest of the apartment. (Under normal circumstances he hated the carrier and wouldn't come near it, but at my mom's house it was apparently the only safe place for him.)

How long has she been at your friend's place? The fact that she actually comes out to eat and use the litter box is a good sign. Cats can be so freaked out by new places that they refuse to eat for days.

BlindZenDriver

Cats love spot where they can hide and even better if those spots allow them to have a good view of the surroundings. It might help if there is like a box in a corner where the cat can stay as a new option - it can be just a closed cardboard box with a cat size hole.

azith28

Take an old T-shirt you dont want anymore, then wear it solid to sleep in for a week without washing it, then send it to your friend. have him put it in the spot she hides in...she likely still remembers your scent, and having that in the new place might make her feel less scared or threatened by all the other smells shes not use to.

bwanie

If shes eating that's a good sign. Give it time. Cats can take a very long time getting acclimated which only gets worse as they age.

What could help is adhering to a routine in the evening. Cats tend to feel more secure at night as the level of background noise goes down. If you spent the evenings very relaxed she might come out of hiding at some point.

Incenjucar

A trick that I use to help cats get used to me is to lay down or sleep on the floor. Makes you much less intimidating.

Cambiata

Lot of good advice here. I'm just going to echo that it takes cats a good while to get used to changes, and it takes longer for older cats. For the new owners, if they haven't already created any sort of "furniture" for the cat, that way she has things that she can rub against to smell like her and will mean safety to her. Something as simple as a cardboard box with something soft in it is fine, though if your kitty is the type that likes to look down from above a cat tree would be nice.

Your cat is acting perfectly normal so far, so I wouldn't be too worried. An example of a worry sign is if a cat won't leave the litter box - that would signal extreme anxiety.

Another thing the new owners might do to help with adjusting is to keep the kitty in a single room, waiting for them to show comfort with that room and with any of the regular residents going in to that room to join them, then start extending the territory. Of course it is helpful if that one room is the one the owners sleep in, so they don't have to be separated from the family and to help the kitty get used to them as "safe", but I know not everyone is comfortable sleeping with animals.