Author Topic: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?  (Read 6547 times)

Offline Arcanegirl

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2014, 08:23:02 AM »
We tried to coax him to us so we could bring him into the bed but with no luck

Offline Sue P (Paddysmum)

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2014, 08:20:18 AM »

He probably would cry during the night.  He's only small, and he's away from all that has been familiar to him.  How would you feel about bringing him up on the bed with you (or did he clamber up to be with you?)

My OH is retired, so we took it in turns to get up and sleep with Moray in Moray's den when he woke during the night, but eventually, we allowed them both in the room together.  Tinks wasnt overly happy, because he would sleep on the bed with us, but he sulked for a few days, we fussed him just the same as ever, and he soon got over it. 

Offline Arcanegirl

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2014, 07:15:31 AM »
We have no room for either unfortunately. He was coming out alot more last night but he also spent the night crying (I made a separate post about it)

Offline Sue P (Paddysmum)

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2014, 07:12:06 AM »


You may have to consider putting him in a smaller environment with no places for him to hide (like a large pen - either a big cat cage, or alternatively a play pen type for use when you're there to spend time with him.   

Did he react at all when you were just sitting on the bed, ignoring him?  Did he come out and potter round relatively comfortably?

Offline Arcanegirl

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2014, 20:29:06 PM »
So far I have seen him out and about the bedroom, but when I enter he is back under the bed. No interest in playing with me so I am currently sitting on my bed with the laptop to see if he ventures out still.

Offline Sue P (Paddysmum)

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2014, 18:11:38 PM »
Like most bedrooms I would suspect!  :)  We're lucky inasmuch as Moray couldnt get under the bed in our spare room, although he could (and did) squeeze along the back of it.  :-:  Thankfully we didnt have much in there, and were able to move stuff into the third, smaller bedroom, but you work with what you have, and as long as you can keep things relatively free on the floor, you'll make things much easier for yourself.  :)

Yes, if he's in your bedroom, the bedding will have your scents on, so that will be fine.

Say Hello to Bane from us, and to little No-Name-just-now.   ;)  Always taxing, trying to work out names for our puds when they dont already have one.  Good fun though, especially as you see their characters emerging.   :)

Offline Arcanegirl

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2014, 18:04:40 PM »
Thankyou, really informative!
The older resident cat is called Bane, he is pictured in my avatar. The kitten has no name as of yet, untill we see him and his personailty it is hard to choose one!
The kitten bolted to my bedroom so that is where he will be residing for now, unfortunatley under my bed is a little cluttered! But i will gently clear out what I can. Ive found a box I can use so ill get that into the room.
Since he has camped out in my bedroom im guessing putting my scent about shouldnt be much of an issue? Just scent swapping of the two cats between them to concentrate on.

Offline Sue P (Paddysmum)

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Re: New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2014, 17:55:53 PM »
Welcome to the forum Arcane Girl  :welcome:

What are the names of your two cats, and which is the kitten?  How exciting to have taken on a new addition to your family.

They key to successful introductions is time and huge amounts pf patience, but this may be even more the case given that your kitten hasnt had a great deal of socialisation in those first few weeks of life. 

My advice would be to try and clear out the room in which your kitten is staying for the time being, giving him no place to hide other than a bed, which could be in a cardboard box with the side cut away, or a proper cat/dog cage with a blanket draped over the top.  If you can, furnish the room with a clean litter tray, a scratching post and platform, some toys to play with, and clean food and water bowls.

Two approaches.  Whilst he's in his room, coax him out of the bed area with toys and play - Da Bird or a Flying Frenzy toy will be just the thing to tempt him out, but if you don't have anything like a fishing rod style toy, you can tie a piece of string round a scrumpled up piece of paper and use that instead.  Use it like "prey" have it swoop, and wiggle and scurry along the ground, twitch and flip.  It may take a little while for him to show interest so you'll have to persevere. 

If he wont participate, then just sit quietly on the floor in his room, and do something else, like read.  Dont make direct eye contact, and wait to see if he ventures out.  If he does, just let him explore without exerting any kind of pressure or making sudden moves.  Once he has ventured out a little way, try putting a little kitten treat or a dreamie down at a midway point between you and him - make him work to get it.  Once he's taken the bait as it were, you can lay a little trail from his roosting place to where you sit, and wait to see if he comes out.  Try petting with a closed fist - it's less scary to cats generally than a grabby hand. 

Also, try leaving something with your scent on it in his room when you're not in it with him.  You could also try scent swapping, where you leave something with your older cat's scent on it in his room, and leave something with the kitten's scent on it elsewhere for the older cat to scent track.    Socks and nightwear are good things to use for this - rub them all over the cats, especially round their faces, ears and chin to get the scent on, and then exchange.   :innocent:

If all of this bears fruit, you can either leave the door open for him and see if he ventures out of the room, or you can bring him out for supervised introductions, depending on how your other cat reacts, and whether the little feller will let you pick him up without too much stress.

If your other cat shows no signs of aggression or hostility, then you can see if you can just let them explore the mutual space a little - your older cat may wish to investigate the place where newcomer kitty has been holed up, cos no doubt it will be very interesting and full of unusual scents.   :shify:  (How did that get there......?)

See if you can engage them both in a joint play session - sometimes seeing another cat play will pique the newcomer's interest and vice versa, but monitor this carefully to make sure neither gets too boisterous or frightened by the other's.  Around half an hour at a time should be enough at first, and if you can repeat this three or four times a day it will soon have the effect of getting them used to each other.  If hostility's apparent, then remove the kitten back to his bedroom.  Make a fuss of both the newcomer and your existing cat equally, as existing cat may feel pushed out.

Getting a plug in, such as Feliway or Pet Remedy can help to keep both cats calm, too.  We put one upstairs on the landing and one in our living room when we were introducing Tinks and Moray, but neither of them were particularly timid, more just wary. 

I hope this will give you some ideas to try, but if not there are some really good threads on here regarding cat introductions, so have a good look.  Am sure there will be other suggestions very shortly.  Also check out the stickies for the Jackson Galaxy clips, and have a look at his website for further ideas.


http://jacksongalaxy.com/

Another good place to try is The Way of Cats

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/


We'd love to know how things go - and to see some piccies of your babies if you're able to post any.   :)

Offline Arcanegirl

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New addition rather timid, how to approach him?
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2014, 17:10:29 PM »
We have home a little 10 week old kitten today, he seems to be quite timid so far. He is from a farm (the mother cat lives there, unexpected litter) so hasnt been handled much.
He has been hiding under my bed so far for the day and has eaten.
Whats the best way to coax him out and get him used to me and then the family?

We also have a 20 month old male cat, very laid back and mostly welcomed in a dog who came to visit last week. How do go about helping the timid kitten and introducing our current cat to each other? At the moment the bedroom that the kitten is residing in has been closed off.

 


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