new cat in the house question

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
new cat in the house question
11
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 10:25am

hi-
we just picked up our new cat (he is 11months old) at his cattery this past weekend. he is a siberian cat and seems extremely friendly.
when we brought him home we were told to leave him in 1 room until he was comfortable with us and then to let him go into the whole house.

for the past 4 days he has been skittish of us which is totally understandable since he left the only home he knew. he will come out and play with us, and will even sit on the couch and let us pet him and he is very sweet. but he does cry a lot especially in the evening.

i feel that every time i spend with him he becomes more comfortable with us, but that each time i come into the room, it takes a while for him to get used to me again.

my question is- how will i know when it is ok to let him in the entire house? i am nervous that if we let him out of the one room he is in, he will be scared and will hide, and then will not be able to find his food/water and litter box. but i also feel that since we are leaving him in 1 room, we can not spend as much time with him as we would if he had free rein of the house.

just an FYI we have a 15month old daughter who we have just started to introduce him to - when we were at the cattery Bogart (our cat) was fine with our daughter(she pet him and crawled near him etc... and he was not scared at all)- now he is a little scared of her which is understandable.

sorry this is so long- i just wanted to give all the backround info

alison

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-07-2003
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 12:53pm

Congratulations on your new kitty!

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Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 3:16pm

Hi Allison.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 3:30pm

hi rena-
thanks soooo much for the suggestion, i will try the comfort zone, that would probably help- i had never heard of it before.

his original name was "butch" we changed it to "bogart" we thought it would be easy for our daughter (she can call him bo) and we liked it as well.

thanks again for all of your suggestions, i will give him more time before i bring him into the rest of the house. i am worried that if i let him in now he will get scared and hide somewhere and that wouldnt be fair to him.

thanks again and i'll keep u posted

alison

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 3:42pm
I'd give him another week or even longer to get used to you. If he gets comfortable and trusts you before then, well you will know. You have plenty of time. Is there any way to open his rroms door where he can hear and see more of whats going on in the house yet keep him contained? An old screen door you can prop up? I've had several shy kitties that hid under the bed for several weeks, coming out of the room at night, exploring everywhere while we slept! Enjoy the kitty, find your patience and relax. Donna
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 5:06pm

hi-
tks for all of your advise. i know it is hard for him and i guess since i have always adopted young kittens we never had to deal with this before.

i know in a month or so he will feel lie he's been here forever- and i cant wait for that day.

alison

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 5:09pm

hi donna-

we can only open the door or close it there is really no way of keeping him in our family room unless the door is closed. i do not think he is even close to ready to be let out, i hope in a week or so he will be.

i'll just give it more time.
alison

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 5:25pm
You'll know when its time. Did you mention his color/name etc...is the cattery rescued cats or like a shelter/humane society??? Donna
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 10:02pm

hi donna-
his name is Bogart and he is a purebred siberian.... i have never owned a purebred before i always thought it better to get from a shelter.

unfortunitly i married into a family that has major cat allergies, from everything we read siberians cause less allergies, and in some people (like one of my friends son)- no allergies at all.

we bought a cat because we wanted to make sure the temperment was OK with our daughter.

he is cream colored, and his face, paws and tail (which is very fluffy) are striped. and he has blue eyes.

i dont know how to post a photo on ivillage but if i figure it out i will post one.

alison

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 11:34pm
He sounds wonderful. I don't do the premium membership, I know you can post pics that way or email to someone who post them for you. Hope to hear lots of cute stories about your kitty! Donna
Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 08-12-2005 - 4:49pm

Hi Allison.


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