New Cat

My husband's friend's parents wanted him to get rid of his 9-year-old cat & he asked us if we would take him. We said we would see how our current cat, Mama, reacted to him before we decided to keep him or not. He dropped the cat off yesterday and we let him out while Mama was in the room so she would not attack him (she does NOT like other animals). He immediately ran behind my desk to the window. We decided to leave him alone for an hour to see if he would come out. He did not. We finally let Mama out and she was pretty good.. she was sniffing around because she could smell him and when she finally found him, they had a VERY quick spat (in which I grabbed Mama and put her in the room).

We left him alone all night with Mama in the room.. he went in the fireplace and stayed there all night (don't worry, it is clean and we haven't used it in the two years we've been here lol). We eventually got him out this morning and every time we would go near him he would hiss and growl at us. Even when I looked at him, he would growl at me. I have never had a cat do that. He won't let me pet him or even get close to him. It is almost like he's been abused. The friend's family doesn't seem like the type that would abuse animals (they are very rich and well-to-do) but you never know.

He finally came out about 2 hours ago when we put Mama back in the room (she has pretty much been ignoring him) but he just went to the kitchen and jumped up on the fridge and hid in the very back. I went to pet him and he hissed and growled at me some more. He has been with us for 1 1/2 days now.

Any advice? Is this normal? What should I do? He said he would take the cat back if it doesn't work out.

 

I would give up to three days before making a decision. If by that time, he still doesn't feel at home, you will have to send him back.

 

I think the new cat is just not used to the new environment and people. Give it some more time. However, if it proves to be a hassle, then perhaps, you can take it back to its owner. I had a couple of cats like the new cat you're dealing with, they would hiss at any of us that went near them (this happened on two different occasions - one cat was when about 7 or 8 years ago, and the other much earlier than that). I can remember all this because they scratched me bad back then - hehe. Anyway, we kept them and left them as they were. Slowly, they started to like the idea of having (new) people around. One of them was given away by my dad's friend, the other my brother brought home from the night market (probably abused and shushed away by people, hence the growling/hissing).

I hope the new cat will get used to the idea of being in a new place and will come out of his shell and become.. friendlier. You sound like a family that adores cats/animals and would keep the cat if he likes it there. So, don't give up just yet.

 

Continue supervising the cats when they are together and slowly introduce them to one another. I like to put my cats together in one room and watch them interact for a short while, separate them and then put them together again to see if they will get along.

 

Thank you so much for the advice everyone! He is still really shy and will hide in the cabinets underneath the sink in the bathroom (where he is currently staying so we can keep the two cats away), but we're definitely making progress. Every time I go to see him, I'll pet him and he'll purr and rub his head against me, let me rub his belly, etc. I still haven't really put the cats together because I want him to be more open with us first. I think we're going to keep him.. I just wish he wasn't so shy. He doesn't hiss or growl at us anymore, so he has definitely improved!

 

I too am going through a similar situation,only it sound like you are having better luck than i am,i still after 2 months cant get to close to my adopted cat without being growled and hissed at.its worse when my other cats get near her than its like starting all over again trying to soften her up. anyway glad things are working out for u and i hope your kitties get along ok together,i dont think i shall be as lucky

 

Cats don't always get along, but if faced with new territory, they can get really really gnarly. Especially if there's already another cat there. Do you know the reason WHY he had to be rehomed after nine years? It seems a bit mean to me, to take a cat out of its home after so long.

You could try something like Feliway to see if it helps him settle down, and perhaps see what he's like with some catnip about? If you can show him you're not the bad guys, then he might warm to you. Hissing spitting cats are a sight to behold, but they can settle down given enough time. I'd say if he was still hissing and spitting at you in a week, that perhaps you might have to reconsider. Try and exhaust your options though, try and coax him with things he likes, perhaps ask the previous owner what his favourite stuff was.

 

Hard to say, we took in a new cat about a year ago, and they are *just now* starting to get along, after fighting regularly. What are this 9 year old cat's other options if the original owners don't want it?

We watched a friends cat many years ago (before we had any pets of our own), and it was very anti social at first. Hiding from us for days and hissing at us whenever we tried to pet it. Then it went into heat, and did a total 180 and wouldn't leave us alone, lol.

It sounds like it just got spooked from that initial spat with your cat, on top of the fact that it's in a new home - probably just feels threatened right now.

 

What happened with the 9 year old cat? It sounded like he was warming up to you. He even let you rub his belly. Aww. I hope everything worked out in the end.