We recently added a kitty, and I guess the biggest mistake was on my part in terms of adopting sight unseen. Phinehas has been so lonely since Malachi passed that I wanted to get him a companion. Orientals really love to cuddle with other orientals, so I figured I'd adopt an older retired kitty much like Phinehas. I asked all the questions I thought were relevant (such as does the cat like other cats: I have a 2 year old daughter - will the cat be good with her? What is her personality like? What does she eat? etc). The woman I adopted from thought it would work out ok since the only thing about her was that she's dominant with other female cats, so I went with it.
Unfortunately, when we got the cat home and I put her in the "cat room" to adjust, she went and hid behind the washer and dryer and simply wouldn't come out. My other cats couldn't even fit back behind the washer and dryer, so that was a shocker to me. I guess I should have put her in a bathroom where there's nowhere to hide...but hindsight is always 20/20. It's been over one month now - and I have never had a cat like this...it's almost as if she's feral and doesn't want to be around people...which is just very odd to me since she used to show. I've emailed her cat meowmie a few times about this and she still seems to think that she'll warm up, but I'm not so sure. I know she's adjusted and is comfortable in the cat room - she plays with the toys, scratches on the post, uses her litterbox and lies in the beds. Anytime someone walks by or she suspects someone may come in the room - I can hear her jump down from the bed on the washer and she immediately hides...so we haven't even been able to try and get her used to us. I'm so frustrated and disappointed.
I had started letting Phinehas in the laundry room since there was no progress being made at all and thought maybe this would be the only way to introduce the cats. It actually seemed to go ok. I caught a glimpse of her lying in one of the beds next to Phinehas, but as soon as she saw me, she freaked and hid. Ever since, she even stays behind the washer and dryer when Phinehas is in the room. I'm at a loss, so I just simply opened the door to the laundry room today since my husband was getting annoyed about having the room closed all the time and a litterbox out by the couch. I moved Phinehas's litter box back into the laundry room next to Freya's and figured if I'm not seeing the cat in the laundry room - why not give her more run of the house and not see her that way...but let Phinehas be more comfortable? She did come out so I have seen her a couple times today, but she runs and hides as soon as she sees me. She seems fine with Phinehas though, so I guess that's something. I'm just so upset that I completely picked the wrong cat for our family. I had hoped to have a cat I could actually see and hold and one that would cuddle with Phinehas and get along with my baby girl - but it just doesn't seem like that's the type of cat she is.

Sorry, I just had to rant a little. I'm wondering how long I wait until I throw in the towel and admit to failure to her cat meowmie and ask her to take the cat back. I want her to be happy living with us, but running and hiding just doesn't seem like a good life when she was a cuddler with her other meowmie who slept on her bed at night. Totally different cat here.