my cat won't come out from under the chair

[cat___Lover]

I need some help here:

I received a cat about 2 weeks ago and this cat it weird. It won't come out from under my chair.

She used to hide under the chair and I thought lifting the chair and getting her use to being held and cuddled would help get her used to me. This hasn't happened. Now she hides "inside" the chair. She is eating and using the litter box when I'm either asleep or gone out but won't show her little face when I am home and awake. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

Michelle

[zippy-kat]

Originally posted by SpencerTheLion:
<STRONG>This sounds like my ex-feral momcat Garbo. </STRONG>

Opps!
I thought Garbo was male.

[AvaJoy]

The best advice I can offer is to have patience, patience, and more patience. You may want to put an article of your worn clothing under the chair where she hides, so that she can get used to your scent. Also, spend time in the same room near her just talking reassuringly so she becomes accustomed to your voice. You may also want to kneel down on the floor and tempt her with a teaser toy; she just may surprise you and spring out from under her chair to pounce on it! It is a good sign that she does eat and use the litter box. As Spencer mentioned, she probably was feral or abused, so just needs lots of time and love in order to trust people and her new environment. Good luck, don't give up, and let us know of her progress.

[carrie]

This cats past hardly matters.

Give it some space, pretend it is not there, do nothing, say nothing and allow the poor thing to make a place for itself without threat.
The cat maybe not what you imagined but needs a hassle free place.

[aly]

Okay, we get calls a lot at the shelter from people who adopted cats who are having the exact same problem. They usually call at two weeks after the adoption too. 9 times out of 10, the cat will eventually come around. We did have some people in the other day though who's cat was in hiding for 4 months. We gave them advice and told them to get back with us. We never heard from them again. Hopefully the cat came out of hiding and they didn't need further help.

I would just give it some more time.