Adopted two 6 year old female cats...

by Hazel
(Dungannon, Ireland)

Hi there, I adopted 2 females both 6 years old, both were scared at first but I gave them space and eventually one female became confident and shes eating and using the litter tray. The other female will not move out of the corner behind some boxes, Im not sure if she has used the litter tray since shes been with me and I havent seen her eating or drinking. Shes losing alot of hair now when I stroke her. Shes shivering with fear and I dont know what to do. Once, she started to purr and rub against me while I stroked her, but now shes back to hiding. Its been one week since Ive had the cats. I know thats not alot of time to adjust to a new home, I expected the cats to be wary. I understand they need time to get used to me and the house but Im just worried about her health.

Reply
Hi
yes although one week is not long, it is unusual for a cat to shiver with fear like this. Of course just like some humans, some cats are just naturally more scared etc, a lot depends on their background.

if i were you i would telephone the place you got them from and ask them about how she was when she was with them. if they say she was a very nervous cat then you will know that she just needs lots more time and perhaps some medication to help her relax.

if they say she was fine then perhaps a trip to the vet to make sure that there is no other underlying health issue which may be causing the excessive fur loss etc.

I have a page about scared cats on this site which you may find of further interest here

scared-cat.html

best wishes kate

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