adopted 14 y/o Cat

Roman

Active Member
We took in one of our Friend's cats. She's pretty old, but in good shape. Her owner died 2 weeks ago. She seems very friendly, good appetite, but she is hidden out under our bed. I did put food, and water under there, and a litter box in the room. She only came out to use the box, and she goes back under the bed. I do have a small Dog, and another cat in the house. I know she needs time to adjust, but how long, is too long for a Cat to do this.? Any suggestion would be appreciated. I want her to feel comfortable. Are there any tricks to help calm her down? Should I just leave her alone? TIA
 

Roman

Active Member
We took in one of our Friend's cats. She's pretty old, but in good shape. Her owner died 2 weeks ago. She seems very friendly, good appetite, but she is hidden out under our bed. I did put food, and water under there, and a litter box in the room. She only came out to use the box, and she goes back under the bed. I do have a small Dog, and another cat in the house. I know she needs time to adjust, but how long, is too long for a Cat to do this.? Any suggestion would be appreciated. I want her to feel comfortable. Are there any tricks to help calm her down? Should I just leave her alone? TIA
We just got her yesterday, the 10th.
 

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
I would give her several days. I took my cats over to my Mothers when I went on vacation, my mom cat was fine. The boy, not so much. He hid for three days. :lol:
 

luvscats

New Member
One cat I had who was older took almost a month to start coming around. I did just what you did. Put food/water/litter box in his room. I went in the room, talked to him but left him alone to adjust at his own pace. I also use Feliway to calm my kitties when need be. Some folks say it doesn't work for them, but it works for my kitties just fine. Just give the kitty lots of time, solitude and space.
 

Roman

Active Member
One cat I had who was older took almost a month to start coming around. I did just what you did. Put food/water/litter box in his room. I went in the room, talked to him but left him alone to adjust at his own pace. I also use Feliway to calm my kitties when need be. Some folks say it doesn't work for them, but it works for my kitties just fine. Just give the kitty lots of time, solitude and space.

Thanks for the reply. You too RR. My Husband suggested taking the food & water from under the bed, and put it on the Dresser. He thought it would encourage her to get out from under the bed here & there. Where do you get the Feliway, and how does it work? Thanks again...
 

frequentflier

happy to be living
Thanks for the reply. You too RR. My Husband suggested taking the food & water from under the bed, and put it on the Dresser. He thought it would encourage her to get out from under the bed here & there. Where do you get the Feliway, and how does it work? Thanks again...

You have to understand that in addition to new surroundings, she is mourning the death of her human! If she has been the only pet for 14 years, it may also be difficult for her to adjust to having new siblings! I have heard of Feliway and have considered getting some. But like other calming products, it works for some animals but not others.
Bless your BIG heart, Roman, for taking in this kitty. I do hope she comes around. It may take awhile, though. :huggy:
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
I have seen cats takes days, weeks, and some even months to adapt to change. It all depends on the cat.

Can the cat jump well enough to get on top of a dresser to eat? At 14 years old the cat may have arthritis issues?

I usually cage the new cat in the main area of activity in the house (multiple level BIG cage), and if it appears frightened I will drape a sheet or blanket over half of the cage to allow them to "hide" and during the course of 1 week I will reach in and pet the kitty to get it used to me.

Great on helping the cat! :love:
 

Roman

Active Member
You have to understand that in addition to new surroundings, she is mourning the death of her human! If she has been the only pet for 14 years, it may also be difficult for her to adjust to having new siblings! I have heard of Feliway and have considered getting some. But like other calming products, it works for some animals but not others.
Bless your BIG heart, Roman, for taking in this kitty. I do hope she comes around. It may take awhile, though. :huggy:
Thanks FF! Molly was one of six that our Friend had, but she's never been around a Dog! We have found homes for the other five, so there is one left. If there are no takers, we will get him too.
 

Roman

Active Member
I have seen cats takes days, weeks, and some even months to adapt to change. It all depends on the cat.

Can the cat jump well enough to get on top of a dresser to eat? At 14 years old the cat may have arthritis issues?

I usually cage the new cat in the main area of activity in the house (multiple level BIG cage), and if it appears frightened I will drape a sheet or blanket over half of the cage to allow them to "hide" and during the course of 1 week I will reach in and pet the kitty to get it used to me.

Great on helping the cat! :love:
Hey Ark, thanks for the reply. I don't have a big cage to put Molly in. Since I removed the food from under the bed, she's starting to venture cautiously around the house. She is 14+ years old, but she can get up on the Dresser by jumping on the bed. She actually slept with us last night. I think she's made great progress since we got her on Saturday. :yahoo:
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
Hey Ark, thanks for the reply. I don't have a big cage to put Molly in. Since I removed the food from under the bed, she's starting to venture cautiously around the house. She is 14+ years old, but she can get up on the Dresser by jumping on the bed. She actually slept with us last night. I think she's made great progress since we got her on Saturday. :yahoo:

Wow that sounds great - thank goodness she ended up in caring hands.

It's so hard to find homes for the older cats. We are still trying to place Poppy the senior male kitty. He has the additional issue that he doesn't get along with other cats or dogs well. Sure does make it hard to find him a home.
 

Roman

Active Member
Wow that sounds great - thank goodness she ended up in caring hands.

It's so hard to find homes for the older cats. We are still trying to place Poppy the senior male kitty. He has the additional issue that he doesn't get along with other cats or dogs well. Sure does make it hard to find him a home.
I personally prefer the "Older" Animals. I love all animals, young, or old. But it gives me a certain kind of gratification, knowing that I am providing a good home for an Animal who's at the end of their life. I have a feeling that Molly-Cat will be around for a LONG time. Despite her age, she's full of life.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
I personally prefer the "Older" Animals. I love all animals, young, or old. But it gives me a certain kind of gratification, knowing that I am providing a good home for an Animal who's at the end of their life. I have a feeling that Molly-Cat will be around for a LONG time. Despite her age, she's full of life.

I went to the shelter once looking for an "older" dog to adopt and somehow they convinced me to take a younger black dog that had been scheduled for euthanasia multiple times - apparently the shelter staff did a few tricks so he missed his appointment a few times (they REALLY liked him). It was hard to say no knowing he was once again scheduled to be put down.
 

Roman

Active Member
I went to the shelter once looking for an "older" dog to adopt and somehow they convinced me to take a younger black dog that had been scheduled for euthanasia multiple times - apparently the shelter staff did a few tricks so he missed his appointment a few times (they REALLY liked him). It was hard to say no knowing he was once again scheduled to be put down.
In the past, when looking for a new Family Member, I've gone in there and asked which Dog/Cat was scheduled for euthanasia, and then I'd adopt from that selection. I would have hundreds of animals if I had my way. My Husband use to hate Cats, but now..he has a soft spot for them. We have 3 Ferals, and 2 chosen kitties. The ferals turned in to real snuggle-buddies, and just love us.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
In the past, when looking for a new Family Member, I've gone in there and asked which Dog/Cat was scheduled for euthanasia, and then I'd adopt from that selection. I would have hundreds of animals if I had my way. My Husband use to hate Cats, but now..he has a soft spot for them. We have 3 Ferals, and 2 chosen kitties. The ferals turned in to real snuggle-buddies, and just love us.

Awww good for him and the ferals.

I went to Tri-County looking for a kitty and they had just brought in a scabbed up-looking cat with big feet that was very thin. Most of her fur was gone. I asked what her story was and they said she had JUST come in a few hours before as a stray. She was scared and looked horrible. They had her age listed at 10 years old. They told me as soon as her stray time was up she'd be put down due to her age/condition. I said I want HER!

She turned out to be a beautiful medium haired calico that filled out and her body size finally looked in proportion to the size of her feet. Turned out she had already been spayed and she also had potty issues that I had to work her through (probably how she ended up on the street), but she learned to only potty in the litter box. Oh the scabs she had all over and the hair loss was due to her being allergic to flea bites.
 

Roman

Active Member
I think I saw a picture of her on your Web Site. I'm happy to hear that she turned out good. I went to Tri-County last year some time, because they had Adopt an Older Cat for free. I picked out the ugliest Black Cat that I've ever seen. They took him to PF Animal Hospital, where they did the Snap Test on him, and he was positive for Leukemia, so they put him down anyway. Which is good, I guess. At least he died with a name, and someone that really wanted him. What kind of toileting problems did you have with her, and how did you get her to finally go in the box? the reason I ask, is because my Persian kitty, who is 2, came down with litter box adversion. I took her to the Vet, who didn't test the Urine, but put her on Orbax for UTI. I didn't want the test, because of the price, so we did it just in case. But here's the weird part. Chloe's fur is 5 1/2 inches long. She hates her long fur. I was late on getting her groomed, but as soon as she was groomed...she started going in the box again! How weird is that?? :ohwell:
 
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ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
I think I saw a picture of her on your Web Site. I'm happy to hear that she turned out good. I went to Tri-County last year some time, because they had Adopt an Older Cat for free. I picked out the ugliest Black Cat that I've ever seen. They took him to PF Animal Hospital, where they did the Snap Test on him, and he was positive for Leukemia, so they put him down anyway. Which is good, I guess. At least he died with a name, and someone that really wanted him. What kind of toileting problems did you have with her, and how did you get her to finally go in the box? the reason I ask, is because my Persian kitty, who is 2, came down with litter box adversion. I took her to the Vet, who didn't test the Urine, but put her on Orbax for UTI. I didn't want the test, because of the price, so we did it just in case. But here's the weird part. Chloe's fur is 5 1/2 inches long. She hates her long fur. I was late on getting her groomed, but as soon as she was groomed...she started going in the box again! How weird is that?? :ohwell:

oh my - wow well now you know to keep her groomed LOL

She did her business on my bed the very 1st day - I broke my rule about all cats being caged the 1st week, and let her out right away when I brought her home. She promptly peed and pooped on my bed - :cds: . I was immediately thinking "well now I'm pretty sure I know why you were on the street".

I immediately caged her in a large crate that I sat on the bed. She used the litter in the crate a few days then I opened the crate door so she could come out and she would go in the crate to use the litter. Eventually I put the litter box on the floor and she got used to using it there.

This is also the same kitty that lacks a bit in the brain dept. If you move the litter box you have to do it 1 or 2 feet at a time per day so she can follow it along to it's new location. If you don't, she will go back to where the litter box WAS and potty there. She's definitely an unusual cat.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
speaking of older cats .....

not sure if you remember Poppy the senior cat we were trying to place last year? Well it appears that he may have mental issues?

His foster says he loves to be petted, then suddenly he will growl, swat and/or bite you, sometimes the bite is soft, but sometimes hard. She thinks he's psycho lol

I've known of other cats that acted that way too. Is it a mental condition or just a disagreeable cat? Seems like he'd not want to be petted at all if he didn't like it right?

Anyway the foster said we should keep him and not adopt him out due to his "problem".
 

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ontheriver

Well-Known Member
My cat

took at least a week before I saw the whole cat and another week before he actually came to me to let me pet him. Now, at about three months, I can't keep him off me. Just be patient. You are very good to take an older cat, bless you.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
took at least a week before I saw the whole cat and another week before he actually came to me to let me pet him. Now, at about three months, I can't keep him off me. Just be patient. You are very good to take an older cat, bless you.

I had him at first and then the foster took him. This is the cat that lived on her screened in porch at first but now is occupying a spare room. She uses a baby gate so he still has contact with the family that way (he's too fat to jump the gate). He will fight others cats AND dogs so he has to be kept separate. Sadly I doubt he can ever be adopted unless someone who is willing to take a grumpy cat comes along <G>.
 
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