How long should it take my 7 year old adopted cat to seek affection and stop hiding all day

Question

I have recently adopted a 7 year old cat who was (at his old home) been an incredibly affectionate Lap cat. He has been in our house for 1 week now and we let him out of his safe room on day 4. since than he has been hiding under the bed all day however sleeps next to me all night (just on top of my bed next to my legs or chest.) We are very taken back that he seeks no affection at all and are wondering if that is normal or if he has a problem?

Answer 1

This all sounds pretty normal. If the cat is hiding all the time, that's an indication it's still anxious. If it's too absorbed in being anxious, it's not going to feel very affectionate. It's also only been one week, so it's not really unusual for the cat to still miss its old home and people, and not feel very bonded to you yet. But there are things you can do to try to speed up the process and establish habits that will hopefully lead to the relationship you want.

Improve your hiding spots.

Though cats like hiding under furniture, it's not really a good idea to let them do that.

1. While hiding under there, they are pretty inaccessible, so it's very difficult to bond with them.
2. It's a safety problem because you will not be able to get them easily in an emergency.
3. If they decide they just want to stay under there, you can't really do much to change their minds.

So block off under furniture (there are even products made specifically for this purpose), and instead get things like cat caves. With good hiding spots like cat caves, you can adjust the hiding spots to suit your needs. They can be placed up high, which makes it less intimidating for the cat when you approach. You can place it in the room your cat is hiding in the most. It can then be gradually moved to gently force the cat into new spaces. This way you can get the cat to come to central socializing areas such as the living room.

Lure the cat out with treats and play.

Now that the cat is in hiding spots that are much more accessible to you, it's more possible to lure it out using treats or play. Be careful to not invade its space, but rather use these things to see if you can convince it to come out. The more the cat comes out of its hiding spots and has only positive associations, the more it will become relaxed in the new space. It will also help to get the cat more attached to you.

Answer 2

Moving to a new home can be outright traumatizing for cats, and it's impossible to predict how a specific cat will react. I have an example from personal experience:

I adopted an older pair of cats (7 & 8 years old) from a family who was breaking up and couldn't care for them anymore. When I visited the family to meet the cats, both happily came over to greet me and were very social.

When I'd brought them home to me, they hid for about 1-2 weeks before starting to come out of their shells. After a couple of months they had seemingly adapted and would seek me out for attention every day.

However; one of them still, to this day years later, will run and hide the very moment I get a visitor. He's clearly scared (though not to the point of aggression if the visitor tries to pet him in his hideout), which he wasn't when I originally visited. I think he still remembers being ripped from his home and fears it happening again.

The other cat took longer to adapt and relax in my home, but he fully recovered his original social habits and will happily greet all visitors, demanding attention.

These two cats are brothers, and grew up in the same home together. They had just about the same personality (as far as I could tell with a single visit) but reacted very differently to finding themselves in a new home.