I just don't get this cat?!?!?

MrsFoof

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post below.  So, now we have had our 1 year old shelter cat for about 3 weeks.  He has since become very comfortable walking around our house when it is quiet.  He walks around like he owns the joint.  Although during the day, he hides under my bed so we can't get close to him.  He is also LOVES when we pat and play him when he is in his evening "hideouts" (under the crib, in his cat carrier).  But, he runs like a bat out of hell if we enter the same room as him when he is out and about.   Has anyone had experience with a cat like this?  I am really hoping that he will let us approach him when he is out of hiding.  I am getting so discouraged because he is SO CUTE, I just want to hang out with him, especially at night.

LuckyAngel07

Time and patience.

It's only been 3 weeks. That feels like plenty of time to you, but cats can take a long time to adapt to new surroundings and/or changes. Continue giving him plenty of space when he wants to be alone, and love on him and play with him as much as he wants when he's ready to be out and social.

You might try the Feliway diffusers also, to help calm his nerves and help him adapt more easily, but they take up to a month to reach full effectiveness, and he may settle in on his own by then. 

TLH10

Our kitten was like this when we first adopted her two years ago and it took her a long time to come around. She was very skittish and jumpy and over the course of the past two years she has very slowly come around to love on us and trust us. She still jumps when she hears a noise or when someone besides me and my husband is there, but is otherwise pretty normal. Not all cats are the same.... you just need to give it some time!

PinkCamino

MrsFoof:

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post below.  So, now we have had our 1 year old shelter cat for about 3 weeks.  He has since become very comfortable walking around our house when it is quiet.  He walks around like he owns the joint.  Although during the day, he hides under my bed so we can't get close to him.  He is also LOVES when we pat and play him when he is in his evening "hideouts" (under the crib, in his cat carrier).  But, he runs like a bat out of hell if we enter the same room as him when he is out and about.   Has anyone had experience with a cat like this?  I am really hoping that he will let us approach him when he is out of hiding.  I am getting so discouraged because he is SO CUTE, I just want to hang out with him, especially at night.

Our second cat was like this. We suspect that he was likely abused since he spent the first month hiding under our coach or bed.

It took time and a ton of patients but eventually he came around and warmed up to us. 

The best advice I can give you is let him come to you on his terms. Once he feels safe and realizes that you are not a threat he may start approaching you and possibly even showing you affection.

Good luck!