Princess Hideycat: I Need Advice
Just returned from a trip, where I flew my brother's cat with me to NJ. She is a sweet little 12-yr old black furred cat, and is only staying with me for a while because my brother has some work responsibilities that would leave her alone too much.
Princess H. and I have always gotten along very well and when I was visiting her last week, she frequently hopped on my lap for cuddles and skritches. I fed her and thought we'd "bonded." Her real name is Nikki.
However, she has now joined a household with 3 other cats. They don't "know" each other yet, as Princess Hideycat retreated under my bed 2 days ago and has barely come out. I keep the door shut so the other cats cannot encounter her (yet).
I put food and her favorites like half-and-half under the bed and she is eating and drinking.
In the middle of the night she will come out and give me an earful, but if I try to approach her it's back under the bed. She will also come out briefly to use a pet pad, but not while anyone is around. The bed is too low to use a litterbox.
My questions are if anyone has ever had a Hideycat and how long did it take before they came out?
Is there anything I can do to facilitate her ease in this situation?
Experience, advice, and suggestions are what I need.
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When she does come up by you, talk softly to her and love her. Don't try to force her out. Don't try to hold her if she doesn't want it. When I got my Tortie sisters many, many years ago, I barely saw one of them for months! She stayed under the sofa where I slept. I know she came out at night to eat and use the litter box. Sloooowly but surely she started venturing forth.
She now sleeps with me every night and is goofier than shit sometimes 
But if someone knocks or rings the bell, she is gone is a flash to her hidey spot. My sister has been teasing me for years, saying that I really only have one cat since no one has ever seen two. Oh, I love them so!
Patience. That's all. And love of course.
I wanted to thank everyone. Thanks to the posts upthread, I now have an idea of how long she might be under there, and how long her fear might last.
This cat loves to look out the window, and I can put some shelving there for her to climb, so I'm going to try that. She has to be bored to tears after all that time under the bed.
A low-step litterbox, too.
Oh, and one more thing: I have catnip growing around the garden, so I'll use that as a "treat" to try to lure her from under the bed.
with some extra kitty love.
p.s. I went back there and she was out from under the bed but ran back when I came in.
The Princess has emerged. She came out last Wed., Oct. 3, and now is lounging on the bed with the door open. She likes that vantage point because she can see out the window to the trees and birds and also into the living room.
My other three cats are aware of her but none have initiated any encounters, though they have expressed a good deal of curiosity about "the kitty in the bedroom."
She has independently gone on two tours of the house and is eyeing the staircase, which I view with trepidation as there are many places to hide on my second floor. This little cat is recovering from a balance problem caused by anemia and walks in an odd fashion, kind of like a cowboy wrangler, if you can imagine that. It was very brave of her to march out of the bedroom and go through the house.
She sleeps with me at night and is a cuddly little companion. She is eating well, and I hope to "fatten" her up during her stay here, as she is very skinny from her illness.
Thanks again to everyone for their advice and stories.
