We spend years teaching our children that

[murielm99]

hostile creatures do not live under the bed. Then, one of those children brings home a hostile creature that lives under the bed.

Wilson, my daughter's cat, hates us. And he will be living here through the end of the summer.

He does come out from under the bed sometimes. He eats, drinks, and uses his litter box. Sometimes he sleeps on top of the bed. Once, I found him lounging in the upstairs hallway. But he hisses at me, and today he clawed my sweater. Hostile, hostile, hostile.

My daughter will be coming here again next weekend, to see how Wilson is doing. Then she is moving to Toronto. Wilson will join her later, if we can get him to come out from under the bed.

[yuiyoshida]

1. I have found that cats don't like to leave

their environment. My cat was born in Santa Barbara. When I came to San Francisco by car, he had to be heavily sedated. It took him a long time to get used to my new place. He was checking out everything and often was upset if I came near him, because He was not too happy with me. Now..we have been here over 5 years , and he owns this place! He even sleeps with me when he feels like it, other wise he has laid claim to a box I have, and sleeps on top of it. I recently got him a pillow, and he uses it.

[Raffi Ella]

2. aw! I bet he misses her. Poor Wilson.

I'd be so afraid of him though, lol. Hissing cats are as bad as snakes to me.


Have you tried giving him treats? laying on the floor with his toys and treats and talking sweetly to him?

[murielm99]

3. Yes!

Last night, he came out into the hall, explored the bathroom upstairs, and rubbed against me. I am not allowed to touch him yet, but we played. He chirped at me.

[Raffi Ella]

5. Oh! well that's a start.

It would suck to have a soft kitty running around the house who didn't let me pet him but it sounds sweet what he did with you...just keep doing what ever it is you're doing, at a safe distance of course, lol.

[Wait Wut]

4. Whenever you're in the bedroom...

...talk to him. Just casually say his name and chat like you would if he were a human. He'll hopefully be comforted by the sound of your voice and learn to trust you. Even if you're just passing by the doorway, just say "Hi, Wilson." When you can, always make eye contact. If you wear glasses, take them off when he looks at you. Blink at him, slowly, when the opportunity arises.

Good luck, grandma.

[Paulie]

6. And tossing a Cat treat in his direction a few times a day wouldn't hurt

Cats can be bribed to tolerate people.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Have you tried Feliway?

It's a synthetic cat pheromone that is comforting to cats. It's been primarily used to eliminate inappropriate urination issues, but I got it for my cat when I rescued her from outdoors and all she did at first was hide. It's supposed to help cats who are finding their environments stressful, like a change in the household or a move for the cat. It now comes in a diffuser and I found it at a pet store (PetsMart). Wishing you all the luck in the world with poor Wilson...

Comfort Zone® with Feliway®
http://www.petcomfortzone.com/?gclid=CL-ZxtOHqL0CFchQ7AodlQoAtA

[TrogL]

8. Cats take a long time to get used to a new environment

I inherited my daughter's cat (named Psycho, apparently appropriately). When here, she would hiss at everybody and everything. Then she hissed because she wanted to be petted but hissed while you were petting her. Hiss to be fed then hiss because you fed her. She'd sit half way up the stairs and growl if you came into view. I'd carry her into the living room to try to get her used to the other animals and she'd freak out and run. I'd search the house and find her at the very top of my bedroom closet. If I tried to get her down, she'd shit all over the place.

Today, a month and half later, she let one of the dogs her a bath and she's currently asleep on top of the cat castle with one of the other cats.