Helping your cat decompress
Why do cats need decompression time?
Cats can be easily overwhelmed by changes to routine or environment and quiet, safe spaces can help them regulate their stress and relax. Cats are prey animals so they’re very careful and their natural instinct is to hide when they’re stressed or in pain.
Decompression is especially important when bringing a cat home for the first time, or moving house.
Tips for bringing a rescue cat home for the first time
When we give advice to people rehoming a cat from Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, we always use the ‘Rule of three’, how to support your cat for the first three days, three weeks, and three months in your home.
These are only guidelines and every cat is different, yours may be curious and bold, or fearful and anxious and they may need longer or shorter accordingly. The best thing you can do when rescuing a cat is to talk to the Animal Welfare Carers who’ve been looking after them as they’ll be able to tell you so much about their personality and preferences.
The rule of 3
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The first three days
When you first bring a cat into your home, we recommend that you keep them in one room only for the first few days. Have a room ready with their essentials; bed, food, litter tray, scratching posts, and hiding spots. Calming pheromone sprays can also help them feel more comfortable and settled.
You can spend plenty of time sitting in the room with your cat but let them come to you, don’t force interactions as this may stress them out. Cats like to feel in control so give them plenty of space and let them come to you when they’re ready and curious to get to know you.
Even if they seem eager to get out of the room and explore, don’t rush this step as they could become overwhelmed and regress.
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The first three weeks
Once you’re confident that they’re ready to get out of their room and explore, you can start slowly introducing them to other areas in the house. Be aware that they may try to hide and jump up onto tall furniture so try and make sure everything is as cat safe as possible!
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The first three months
Once your cat is confident and comfortable in your home, you can start to slowly introduce them to visitors. Remind visitors to give your cat space and not to crowd them with cuddles. For the first few times you have people over at least, try to keep noises to a minimum and don’t introduce too many people at once.
There’s no set timeframe for these steps, but as you get to know your cat, you’ll begin to understand when they’re feeling relaxed or when they’re uncomfortable. Always keep their safe space available to them and ask people to stay out of that room.
How to create calm hiding spots in your house
Creating calm hiding spots for your cat is pretty easy when you consider their favourite things! Cats love high places, so you could place chairs or furniture strategically to allow them to climb up on top of shelving or other high spots in the house.
They also love to hide away. You can create a make-shift den by covering a cardboard box with a towel to create a dark, cosy spot.
Make sure they have multiple comfy beds and scratch posts dotted around the house for them to make use of. It’s also important that they have access to plenty of resources in the home. The ideal set up is a litter tray for each cat plus one.
Placing pheromone sprays around the house can also create a calming environment for your kitty.
The main way you can help your cat to feel safe and secure is to always respect their space and never disturb them or remove them from their favourite hiding spot unless it is an emergency.
How to give your cat space and let them approach on their own terms
It’s so tempting to cuddle and play with your cat, but the best way to build trust and help them feel safe is to let them approach on their own terms.
Simply get on with your own day and let your cat come to you if they want attention. If you’re trying to earn the trust of a nervous cat, don’t walk towards them or try to force contact.
To encourage interaction, you can sit still in one spot and don’t give them eye contact. If they come up to you, gently put out your hand to let them sniff it. They may lean in to your gesture and you can stroke them on their head and chin but nowhere else.
At all times move calmly and stay composed. Don’t get too excited, you might scare them away!
How to recognise signs of stress in cats
Some signs of stress in cats include:
- Toileting outside of the litter tray
- Excessive hiding
- Not eating and drinking
Body language to indicate stress may include:
- Slow movement low to the floor which indicates they’re trying not to be threatening to you
- Ears flat to the head
- Tail flicking
- Avoiding eye contact
- Hissing or growling
- Lunging if they get cornered
How to tell if your cat is feeling relaxed
Some ways to tell if your cat is feeling relaxed and comfortable include:
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Rolling around and showing their belly – but remember, this isn’t an invitation to touch!
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Sleeping in front of you
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Rubbing their head on you to mark their scent
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Drinking, eating and using their litter tray normally
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Playing and expressing normal behaviour like using their scratching post
When to let an outdoor cat out in their new home
If you’ve rehomed a cat which prefers to explore outside, and you live somewhere where it’s safe to let them do so, it’s important to introduce this carefully.
Before anything else, make sure your cat’s microchip is up to date with the correct address. Out of date microchip information is one of the biggest issues that prevent us from finding a cat’s family when they come into our care.
We recommend that you wait at least six weeks before letting them outside so that they’ve established a safe, happy routine at home and they know that home is where they get fed.
Start by letting them out into the garden for short periods while you’re watching them. If you’re worried about them running off, you could skip their breakfast before letting them out in the morning, and then shaking their biscuits to encourage them back inside.
Always feed them indoors so they know to come home when they’re hungry, and let your neighbours know not to feed them too.
You can put a quick release collar on your cat with details of your name and number so that well-meaning passersby never think they’re lost.
More advice
Enrichment for cats
