When the kitty is finally in the carrier, the most stressful part begins for them, even if it is only a short drive to your house. Most cats will meow and cry all the way, and understandably so: you know you are taking them to a nice place where they will be loved and taken care of, but they don’t. What the poor kitty is thinking is probably something like, “They’ve got me, oh goodness, THEY’VE GOT ME!!!” They feel trapped, and they are frightened. It is best to keep talking to them in a calm, reassuring voice on the way home, but resist the temptation to stick your fingers into the carrier and try to touch the cat. Very likely, it is going to be perceived as another threat. The cat does not yet know you and has no idea what you are going to do to it. It will eventually understand that you mean no harm, but not right away.
The first several days
When you arrive home, you will probably discover that the carrier the kitty hated so much to be in is now its safe haven: when you open the door, they may not want to come out. If that happens, let them be. Go ahead and do things you normally do around the house, don’t push the cat out. When left alone, it will eventually calm down and venture out – probably to hide under the nearest bed or couch. That’s what my cat did, and he had spent there about a week, venturing out only at night to eat and use the litter box.
The most important thing during this time is to be patient. Remember, the cat does not know what’s going on and whether it can trust you. You may feel like it has made up its mind to hide forever, but that is not so. The cat will be watching you, gathering information, and analyzing your behavior.
If you have other pets, you should have the new cat isolated from them. Unless you are absolutely sure that your other cat is an angel who will do everything to make the new one feel safe and welcome (yes, there are cats like that), it would be better to keep them apart. Have a separate room prepared for the new cat, with a separate bowl and a litter box. Even then, the new cat will be able to smell other pets, which will probably make the adjustment time even longer.
There may be some litter box accidents during the first days. Do not punish the cat, it is not doing it on purpose. They are very stressed out, and stress often results in such accidents. Perhaps the cat was in the litter box when it heard you coming, and it had gotten scared. You might want to call the previous owner / caretaker to check whether the cat had ever failed to use the litter box before. More than likely, it hadn’t, and things will get back to normal when the cat relaxes a bit.
If the cat hides, place the food bowl and water bowl close to their hiding place. Later on, you can gradually move the bowls a little farther away. When you enter the room, do not immediately focus your attention on the cat or try to get it out. Just do whatever you have come to do, it will let the cat know that, once again, you are not after them. You can gently talk to them as you do things, it is good for the cat to get used to your voice. If the cat meows back, keep talking. It’s a sign that it wants to communicate, and probably wants to venture out but needs some more reassurance.
I will never forget the moment when Beanie had first come out from under the bed in response to my calling him. I had been folding laundry and talking to him when he had begun meowing back. We played the “Kitty-kitty” – “Meow” game for awhile, then I knelt next to the bed, still talking to him. At last, very hesitantly, he stepped out. I knew reaching my hand to him would probably scare him, so I didn’t. He waited a little, and came close to me on his own. Then I petted him, and what a purring machine he turned out to be!