I'm having a dreadful day and I'm almost at the end of my tether already.

Reggie (about 4, neutered male, found as a stray, no information about earlier background) and Mitzi (8, neutered female, previous owner died) came to me from a rescue shelter yesterday lunchtime. They were used to each others' company at the shelter and got on okay - not best friends but no aggression.

Reggie is sort of settling - stays in the same room as the humans, uses his litter tray, but spits and hisses at us unless we're actually putting food in his bowl. I think he'll settle okay in a day or so.

Mitzi is another matter. She shot into our bedroom within minutes of arriving and won't be moved. I've put a litter tray in there with her but she's not using it. She got into my bedding storage box under the bed and I've now got all our spare bedding in the wash as she's peed on it. She's pooing on the bed. If I try to pick her off the bed she's attacking me and I've got scratches on my arms and face. She hasn't eaten or drunk anything since she got here.

I've adopted rescue cats before and knew they weren't going to be perfect and settled as soon as they arrived but I'm feeling really stressed and miserable this morning. Can any of the cat experts out there offer me any advice? I'm almost on the verge of giving up on Mitzi already and contacting the shelter to take her back. I'm sitting here crying because I just don't know how to handle this.

oh dear

Mitzi sounds proper stressed out - can you get a Feliway plug in thing and stick into your bedroom? its supposed to de-stress cats but Im not sure how well they work

If I were you I would protect myself as best I could and get Mitzi out of the bedroom and into another room (if you have one) with a tray, bedding. food, water etc in

I took in 2 rescue cats on saturday too and whilst I am having issues with the mum cat being aggressive towards her daughter they are using their litter trays and eating

its certainly not easy is it!

fingers crossed you can get Mitzi into another room and I guess if worst comes to the worst, she will have to go back

I went to check on her after my post and she came out from under the bed to meet me and ask for a bit of fussing. Then she followed me into the kitchen, had something to eat while Reggie was in the same room, used the litter tray in the hall and then asked to go back into the bedroom. There's now a litter tray in the ensuite bathroom so she can use that but food and drink will be in the kitchen because if she's done it once ...

Mr Cat has rung me to ask how all 3 of us are doing and he said he woke during the night and Mitzi was asleep beside my feet. So we're making progress as long as I let her choose the pace we go at.

You're doing a great job! Hope the new additions settle down and give you years of pleasure!

You can't rush cats

Does sound like she is settling in now (Sod's law after you started a thread on it!) Though cats can get overwhelmed in a new environment, so the 'safe room' idea might be a solution if she starts stressing out again.
My cat was perfectly friendly at the shelter, but hid from me for 3 days on me getting her home - luckily I could dedicate a room to her until she felt more at ease in her new surroundings.

oh thats good news

I dont suppose you have a cat tower or cat climbing frame do you? if you dont you could get one and put it in your sitting room or something

she might feel safer at the top of one of those so she can survey and see everyone.........

glad she has come out from under the bed and eaten and used the tray

small steps

Our youngest cat was the same but she eventually grew in confidence and settled down .

Sounds like they are settling in, poor babies, with rescue cats you never know how traumatised they were before they ended up at a shelter. Get settled there and then boom, they are somewhere unfamilar and they don't know what will be happening to them.

They are funny creatures, even when they know and love you, and you them.

We had two girl cats, who when they were about 14 and 15, my parents were in a position to buy a house, and as it was a fair distance away, the girls came to stay with me while my parents moved. It was only for a couple of weeks. It was terrible, Becky the older of the two, must have decided in her little mind that all the upheaval was Lucy's fault, and attacked her, growled and swore at her, to the extent for the whole of the two weeks they could not be in the same room. Becky even attacked me when l told her off.

Lucy was so stressed she was losing fur, thank goodness the two weeks were quickly up, and we all travelled to the new house. It continued for a short while at the new house, but l think that since there was a lot more room and more humans, they had space to settle in.

We have two rescue cats, mother and daughter. Phoebe -mum- decided within ten minutes of arriving home that everything was fine. Willow hid for two weeks, only coming out for food and to use the litter tray when we weren't around. Of an evening they'd sleep together and when Willow finally started to show herself. Phoebe would lie down with her and wrap herself around her. Just give them time.

They're both settling nicely now and I've calmed down and stopped panicking.

Mitzi is very sociable now, strictly on her terms but that's just being a cat! She follows me round the house and will sit on the sofa with me in the evenings. Last night she followed me to the bedroom and jumped onto the bed with me. She's started playing as well - had a mad half hour of running round the flat this morning then landed near my feet demanding belly rubs. The minor problem we have now with her is that once her front paws are on the litter tray she thinks she's okay and I've had to mop the floor more in the last few days than I normally do in a month!

She's a bit of a bully towards Reggie but she used to be the only cat in her last home so it's understandable and it's been much better today. Reggie's an absolute darling. He's claimed a chair as his property and surveys his kingdom from there most of the time. He's stopped the hissing and spitting at us and will now approach us for a bit of fussing.

I'm amazed at their adaptability and resilience - it can't be easy for them to adapt to the change but they've done really well in just a few days

I'm glad she's coming round now! It's always hard with rescue cats ; I've had them myself and have usually just let them find a place that they are happy with for the first few days. I would go into that room and sit on the floor and let them see me but not interact with them or approach them. I'd do that a few times and it would usually build up their trust to the point that they would then come over. From there they start to settle in and trust. It can be stressful and messy(!) but they are just adapting to their new home. good luck, hope they both enjoy their new home!