Most new cats head for higher ground within the first day or two. One minute your cat is sniffing along the baseboards, and the next it's on top of the refrigerator, looking down at you as if you're the one who just moved in.
It can feel like your cat is keeping its distance. Usually it's doing something more practical: picking spots where it can see the room and settle in at its own pace. Below are the places a new cat is likely to try first, and what each one can tell you about how it's settling in.
1. The top of the fridge
Your new cat will probably find the top of the fridge early, often by way of the kitchen counter. It's a sign your cat is trying to get a read on a place full of unfamiliar sounds and smells. A cat who can hear or smell something without being able to see it may find that frightening, and the fridge offers a clear view of the kitchen and, in many homes, the front door.
You don't have to allow it forever. If the fridge isn't a good spot in your home, give your cat a different high place to use instead, like a cleared-off closet shelf or a tall cat tower. Put a favorite treat or toy there, then let your cat check it out without any coaxing.
2. The top of a bookcase
A few days in, your cat may start napping on top of a bookcase or a tall shelf. That usually means it's starting to settle but still wants a lookout. Climbing comes easily to cats, and a high spot lets them rest and keep an eye on the whole room at once. A cat is also at its most exposed while it sleeps, so a nap spot that nobody can approach unnoticed makes a lot of sense.
What you can do is check the footing. Bare wood can be surprisingly slick under paws, so a folded blanket or an old shirt on top of the shelf gives your cat something to grip.
3. The top of the wardrobe
This is the one that tends to worry new owners. For the first several days, your cat may spend a lot of its time on top of a wardrobe or a tall dresser, and very little time anywhere near you.
In the first week or two, that's a normal part of adjusting. Many cats are quiet and wary for their first few days in a new home, and some take a few weeks. If your cat is still spending most of its time up there, or under the bed, after several weeks, that's when to pay closer attention. Cats that stay fearful long after they've had time to settle in are the ones that tend to spend so much time in those spots.
Either way, give your cat room. Pushing for contact too soon usually backfires, so let your cat be the one to come to you. You can help in a practical way, too: move a sturdy piece of furniture close enough to work as a halfway step. Cats need an easy way down as much as a way up, and that goes double for older cats.
4. A windowsill
Once your cat relaxes a little, expect it to find a window. Take that as a good sign. A high perch near a window lets a cat watch what's happening outdoors from a spot where it feels protected. The Indoor Pet Initiative at Ohio State's vet school defines a perch broadly, as more or less anything that lets a cat rest or look outside from above. A chair or a sturdy table pushed up to the glass can do the job.
If your sill is wide enough, clear it off and add a folded towel. If it isn't, a chair by the window works just as well.
5. A high spot you set up
After a few weeks, you'll probably notice a pattern. Your cat doesn't want just one high place; it wants a few, each with an easy way up and down. That fits the common advice to give cats several different places to rest up high. How you pull that off depends on your space, and in a small bedroom, the one open wall is often the one you were saving for a full-length mirror.
At MENODORA, that's the wall we had in mind for the Mirror Atelier, a full-length mirror with a cat tree on the other side, finished in a light wood tone and sold with anti-tip hardware included. It's made with cats and kids in mind, specially designed and made for the safety of curious cats and little ones. The mirror is crafted from lightweight, shatter-resistant acrylic, so there's no glass to break. Because it's acrylic, reflections may show slight distortion. Prefer a standard glass mirror? Just let us know at info@menodorahome.com, and we'll send you a replacement at no cost.
What all that climbing means
All that climbing can look like your cat keeping its distance. It's closer to the opposite. A few good high spots give a new cat a way to watch the room and get used to you from somewhere comfortable. Coming down, when it happens, will be its own idea, so give it time.
If you're short on wall space, here's a closer look at the Mirror Atelier, coming this fall.