We have recently adopted a rescue cat. She is lovely and settled in well. The problem is one of our older cats is unaccountably terrified and won't come into the house. The new cat does chase him, but not aggressively. He is normnally very confident and teritorial, so this is very unexpected. How can we get him to come back in the house without fear?

Well you should keep the kitten in a room for week or more till it gets use to the rules of the other cats in the house.

Seems to work for me, then your other cat has almost whole house to feel comfortable and not chased

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Have: 4 Cats 3 Dogs currently
Have had: 6 cats

Dogs: German Shepherds
Cats: Ginger Tabby & Torbies

RIP: Ducati, Cheetah, Joy, Claire & Sapphire - Torties
Chloe - Black & White

Merenwengo, out of interest. How is the new kitten learning the rules of the cats or the rules of the house while it is shut in a room for a week?

My ones learn when i introduce the other cats in the room the kitten is in, while sitting and reading for a hour or 2 a day while watching them. Somehow the cats tell the kittens what to do in their way :P.

Eventually when i think they will get along i let kitten out in the whole house

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Have: 4 Cats 3 Dogs currently
Have had: 6 cats

Dogs: German Shepherds
Cats: Ginger Tabby & Torbies

RIP: Ducati, Cheetah, Joy, Claire & Sapphire - Torties
Chloe - Black & White

Thank you, but our old cat isn't coming in so we can't gradualy introduce them and the new cat has been here for two weeks now so we can't just suddenly sut her away plus when we do overnight sometimes she just goes crazy!

Hmm sounds like he could be solitary cat who likes to be on his own then or prefers older peers. Did you try give the adult cat lots of attention and treats?

I had same problem with ginger cat, but after giving him more attention he slowly came back in, he hates when kittens jump on him

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Have: 4 Cats 3 Dogs currently
Have had: 6 cats

Dogs: German Shepherds
Cats: Ginger Tabby & Torbies

RIP: Ducati, Cheetah, Joy, Claire & Sapphire - Torties
Chloe - Black & White

Yes but he is terrified of the vets so if we trap him or give him too much attention he just gets very nervous thinking he is going to be put in a cage!

kbutts, check out this thread from today: Hercules is home

Might be great info in there that is applicable to you too.

I'm not sure, since i havent tried, but heard people using feliway to help with nervous cats and seemed to calm them down.

So try get hold of feliway plug difuser from pet/vet shop

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Have: 4 Cats 3 Dogs currently
Have had: 6 cats

Dogs: German Shepherds
Cats: Ginger Tabby & Torbies

RIP: Ducati, Cheetah, Joy, Claire & Sapphire - Torties
Chloe - Black & White

I'm introducing a new cat at the moment and I put her in the spare bedroom overnight so that my other cats can return to normality some of the time. I couldn't say whether it's working or not, as the new cat is still a bit scared of the other two. Have you thought about shutting the other cat away for a few hours so as to persuade your older cat to come home? It won't hurt the kitten to sit in another room, especially if there's a window to look out of.