New Cat from Bad Home

[lawgrl77]

Hi,

This is my first post...we already own one 4 year old, female kitty and just adopted a 2 year old, male kitty who was rescued from a puppy mill that decided to start breeding cats too. According to the rescue group it was a really bad situation (disgusting conditions, etc), typical puppy mill mess.

Physically he was very skinny when they got him and going bald in spots (some hair has started growing back and he's nice and plump now). I assume that he was neglected-I don't think those people cared to interact much with the dogs and cats (or take care of them at all ...).

We put him in one of our bedrooms with food, water, and a litter box. He went under the bed and had wedged himself between a blanket we have stored underneath and the box spring (head first, naturally!). I expected him to be shy and am not surprised that he ran for cover! My question is how long should he be under the bed before I start to worry about him (days, weeks)? And what, if anything, can we do to make his transition to him new home easier for him? I've never owned an animal that was abused/neglected before and really want to make sure that I'm helping him and not making things worse (i.e. pestering him, etc).