Calming down a cat?

I just gave my cat to a new family not even an hour ago, and they've called me twice already.

Gizzy (my cat) hissed at them, and then ran underneath a table and refuses to come out. I'm in shock, because he has NEVER acted like that around me. I told them to try and use the laser pointer to coax him out, because he chases that thing around like he's on crack, and then try giving him treats to calm him down. And he won't budge. The guy thinks it's because I had gotten the cat when he was so young (I got him when he was about 6 weeks old) that I'm all the cat knows/is comfortable with. Which I can understand.

But I really want this to work for them. Does anyone have any ideas to calm Gizzy down so he'll warm up to them? I told him don't hesitate to bring Gizzy back... I don't want them stuck with a cat who hates them. But they're just as flabbergasted as I am.

When exactly did you give the kitty away? My adopted cat ran upstairs and didn't come down for a couple days after we got her.. he just might need time to adjust to the new surroundings.

Yea cats don't come around in a few hours....let alone an hour. It will take days most likely, they need to hold their horses, leave him alone and let him get adjusted to a new environment.

Give it a few days. He's somewhere new with people he doesn't know. He's scared and feels alone. After a few days he'll (hopefully) adjust.

he'll come out when hes comfortable. cats are kinda funny...

Tell them to give him a few days. Just make sure there is food and litter near wherever he is or else he will poop where he is and let himself starve.

to be honest, i would just let him e and get comfortable with his new surroundings on his own time.

i would make sure that room was quiet for the night. place food and water in the area around where he is hiding. slowly they should increase contact and comotion until he is comfortable with his new surroundings.

but yeah trying to get him to play a game right now probably wont work.

Quoting and then there were 3.:" When exactly did you give the kitty away? My adopted cat ran upstairs and didn't come down for a couple days after we got her.. he just might need time to adjust to the new surroundings."

Literally an hour ago. I told them he would more than likely be scared by just going outside, much less being at a new place.

They live in the same apartment complex. I'm gonna go over there and see if I can get him to calm down. If not, I'm bringing him back home.

It took our Bobby a MONTH to get used to us. He hid under the bed. We put the litter box and his food down there. Poor thing. But, after a few weeks, he started venturing out.

Everyone else is correct. They need to just give the cat space and leave it alone. It may take days or weeks, but eventually the cat will be comfortable enough to come out on its own. The more they try to force it, the worse it will be.

Thanks everyone! I'm heading over there now, gonna mention that they need to give him a few days to adjust

The best thing they can do is just leave him alone. Have his food and water and litter box all layed out for him and go about their daily business. After he gets used to it he'll come around and warm up to them. Hope it works out!!

Cats are very sensitive to change... time is the only thing that will make it better :/

Quoting ----&&:" Yea cats don't come around in a few hours....let alone an hour. It will take days most likely, they need to hold their horses, leave him alone and let him get adjusted to a new environment."

This!! He is a cat not a kitten they don't just warm up to you in a then snap of a finger. It usually takes anywhere between a few days to weeks for them to come out of hiding

Whenever you get a new cat from the pound or a shelter or anything(mind you sometimes people drop off the cats they've had for years at places like that) they tell you to put it in a quiet place for 2-3 days so it can get use to new noises and things they may have never experienced before