Bringing home a new cat and watching it vanish under the bed is unsettling - is this normal settling in, or is something wrong? PetHealthLog lets you log the things that actually tell you: whether your cat is eating, drinking and using the litter box, and the first signs of coming out, exploring and gaining confidence - mapped against the familiar 3-3-3 adjustment timeline. So you can see real progress instead of guessing, and tell a shy cat that just needs time from one that is not eating or drinking and needs a vet. Free, no account, works offline.
Start tracking - it's freeHiding, being quiet and nervous in the first days is expected and usually just needs patience. What is not part of normal adjustment is a cat that is not eating or drinking at all, passes no urine or stool in the litter box, is straining in the box, is vomiting or has diarrhoea, is breathing hard, or seems painful or collapsed. A male cat straining to urinate with little or nothing coming out is a particular emergency. Kittens in particular can go downhill quickly if they stop eating. If any of that is happening, this is not a watch-and-wait situation - contact your vet or an emergency clinic now. This tracker is for following a settling-in cat, not for delaying care when one is clearly unwell.
Many shelters and adoption sources share the same rough framework for a newly adopted cat: the first 3 days are often overwhelming, with lots of hiding; by around 3 weeks most cats begin to settle, learn the routine and explore; and by about 3 months many feel fully at home. It is a general guide, not a rule your cat has to meet - some appear in a day, some take a couple of months, and a shy cat or one with a hard past needs longer. Used as a yardstick, it is reassuring: it lets you see whether your cat is drifting in roughly the right direction.
The trouble is that settling in is easy to misjudge from memory. Did your cat eat last night, or has the bowl been full for two days? Has it come out a little further each evening, or has nothing changed? Is it slowly more relaxed, or quietly more withdrawn? In the worry of a new arrival, a vague "I think she's coming round" is hard to trust, and the basics - eating, drinking, litter box - are exactly what a vet asks about if you do call.
PetHealthLog is free, asks for no account and works offline, so each day you can log whether the basics happened and note the first signs of confidence. The trend is right there, progress is visible, and you have a real record instead of a guess - whether you are reassuring yourself or ringing the vet.
A settling-in log only helps if it is quick to fill in each day and turns scattered impressions into something you can read. Here is how PetHealthLog handles both.
The single most reassuring thing about a hiding new cat is that it is still eating, drinking and toileting - often overnight when the house is quiet. A quick daily yes or no on each makes that easy to see at a glance.
Record where your cat is spending its time and the small milestones - first time out in the open, first play, first time it let you stroke it, first appearance on the sofa. Strung together, these show progress you would otherwise forget.
See your daily entries against the rough 3 days / 3 weeks / 3 months framework, so you can tell whether things are drifting in the expected direction - while remembering it is a guide, not a deadline.
Over days and weeks the direction is obvious - slowly more out and about, or more withdrawn. A cat going quietly backwards, or one not eating, is the cue to ask your vet rather than keep waiting.
Export a clean PDF of the entries, their dates, the eating and litter notes and the milestones. If you do call your vet or a behaviourist, the conversation starts from a real timeline instead of "she's still a bit shy, I think she's eating."
General guidance from adoption and veterinary sources - when in doubt, call. The tracker helps you spot these, it does not decide them.
To help a nervous new arrival feel secure, owners often set up a few gentle basics in the quiet room: a cosy covered cat cave or hideaway so it has a safe spot of its own, a calming pheromone diffuser, and an extra litter box and food and water stations close to where it is hiding so the basics are within easy reach. None of these treat an illness or replace a vet exam, and none should be used to put off seeing a vet if a new cat seems unwell - they just help with everyday comfort while your cat finds its feet.
These search links show popular options on Amazon. They are everyday comfort extras - whether a new cat needs a vet is a question for your vet.
Cat caves → Calming diffusers → Litter boxes →#ad - affiliate links: as an Amazon Associate, PetHealthLog may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Informational only, not veterinary advice.
You check on a new cat at odd moments - a glance at the food bowl in the morning, a peek under the bed at night, a flicker of a tail venturing out. The last thing that should stand between you and noting it down is a login screen or a spinning loader.
PetHealthLog stores everything locally on your device. There is no account to create, nothing is uploaded to a server, and there is no tracking. It opens instantly, lets you log the basics or check the trend whether or not you are online, and keeps the data yours. You can export a backup any time and restore it on another phone.
Free, offline, and ready the moment you open it.
Start with PetHealthLogFor an established cat that has suddenly started hiding, log when and where so you can tell stress from a sign of illness.
If your new cat will not eat, switch to logging meals and appetite - a cat that stops eating needs prompt attention.
If litter box habits are off as your cat settles, track where and when to spot a stress or health pattern.
If a vet has linked the stress of a move to cystitis, log flares, litter box signs and triggers between visits.