Depressed cat?

Question
Hello.  I just adopted 4 yr 8 mos old neut female cat from the Humane Society.  She was there for 7 mos and I know she had 2 homes before that.  She is slightly overweight and has some small areas of missing fur, but other than that no health issues.  I am suspecting she may be depressed however.  I decided to adopt her because she's a "lap kitty" and got in my lap immediately at the shelter.  I've had her 3 weeks now and I have her in a spare bedroom w/gate because I'm trying to give her time to adjust to my other 2 cats (2 yr old neut male, 1 yr old spay female).  So far my male tries to be friendly w/her, but she growls/hisses or swats.  My female does not like her though and I think if they were left together there would be a fight.  She was in a large enclosure w/about 4 other kitties at the shelter and got along w/them.  Anyways, most of the time, my new kitty wants to hide under the bed.  When I go in the room, she will come out and get on the bed and let me pet her forever and ever.  She's very docile, but almost acts helpless, and it seems like she wants to hide by flattening herself to the bed.  If you pick her up to move or hug her you can tell at times she wants to get away but she seems afraid to move.  Then, if I go to get off the bed, she'll dive back under.  She also has basically no interest in toys or play.  She's eating & using litterbox ok, but her behavior just seems "off" and compared to my 2 cats, depressed.  I can imagine that being on your 4th home in as many years could be stressful for a cat.  I'm worried she's not going to integrate with the other cats and if she does, will she continue to just hide & mope around constantly?  I won't give her back, I just want to know at what point to I consider anti-depressant medication for her and if she really does sound depressed? Thanks!

Answer
Holly,

Your new kitty is not depressed, she is a bit overwhelmed by the changes.  Also, although you mean well, you are spoiling her.  She needs to be free to meet the other cats and let them resolve their differences however they want to with NO human intervention.  The cats will not hurt each other.  They may make noise, they may make it sound like world war III, they may posture, BUT, they will not really hurt each other.

Also, the best way to get her to come out of her shell is to ignore her except to feed and clean litter pans.  Let her keep the one room as her home base for now, but, in time, she should move out to be where the others are.  Do not approach her, let her approach you.  Let her come to terms with everything on her own time.

No matter, there is no way to rush things.  You just need to have patience and let them decide how to interact with one another.

I would not worry about giving your cat any medication as, if she fights it, she would get depressed.

Try to bear with her for the long haul and make your house her forever home.  Also, do not expect things to turn around over night.  It may take some weeks or even months.

Best regards... Norm