Kitten fostering

aoifeey

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone can help me. We fostered a 9 week old kitten from the <snip> recently and he was great, never had any issues with him. He was rehomed successfully.

We've just taken a new kitten who is 7 weeks old and she is so scared. She hisses and growls at us if we come near her, she barely leaves her box/bed only to hide behind our cabinet in the hallway and she cried constantly last night! I'm hoping she'll get used to us soon, we haven't tried to pick her up or pet her yet as she's so frightened.

We keep her in the bathroom where her bed, food and litter tray is. She has access to the hall in the evening but at night she's in the bathroom with the door closed. With the last kitten, he used to come into all the rooms but I've heard with a nervous kitten it's best to get them used to one or two small areas at a time.

I'm wondering is this normal? Is there anything we can do? I'm afraid she won't get used to us and then when she goes for rehoming she'll be too nervous of people and nobody will take her!

Baybay

Maybe she's a bit lonely for her family & perhaps even the hustle & bustle of the shelter.


One thing that helped our kitten when he arrived to us from the shelter was giving him a little teddy bear.
He slept with it, washed it, carried it round with him, "hunted" it etc.

He's four now & still has the same teddy. He doesn't depend on it in the same way but very obviously treats it much differently than other toys & seeks it out daily, grooming it & playing with it but always without nails!

aoifeey

Thanks for the advice, she has a little teddy bear that they gave to us but she doesn't seem too interested in it, she just seems terrified the entire time. But you're probably right, she had two siblings with her in the shelter but we could only take one of the three.

Maybe we were just lucky with the first one.

Baybay

There are threads on here with much better advice than I'm sure I can give but if you have the time (you obviously have the interest, well done!) one thing that might help her get used to you is you sitting on the floor, near her food dish before she eats.
You could talk to her or just read aloud & wait until she comes to eat. Just keep talking & when she's almost finished eating or just before she hides herself away again, try engaging her with a toy. Something that's easily retrievable for you so you don't have to move much would be good. Maybe something tied to a bit of string.
She might be interested in it but should also learn that you're ok!

aoifeey

I could see alot about kittens crying or hissing but not both...it's like she's looking for attention but not from us!

That's a great idea, will try that this evening and see how I go. Thanks a lot, really appreciate it.

Nody

I'd strongly recommend something like "da bird"; most cats go crazy for it (by extension ignoring you) and because it's on an arm and dangling they don't have to get to close to scary stuff (i.e. you).

aoifeey

Great...cheers. Looks good!

doubter

You're saying the kitten is 7 weeks old. While they are weaned at this stage, it's too early to be taken away from her siblings and I'm surprised the <snip> did that.
Kittens aren't fully socialized until the age of minimum 9 weeks.
When I was breeding Siamese, they wouldn't go anywhere until 13 weeks of age.
Having said that, my most urgent suggestion would be to get on of her litter mates to ease the pain (or maybe both of them) and than separate them when they are old enough.She will be much more balanced.

aoifeey

I did think it was a bit young alright, as far as I know they need the space as they've so many kittens there. Sadly we can't take two kittens, our place is too small. Otherwise I definitely would.

doubter

aoifeey wrote: »

I did think it was a bit young alright, as far as I know they need the space as they've so many kittens there. Sadly we can't take two kittens, our place is too small. Otherwise I definitely would.

They should know better being a rescue and all. Either way, than please go with the suggestion of a (remote) toy, it might work.
I am also thinking of placing her in a (large) crate (with a small hiding place, a shoebox or something in it) for a few hours a day and place the crate in a room that you use a lot. Cover it up the first few times, so she gets used to the sounds, than remove the cover so she can observe you. talk to her as you pass but don't try to touch her.She'll come to you when she's ready. treats are great bribes, a tad of boiled chicken breast is a favorite of mine.

aoifeey

Yeah they probably should. I just think they're tight for space and if they can't get kittens out to fosterers they can't take any more in so I guess it's the best of a bad situation!

Thanks for the advice, will definitely give it a try!

Thanks!

Ave Sodalis

Hi OP,
We had a kitten dumped outside our door a few years ago. It took ages to coax her out from under the car and then trap her. We left her in two rooms and fed her daily. She had a terrible eye infection, under weight and not neutered but wouldn't let us near her to care for her. I used to go in for an hour or so a day to sit on the floor and either hum or read to her. It gave me a break from the day too. After about a week, the kitten used to curl up on my knee and fall asleep

Unfortunately, after the kitten was neutered and her eyes treated and her ears (which were filthy) and after we spent a fortune on her, she decided to live with the neighbour instead... this is why I prefer dogs...

New Home

sup_dude wrote: »

Hi OP,
We had a kitten dumped outside our door a few years ago. It took ages to coax her out from under the car and then trap her. We left her in two rooms and fed her daily. She had a terrible eye infection, under weight and not neutered but wouldn't let us near her to care for her. I used to go in for an hour or so a day to sit on the floor and either hum or read to her. It gave me a break from the day too. After about a week, the kitten used to curl up on my knee and fall asleep

Unfortunately, after the kitten was neutered and her eyes treated and her ears (which were filthy) and after we spent a fortune on her, she decided to live with the neighbour instead... this is why I prefer dogs...

Sour grapes...

DBB

Hi folks,
Please take care not to be discussing the policies or otherwise of named rescues... it was this sort of discussion where the "don't mention named rescues" rule came from!
Thanks,
DBB

Ave Sodalis

New Home wrote: »

Sour grapes...

Dogs don't run off to your neighbours house as soon as they're feeling better. The same neighbour now has three cats, all of them were ours. Oddly enough, we've given up on keeping cats...

New Home

sup_dude wrote: »

Dogs don't run off to your neighbours house as soon as they're feeling better. The same neighbour now has three cats, all of them were ours. Oddly enough, we've given up on keeping cats...

Ehm yes they definitely do too... We rescued a young stray collie cross, and after a couple of weeks he toddled off to the neighbours, who had younger children he could play with. He definitely didn't want to stay here, God knows if we tried.

I'd be wondering about your neighbours - are they plying the cats with tuna and mackerel? 'Cause that would explain it... Failing that, they are witches

boomerang

Don't assume the kitten was taken from its mother... It may have come in as a stray, or had to be taken early from a feral mother cat to be socialised.

OP you've basically got yourself a feral kitten, and you're dealing with a limited amount of time to turn her around. You need to work with her REALLY intensively now - the older she gets week by week, the less scope you have for turning her around. Give her all the time you have. Don't give her an option, pick her up, keep her in your arms and rub and massage her. Tuck her in your jumper and read a book or watch a movie on your laptop. Use ham or luncheon roll to lure towards you while you sit on the floor in the bathroom. Start by tossing a piece across the room to her, and then gradually throw it a little less further each time until she is taking it from your hands. Likewise use things like wand toys to encourage her to interact with you, and while she is busy pursuing it, take the opportunity to rub her while she is distracted. She needs to learn that neither you nor your hands are things to be scared of - in fact, they bring the good things! Rope in anyone you know to come and spend time with her too. Not only does this maximise the time spent socialising her, but it will help her get used to different people, and not just you. If you have a neighbour's kid or a niece or nephew to come in and play with her - fantastic. She will probably go to a family home and needs to learn kids are ok too.

It could be a couple of weeks before she turns a corner and starts purring and enjoying your company - but if you put in the time now (and I do mean hours per day - not just fifteen minutes here and there) it will pay dividends. It's the best feeling in the world when they finally purr!