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i got a kitten! but what now?

L

littlebitofit

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 23, 2008
1
0
Christmas came early.. after working long and hard today i came home and found a kitten in my boyfriends arms! except i dont know what to do with her. I've had cats before but those were pets that i had since i can remember. I dont remember much of the processes of getting a new cat.

she keeps hiding under my bed and when we get her out she just hides in corners or on a chair under a table. not only that but she keeps meowing!!

unfortunately i dont know how old she is or anything about her history, my boyfriend forgot to ask.

does anyone have any advice? im going to see if i can take her to the vet sometime next week.
 
littlebitofit said:
Christmas came early.. after working long and hard today i came home and found a kitten in my boyfriends arms! except i dont know what to do with her. I've had cats before but those were pets that i had since i can remember. I dont remember much of the processes of getting a new cat.

she keeps hiding under my bed and when we get her out she just hides in corners or on a chair under a table. not only that but she keeps meowing!!

unfortunately i dont know how old she is or anything about her history, my boyfriend forgot to ask.

does anyone have any advice? im going to see if i can take her to the vet sometime next week.
Click to expand...

I would expect that a new cat in a new environment would hide often. Let he or she worm up to you over time.
 
I remember when I got my cat last year - he did the same thing.
The meowing will stop in a few weeks, she's just looking for her mom.
As for the hiding, try to me friendly - pet her, hold her, ect whenever you can get to her, she'll eventually get used to you and see that you're not harmful.

Other than that, love it!!!
Congrats!

You should post pictures for us to see her.
 
Get another one!

Just like people, cats like company - she'll be a lot happier with a little friend to play with.

Meantime, move slowly around her - sudden movements will frighten her. She'll soon get used to her new surroundings and will learn to trust you.
 
Give the kitten lots of attention. Gentle and slow. Feed her some milk by hand.

The kitten may have been taken away a little young. Make a safe sleeping area somewhere warm and quiet.

Enjoy all the scratching :D
 
Heres a link. But we usually just let the cat wonder and when he starts coming out in the open (as opposed to slinking near the walls) then we'll try and bribe him with treats and affection.

Good luck!!
 
Ask the Question: Will It Blend?

Seriously though, as the owner of 5 cats, just be calm and comfortable around it and it will come and be friends with you over time. It will take longer than a few days for him and her to feel comfortable with their surroundings enough so to move out of it's hidey-hole and say hello.

Just make sure the kitten has access to clean water, and obviously littering facilities as those habits can't be enforced too early.

Don't be loud around them, and don't force them to be cuddled because that can turn them right off it later in life. Make sure they have a nice comfy place to sleep.

Get a ball of string and it should be happy, hehe.

&I agree on the pics front, we need pics!! :)
 
Let the cat get used to the house slowly. Start by keeping them in one room, once they stop hiding in the room and are comfortable with you being around, open the door and let them explore the next room.


Its important you get your cat people friendly now, or else they will become a) a serious angry annoying thing or b) really anti-social. But don't force your self on to the cat if they become really uncomfertable



My cat one we adopted him as a kitten, was incredibly anti social and violent. But slowly he became the best cat we have owned! Smart, very tolerable of whatever you can do to him, well behaved, people friendly, and almost dog like. (Dog loyalty and played fetch!)

PICS PICS PICS


P.S. If you know some kids who are good enough with animals to cuddle it without traumatizing it, get them.
 
I actually disagree w/ what some other posters are suggesting.

Felines are very solitary animals. If it wants attention, it will come to you for it. Then give it to her. If they want to hide and run away from you, let them. Cats do what they want, it's in their nature.

1. Make a very warm bedding for it.

2. Show the kitty where the litter box is, don't force them. Just bring them there once awhile.

3. Keep one brand of food or make a slow transition if different. Otherwise they'll have diarrhea.

Once they warm up to you, everything will be ok. Keep in mind, #1 is VERY important for kittens, let alone older cats. Cats hate the cold.
 
n8236 said:
I actually disagree w/ what some other posters are suggesting.

Felines are very solitary animals. If it wants attention, it will come to you for it. Then give it to her. If they want to hide and run away from you, let them. Cats do what they want, it's in their nature.

1. Make a very warm bedding for it.

2. Show the kitty where the litter box is, don't force them. Just bring them there once awhile.

3. Keep one brand of food or make a slow transition if different. Otherwise they'll have diarrhea.

Once they warm up to you, everything will be ok. Keep in mind, #1 is VERY important for kittens, let alone older cats. Cats hate the cold.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The poster who referred to the socialization aspect was talking about a male cat. Male cats behave much more like dogs, while females are extremely independent.

To the OP, be patient with her. Let her get used to her new home. This may take weeks. It took my female siamese months to get comfortable, but she's an adult, a kitten should take less time.

JackMaurer said:
give it back to him...urgg
Click to expand...

That's not helpful at all. If you have no helpful advice, perhaps you should spend your time posting elsewhere.
 
If she's hiding, the worst thing to do is to try to get her out of her spot, or to give her attention that she doesn't want. She's hiding for a reason. When she comes out after 1 hour of sitting by herself, let her wander around the house alone. No need to give her a personal tour.
 
My biggest bit of advice is to get another kitten as soon as is possible (and preferebly from some sort of rescue centre if the place that provided the kitten doesn't have any more siblings available).

Kittens need A LOT of time otherwise they grow to become quite antisocial and a bit of a pain and, as cats, they like company so you'll have a much nicer, more social cat if it's got a companion.
 
There's really only two things you need to do:

1. Take pictures
2. Add grammatically incorrect captions
 
JackMaurer said:
give it back to him...urgg
Click to expand...

Haha. I was going to say something a bit meaner, completely in jest of course, but then when I saw the sheer number of cat lovers on this thread, I decided against it.

Congrats on the new pet. From what I know of cats, it will warm up soon and all will be fine. You simply must purchase a laser pointer. One of the best cat toys EVER.
 
Pictures would be lovely!

Let the kitten get used to everything, as said, don't make sudden movements, think of it form the cats view, you're a big, unknown person, who can't be trusted (for now), you need to earn it's trust :)
 
Feed it -- the kitten will expect to eat!

Seriously, if you don't know the kitten's age, it may have been weaned too early, which could mean it will need to be bottle fed for awhile (assuming it's not eating already). Also, not knowing where it came from, it could have health issues -- e.g., worms. Probably you should have the kitten checked out by a vet ASAP.
 
My kitten would hide under the love seat, the bed and not come out until he needed to eat. I eventually placed his food and water/milk in the center of the kitchen and setup his litter box in the bathroom. It was a matter of days when he came out from hiding, and eventually climbed all over us and would sit in our laps and "the purring motor" was on auto-pilot 24/7. Give them some time, get them their shots and get them fixed. You'll see the difference in their temperament...
 
BoingoBongo said:
There's really only two things you need to do:

1. Take pictures
2. Add grammatically incorrect captions
Click to expand...

Beat me to it, you *@#$erd.

3. Garnish with Cheezbrgrs
4. Rinse and repeat

Kittehs tend to not like loud noise - especially in new / foreign environments. So try to keep holiday loudness to a minimum until kitteh is situated.

Feed.

Play.

Play moar.

Nap.
 
Just scan the little fuzzball into the computer, or use the iSight.

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