Short Version:
I need some advice on how to socialize a kitten who is ~10 weeks old and seems to have some pretty serious behavioural/social problems. I'm fostering her, and as as far as I can piece her history together, she was adopted at about 5 weeks of age as a gift for a 2-year-old and now they want to get rid of the cat. I'm pretty sure that a combination of being removed from the mother too early and being mauled by a 2-year-old has given this cat some baggage.
Kitten hisses and growls at everything - all people and animals. She completely loses it when I try to pick her up. She turns into a tornado of claws and teeth without warning (I've got the scars to prove it!). I'm guessing the toddler she used to live with used to pick her up rough and that's why she freaks out. She's really jumpy and kind of acts like she wants to interact with people and animals, but doesn't know how to act or whether or not she can trust anyone.
She's young enough that I think it'll turn out okay, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this type of kitten. She reminds me of a litter of feral kittens I tamed a few years ago, except that she doesn't seem to have very good inter-cat social skills. Right now, I have her in a large dog crate by herself with water, bed, and litterbox. I take her out several times a day to hand-feed her, and I play with her with a toy mouse. She always hisses at me when she first sees me, but she calms down quicker and quicker.
The good news: she loves food and she loves toys, and that has helped her trust me. She even keeps her claws in when she play-bats, so that's nice.
The bad news: she's really unpredictable and I have no idea when she's about to freak out. She doesn't give warnings like a normal cat would.
Some More Backstory:
So, I'm currently fostering a litter of kittens that were abandoned by their mother (or she died - all I know is, she was a stray and she went AWOL leaving her kittens crying for food in a barn). I estimate their age at about 6 weeks at the moment. They got their baby molars right after I brought them home, so I figured they were ~4 weeks old then, and that was two weeks ago. I got some kitten formula and bottle fed them and all that jazz. My dog even "adopted" then, cleaned them, cuddled them, and even carried them back to their bed in his mouth if they wandered off too far. They love him and follow him around, and he takes really good care of them. So, over all, I think these kittens are doing really well and being socialized well. I also have a friendly adult cat that hangs out with them and my three kids (ages 6, 4, and 2) who handle them (with careful supervision!). I have a large dog kennel in my living room which I added a second floor to, and it has everything they need, so they spend time in there when they want to be left alone.
So, basically, I think I have a good set-up for these kittens. I saw an ad on Kijiji of someone giving away a kitten and from the picture, the kitten looked about 4-5 weeks old. I responded and said she looked too young to be away from her mother, but if there was no mother, I could take her in and keep her with my other little ones, and explained briefly about how being with siblings is good for a cat's social development, etc etc. She responded and said that sounded great, and arranged to bring her over.
Well, she arrived and I realized that was definitely an old picture! The lady admitted that the picture was taken a month ago, and that she thinks she did adopt the kitten when she was too young to be away from her mother. She said she got the kitten for her 2-year-old daughter and has to rehome her now due to allergies, but I think it's more likely that the cat has been scratching and biting the 2-year-old based on the way she acts and how eager the lady was to get rid of her. When she was done talking, she basically threw Kitten into my arms and ran away from my house.
I need some advice on how to socialize a kitten who is ~10 weeks old and seems to have some pretty serious behavioural/social problems. I'm fostering her, and as as far as I can piece her history together, she was adopted at about 5 weeks of age as a gift for a 2-year-old and now they want to get rid of the cat. I'm pretty sure that a combination of being removed from the mother too early and being mauled by a 2-year-old has given this cat some baggage.
Kitten hisses and growls at everything - all people and animals. She completely loses it when I try to pick her up. She turns into a tornado of claws and teeth without warning (I've got the scars to prove it!). I'm guessing the toddler she used to live with used to pick her up rough and that's why she freaks out. She's really jumpy and kind of acts like she wants to interact with people and animals, but doesn't know how to act or whether or not she can trust anyone.
She's young enough that I think it'll turn out okay, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this type of kitten. She reminds me of a litter of feral kittens I tamed a few years ago, except that she doesn't seem to have very good inter-cat social skills. Right now, I have her in a large dog crate by herself with water, bed, and litterbox. I take her out several times a day to hand-feed her, and I play with her with a toy mouse. She always hisses at me when she first sees me, but she calms down quicker and quicker.
The good news: she loves food and she loves toys, and that has helped her trust me. She even keeps her claws in when she play-bats, so that's nice.
The bad news: she's really unpredictable and I have no idea when she's about to freak out. She doesn't give warnings like a normal cat would.
Some More Backstory:
So, I'm currently fostering a litter of kittens that were abandoned by their mother (or she died - all I know is, she was a stray and she went AWOL leaving her kittens crying for food in a barn). I estimate their age at about 6 weeks at the moment. They got their baby molars right after I brought them home, so I figured they were ~4 weeks old then, and that was two weeks ago. I got some kitten formula and bottle fed them and all that jazz. My dog even "adopted" then, cleaned them, cuddled them, and even carried them back to their bed in his mouth if they wandered off too far. They love him and follow him around, and he takes really good care of them. So, over all, I think these kittens are doing really well and being socialized well. I also have a friendly adult cat that hangs out with them and my three kids (ages 6, 4, and 2) who handle them (with careful supervision!). I have a large dog kennel in my living room which I added a second floor to, and it has everything they need, so they spend time in there when they want to be left alone.
So, basically, I think I have a good set-up for these kittens. I saw an ad on Kijiji of someone giving away a kitten and from the picture, the kitten looked about 4-5 weeks old. I responded and said she looked too young to be away from her mother, but if there was no mother, I could take her in and keep her with my other little ones, and explained briefly about how being with siblings is good for a cat's social development, etc etc. She responded and said that sounded great, and arranged to bring her over.
Well, she arrived and I realized that was definitely an old picture! The lady admitted that the picture was taken a month ago, and that she thinks she did adopt the kitten when she was too young to be away from her mother. She said she got the kitten for her 2-year-old daughter and has to rehome her now due to allergies, but I think it's more likely that the cat has been scratching and biting the 2-year-old based on the way she acts and how eager the lady was to get rid of her. When she was done talking, she basically threw Kitten into my arms and ran away from my house.