New here, just got my first kitten today!

Hello everyone. I just recused my first cat today. Her name is Luna, and she is a gray tiger. The shelter believes her to be 6-8 weeks old. They sent me home with her without any of the food she was eating. So on the way home I picked up some Wellness Kitten. We feed Wellness to our Bichon Frises' and I always hear good things about the brand. I looked at the ingredients and figured why not try a small bag. So thats what she is on so far. (I hope I'm doing well thus far.) I caught her eating and drinking the food/water I put out for her, and she already used the litter box once!

She is very timid around people, but if I don't bother her, she will play on her own, it seems she is not used to, or just afraid of human interaction. I hope this is something I can get her to grow out of. (any advice?) I don't try and grab her unless I absolutely have to. I have been making it a habit to slowly offer my hand to her, and if she is afraid, then I back down, and dangle something she likes to play with in front of her, to show her "hand=kind/safe".

I am not sure if I should allow other family members to also interact with her because it may counteract what I am trying to teach her, "people=nice".

Also I am keeping her in my room which is big enough for her to hide/play, I do not feel she is ready to roam the house right now (or for quite some time) until she is no longer skittish.

Please, any advise is advise I will take into consideration!

Hello and welcome to you and your tiny baby girl Luna.

Heres some info on socializing kittens that young..... make sure you keep her confined to a small room at first, so she doesnt become overwhelmed with the big new space.

I have a Bichon, too .... his name is Snowball Antonio

http://folsomfelinerescue.org/newsle...003/page2.html

Welcome to TCS. I'll move your post to the Pregnant Cats and Kittens forums where the experts can see it.

Hello & welcome to tcs. You seem to be doing the right things. Give her time to settle in & follow the links advice.

She seems to be doing much better now, she still hides under the bed in my room, but she runs out every so often. I can hear her playing under there too. Last night she kept jumping on my bed to be with me She kept playing on the foot of the bed, and when I go to pet her while she is, she would jump down (probably because it was dark too). So I'd just go back to sleep. I did put her on my chest and she fell asleep there, and then so did I I woke up this morning to find her cuddled against me purring as loud as she could. I found this to be very comforting because it feels like she has accepted me as trustworthy and loving, especially since I've not heard her purr until this morning.

Hi and welcome! I love hearing about your kitty! Sounds like she is doing great! Keep up the good work, you're doing amazing, it takes a lot of kittens who had a rough start weeks or months to 'come out from under the bed' so the fact that you've already made this much progress with her is amazing! My neighbour has a siamese/himi cross that was found in a trash dumpster not come out from under the bed for 3 weeks! and it took her about 5 months to trust people at all, even enough to sleep on the bed, but now 6 years later she rules the house and is a beautiful confident girl! I'm sure Luna will be a loving well integrated family member in no time!

Hi and welcome to TCS!! I hope we will get to see pictures of your new kitten soon, she sounds adorable.

Aw, she sounds so sweet. Nothing like waking up to a purring kitten!

These are pics the shelter took, not sure if they'll work here. I haven't taken any pictures of her yet. I spent all last night cleaning my room so she would have more place to run around, anyways, hopefully the pics show.




They don't do her justice, shes much cuter

Imunsie, thanks! I have more confidence in seeing her come around then

She likes to sleep under the bed as well, so I took my pajamas I always wear to bed and put them under there where she sleeps, she right now she is sleeping on them

Awwwww how adorable She looks older than 6-8 weeks old to me.

she is gorgeous!!!! sooooooo pretty, I love the silverish tabby look

She is a doll !!!
And very lucky too, to have found you !
Sounds to me that both of you are happily and quickly adapting to each other. Since she is so young, expect her to change habits soon, being probably less shy when around you, having a schedule to eat/drink/pee/sleep, and then stick to them for a few months to come.
I have a 5 year old and 18.5 lb tabby sweetie, and two 3 month olds who drive me crazy every night around 4 AM when they start getting crazy around the house ! I adopted them since they were a week old, and everyone in the house fell deeply in love with them to let them go. So... prepare to have your heart stolen, if that did happen already !!!!

she is beautiful!! Congrats on your new baby, and the progress you have made with her!! The people here are wonderful, sweet and full of good advice!! I know that you will love it here!

Beautiful kitten, I agree that she's only that 6-8 weeks though! Other wise maybe she's just gonna be enormous! Good job BTW, You deserve a pat on the back! really impressive that she's doing that well!!

Thanks for the support everyone!

Every passing day she seems to grow more fond of me. She used to dart under the bed at the sight of my hand, and now, she still does it, though not as often. She will come to my hand if I offer it to her and and will rub her face/body on it, asking me to pet her She slept next to me in bed again last night too. Right now she is sleeping near the bed, but not under it, she is all sprawled out with her head nuzzled in her front legs

I am thinking about getting her a can of Wellness kitten today to see if she likes canned food.

Ohh, the two of you sound so happy together! Congrats!

Welcome to TCS ! And grats on the kitten !

Start taking photos now - you'll want to remember this age She is so pretty!

Sounds good so far. She may have some social/behavior problems in the next few months because she was taken so young. Its recommended that kittens stay with mom/siblings for 10-12 weeks to develop important social/behavioral skills.

You might consider within the next few months to adopt an older kitten who is more social/behavior adjusted to help you little one out. Otherwise you'll have more problems dealing with the normal kitten behaviors.

As far as some advice:

1. Learn to trim nails now (I start mine at 3 weeks old) and check/trim as needed once a week.

2. Get a tall (4 feet minimum height) scratching post/treehouse.

3. Have her spayed within the next 2 months if not already done.

4. If longhair, get her used to being combed as a regular grooming routine - several times a week.