Kitten gets scared when playing?

nekochan

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I have an approx. 7 week old kitten I rescued (was a stray) about two weeks ago. I recently started allowing him to play on the floor of the bedroom. Before that he was only playing on my computer desk or sitting on my lap when he wasn't in the crate that I set up so he could have a safe place... He is only allowed to play when I can watch him and only in the bedroom because I have to keep him separate from my other cats (he has worms and hasn't been tested for diseases yet because they could not get enough blood for the tests due to his anemia...)
So the thing is he acts strangely when he plays. He will hide under my desk, then run out to play with a toy but he will bounce around batting the toy for a few seconds and then act as if he's suddenly scared of the toy and run back to one of his hiding spots for a while! Then he runs back out to the toy and does the same thing all over again.
Any idea why he does this, or how to prevent him from getting scared?

He also runs and hides if a person walks/stands up in the room or makes a sudden movement, which is odd because when he is on my computer desk he is not scared of any movements or people walking at all...
 

strange_wings

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When he's on the floor he feel smaller and defenseless (which a 7 week old kitten pretty much is), on the desk he's higher up and has a bit of confidence from it. Cats also feel secure in high up spots, this is why they love tall cat trees.

Just take it slow with him and don't move too quickly. Sit on the floor at his level and try using toys he has to chase after - like the wand toys with feather attachments on them.
 

larke

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And when he's on the floor, he can feel vibrations of people walking. Don't forget, every single thing in the world is new to him (as a baby, and because of the new location) and he's just beginning to deal with all the sensations, which would be scary for a creature with such terrific senses - compared to ours.
 
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