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I just brought my kitten home, he's so scared!

post #1 of 9
8/17/09 at 6:54pm
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When I brought my kitten home, we put him in my family room. As soon as I took apart the carrier he ran under the couches. When we finally got him out I put him back in the carrier and put all his nessities in the small bathroom. He's sitting in the carrier looking so scared. I don't know what to do. All he wants to do is hide. I know it's his first day, but he is so frightened. How long will it take for him to get used to our family and will he always be this shy?
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post #2 of 9
8/17/09 at 9:29pm
It's perfectly normal for him to want to hide. He's in a totally new home with new sounds, smells, and people. Confine him to one room for a few days or week with all the amenities, food, litter box, toys, a box to hide in, a nice cozy blanket or some towels or a kitty bed if you have one. Don't try to pick him up, let him come to you. Play some soft music for him to help calm him down. Sit down on the floor and read to him and talk to him. If he comes out of hiding, encourage him and talk to him, but don't force him onto your lap or anything he's not ready to do. You can also entice him to come out by playing with an interactive toy like a feather on a string. He'll most likely come out when the house is quiet to eat and explore. Don't try to get too frantic or stressed about it as he'll pick up on it and that will freak him out even more.

Just make sure he's safe, has a nice comfy hiding place (cardboard box works great), he's eating, drinking, and using the box properly. He'll come around eventually, it just takes time.
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post #3 of 9
8/19/09 at 7:40am
Yeah, I do second Stephanie, nothing to add or change in her answer.


Good luck and much pleasure with your new little furry familymember!



ps. Welcome to the Forums!
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post #4 of 9
8/19/09 at 7:46am
Yes, a very good answer. I would add, that you should go about your normal daily routine as if there were nothing different in your household, but maybe keep the sudden noises to a mimimum, like, no crazy rocker music blaring for the first week or so. Do the dishes, run the washer & dryer, watch TV, cook & eat supper like normal, and when you see him come out to explore, talk to him and act happy about it but don't approach him right away, just keep an eye on him and watch him explore the house.
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post #5 of 9
8/20/09 at 11:14am
Also, spend some time in the room with him, talking, reading to him, on the floor down at his level. Poor little mite is frightened that's all.

We isolated our Simba in our bedroom and it took him a whole month to come out from behind the headboard to eat or use the bathroom while we were in the room. As soon as we made a move to reach for him he scooted back behind the headboard. He actually ended up being the cuddliest cat we had to that point. Bijou is even more cuddly so we lucked out. Hopefully it won't take as long for your baby.
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post #6 of 9
8/20/09 at 3:54pm
As mentioned above its perfectly normal for him to be so scared. Some cats react better then others while some just want to be invisible. Give him 2 or 3 days and he'll start warming up. Sit by the carrier and he might venture out to smell you.
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post #7 of 9
8/20/09 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanietx View Post
It's perfectly normal for him to want to hide. He's in a totally new home with new sounds, smells, and people. Confine him to one room for a few days or week with all the amenities, food, litter box, toys, a box to hide in, a nice cozy blanket or some towels or a kitty bed if you have one. Don't try to pick him up, let him come to you. Play some soft music for him to help calm him down. Sit down on the floor and read to him and talk to him. If he comes out of hiding, encourage him and talk to him, but don't force him onto your lap or anything he's not ready to do. You can also entice him to come out by playing with an interactive toy like a feather on a string. He'll most likely come out when the house is quiet to eat and explore. Don't try to get too frantic or stressed about it as he'll pick up on it and that will freak him out even more.

Just make sure he's safe, has a nice comfy hiding place (cardboard box works great), he's eating, drinking, and using the box properly. He'll come around eventually, it just takes time.
I would add to this do not look him directly in the eyes when he does (and he will!) come out with you there. Just stay calm, speak in a very even tone of voice to him while looking away.
Be catlike while you are in the room "ignoring" him. Stretch out like a cat does, yawn, blink very slowly. Flop over, roll around! You may feel silly doing that, but it is very non-threatning behavior to a cat.
Treats are your friends, lol. a brand called Temptations are like cat crack. Place them at first in his hiding spot, then gradually move them closer to you. Again, sitting on the floor calm, not looking at the kitty.
Keep us posted on how he does!!!

ETA: Welcome to the forums!
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post #8 of 9
8/20/09 at 5:09pm
Its best to confine the kitten/cat in one small room with a litter pan, food and water dishes for a week or so, depending on how quick he adjusts. Its normal behavior for the kitten to act this way in a brand new house.

Think about it - you are strange, the house is strange, no brother/sisters/mom around...its overwhelming to the kitten.
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post #9 of 9
8/20/09 at 7:10pm
Good luck with the little kitten. Mine did the same thing when we brought her home. When I brought her home, I kept her in the carrier and introduced her to the house (i knew she was going to run off as soon as I let her out), with the litter box first.

It only took about a day for her to come around, I think we're lucky on that. We just kept changing her water to show we were friendly. We finally turned down all the lights at night and watched TV, thats when she came out and started exploring. She was friendly in about 2-3 days and realized we weren't going to hurt her.

The only scary thing was that she didn't eat or drink for the first night. She started eating and drinking the next day.
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