My boyfriend just got me a kitten for Christmas. He's a little boy, about 3 months old, absolutely adorable and so playful. I have 2 other cats as well, but they're outdoor cats and they're getting older. Due to his tiny size and the fact that I also have a large dog, I keep Blue (the kitten) basically confined to my room. I plan on giving him freedom to the whole house once he's a bit bigger and the dog won't think he's a little snack (my dog is fine with the other big cats). I started putting the dog outside and letting the kitten roam the living room and kitchen so he could get used to it and he was totally fine, but when he encountered the other cats he started hissing, arching his back, fur standing up, etc. So I brought him back to my room where he immediately calmed down. I've tried to introduce the cats a few more times but have never been successful in getting him to like them (they don't mind him). I generally spend a lot of time with him; I only have classes for about 4 1/2 hours first thing in the morning, then I'm home during a majority of the afternoon, then I leave again for a 5-6 hour shift at work in the evening, and then I'm home again all night (minus the occasional going out on the weekends). I rarely ever leave the kitten alone for a whole day, and only occasionally do I have to leave him home alone overnight. Unfortunately however, this past week my sister was in a very bad accident and is now in critical care at the hospital. Now I spend a majority of my day at the hospital, about 8-9 hours straight of being gone all day, with no trips back home to see him. My boyfriend tries to stop by and spend some time with the kitten, but he gets so busy with work he rarely can. I'm afraid that constantly being alone for hours at a time could be potentially detrimental to my kitten. I don't want him to become a loner and hate people. So far I haven't seen any changes in his behavior; he still cuddles with me at night when he sleeps and he still runs to me and rubs against my legs when I get home at night. I'm just scared I'm not giving him the best quality love and attention that I can be. I know that cats usually sleep for a majority of the day anyway, so he may not even notice my absence (he's usually sleeping when I come home) but do you think that he's being left alone too long? I try my hardest to spend as much time with him that I can, but given the current circumstances I'm kind of forced to be away for a while. I bought him a lot of toys, a kitten condo to scratch and sleep in, and he always has food, water, and a clean litter box. I even leave the tv on in my room so he can have some background noise and feel less alone. I don't want to ruin his kitten-hood and turn him into a recluse. Is there any advice anyone could give me? Or maybe even some reassurance that I'm not that horrible of a kitty parent? Thank you guys!
