Help with older stray kitten

Hi! I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but here goes. About a month and a half ago, my husband and I adopted two kittens from a shelter. One was an owner surrender about 3.5 months(now) old and the other is about 7 months (now) and was a stray before the shelter. I'm still getting to know them, but the stray, Rohan, I'm worried about. Health wise, she has had diarrhea, but tested negative for worms, leukemia, feline aids, giardia and a few other things. She is being treated for campylobacter now. My question is really about playing with her. I know that it's important to play with cats and besides that, it's fun. But she's really reluctant to play. Sometimes she looks at me like are you crazy and other times she seems frustrated that she can't eat the prey when she catches it. She's a bit rough with our younger baby, Arya, but the baby doesn't seem to mind and holds her own. They snuggle frequently. Does anyone have tips for play time with a once upon a time stray turned indoor cat? She has shown no interest in going outside which I'm just fine with. Is this just a time/ trust thing that I need to work through?

She may not have had a lot of play time as a kitten.  Some cats, like some people, are more active than others.  Wand toys are good starters, as are rolling those jingle balls.  I've found my cats like Ping-Pong balls - they really bounce around.

She may also just not feel up to snuff.  Once her medical issues are resolved, she may be a little more playful.  Thank you for adopting these two.

Agree about not feeling up to par. We had 8 kittens come in with Camylobacter last August. They were anorexic and lethargic. Took 4+ months to clear it up. Once healthy, they perked up more.

Thanks for the responses! You guys are fast! I thought it was me since she's pretty energetic with Arya. I do have a question about the campylobacter though. 4 months to clear? The vet seemed to think the week of antibiotics would do the trick to clear it.

Yes, 4+ months to cure. I cannot, off the top of my head, remember the order or all of medication we used. Kittens were aged 8 wks and 12 wks when treatment was started. I think we use Tylan (Tylosin) initially, then Erythromycin, then we used another medication which is what finally cleared it from their system.

We treated with each med, waited (I think 7 days) then retested. I think we used the Erythomycin twice in a row. We finally had to crate the kittens individually (all in one room) so that we knew they were not cross contaminating or reinfecting each other. We also retested each individual kitten to make sure they were clear before reintegrating them.

It was quite the ordeal. I will also note that they were VERY sick when we took custody of them. We were told the youngest group of kittens (6) were 8 wks old...all weighted 0.7 to 1.2 lbs and were emaciated and fell way behind on the growth scale. The runt of the litter was half the size (body wise) than his litter mates. If he did not look identical to his 2 brothers (no exaggeration) we would have made him younger/from a different litter. I bottle fed him like a 3 wk old for 2 wks to help him catch up.

They are now 13 months and all are doing well aside from having very sensitive stomachs (they have been unable to process any dry food/treats.) The runt is now the second heaviest of the group.

Thanks against for the info. I really appreciate it! The vet didn't test Arya because she shows no symptoms. Now that I've done more reading about it, I'm going to take her to be tested too. No sense in getting rid of it from one and not the other, just to have them reinfect each other. Thanks again!

You also may need to find a toy that she really likes.  Do you have a da Bird toy?  Most cats just love them.  Also catnip toys are fun for some.  After a play session with my cats, I always offer them a treat reward.  It is their instinct to hunt, play and then eat.  So I offer a special treat after a play session to satisfy them. 

Since she may not know how to play.  Have her watch the other cat play.