Sounds like he's taking kitten steps to becoming more inquisitive and brave. He's young, and he'll get there, and before long I suspect you and he will be best buddies. Thanks for being patient with him. He's lucky to have you as his new human.
Oh boy hahaha I am definitely prepared for it to be tight quarters for my own personal space, but luckily I sleep like a sack of rocks and otherwise they're both high energy cats so I'm pretty positive they'll be able to keep each other entertained. Thank you kindly for the advice!Just let them be together full time and they will work it out. Friendship guarrantied within a week or so at the max, and likely sooner. They wont fight for real, so there is no risk and having them together 24/7 will just speed things up. Two kittens this young is foolproof -- there is nothing you can do to mess things up. They will be friends and play together.
Personally, I'd never get two in a studio again. Did it 30 years ago, and, well, there are some challenges. Nothing serious, but your sleep and uninterrupted work/study time may suffer a bit. But they will be friends, and the skittish one will likely bond with you sooner or later. Just be patient and dont rush/be grabby -- sounds like you know that already and are doing fine.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm just such an anxious person by nature and hearing Arwen crying and crying when I leave breaks my heart, since I know that you're almost always supposed to get kittens in pairs due to things like separation anxiety and single kitten syndrome. It's a weird line to walk because she does have Pippin there so she's not an only kitten, it's just that he's still scared of her and so it probably feels to her like she's all alone when I'm gone, especially since I'm having to keep them separate. I plan on getting a pet gate this afternoon to let them see each other but not touch each other, so that I can start to let Arwen roam around at her leisure at night instead of being in her playpen. She currently has to be in there at night because she's been attempting to annoy the ever-loving hell out of Pippin and doesn't understand him telling her no by hissing and growling and I'm worried that things will escalate into a fight if I leave them unsupervised at night or when I'm not at home.I don't have specific recommendations for such a young kitten. I dealt with separation anxiety with my adult cat, Willy, over the years, but mostly fixed it by adding environmental stimulation while I'm gone, like you are already trying.
However, I just wanted to say that you've only had Arwen for 4 days, which is much too soon to make any conclusions about lasting behavior or developmental problems. If there's anything I've learned from frequenting this forum, it's that cats take time and patience. You have plenty of time to forge a great relationship with Arwen and bring her into your family with Pippin.
I totally get it, and I know the feeling.I'm just such an anxious person by nature and hearing Arwen crying and crying when I leave breaks my heart
Thank you for the advice and the links as well! I just ordered two of the puzzle feeder toys for her and I'll see which one she likes better. She's quite literally the most energetic kitten I've ever encountered--we can play together for 10-15 minutes, she'll act as if she's tired and done because she'll wander away to explore or check somethin else out, and then she'll walk around meowing her little head off! It's evident she wants something, but we've just had a full play session and she'll indicate she's done playing, only to either have changed her mind a minute later, or she wants something else but I can't figure out what lol. I'm imagining she just wants attention, but when I came home from work yesterday I don't think I got a single 10 minutes to myself until I went to bed because as soon as we'd finish playing she'd be walking around meowing constantly. I obviously am very prepared to pay a lot of attention to her, but I'd like at least a 10-15 minute breather for myself and she doesn't want me to Hopefully in addition to her crying when I leave, they also help her entertain herself while I catch my breath from giving her constant attention! Man, kittens are a lot of work!First I want to say you are doing what you can with the space you have, you are keeping both parties safe, you are not hurting Arwen. You have only had her for such a short amount of time. It will take some time for her and Pippin to become accustomed to each other.. cmshap pointed out a lot of good points
Here are some ideas for slow feeder puzzles you can put kibble in them and put them in her play pen along with a snuffle mat.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
As for play and wearing her out ill attach a link to another threat it has videos of Jackson galaxys boil and simmer technique I use this with my kitty and I promise by the end of her play session she is tired. There is a video of my kitty in the post you don't have to watch it as it is a long video about 10 minutes of her playing in slow motion. I added her video just to show I was able to get a cat who really didn't play often to go crazy playing and loving it. Also in her video it only shows the boil part because I pasted like 6 videos together. Leaving out the part where she was "simmering" because I had just wanted a video of her playing in slow motion and it is an amazing video I have of her.
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I hope these things will help.
I'm thinking if you put a snuffle matt and one of the feeder toys in the playpen for her to play with and get little pieces of kibble here and there it will keep her occupied.
I'm assuming you have plenty of toys including the wand toys?Thank you for the advice and the links as well! I just ordered two of the puzzle feeder toys for her and I'll see which one she likes better. She's quite literally the most energetic kitten I've ever encountered--we can play together for 10-15 minutes, she'll act as if she's tired and done because she'll wander away to explore or check somethin else out, and then she'll walk around meowing her little head off! It's evident she wants something, but we've just had a full play session and she'll indicate she's done playing, only to either have changed her mind a minute later, or she wants something else but I can't figure out what lol. I'm imagining she just wants attention, but when I came home from work yesterday I don't think I got a single 10 minutes to myself until I went to bed because as soon as we'd finish playing she'd be walking around meowing constantly. I obviously am very prepared to pay a lot of attention to her, but I'd like at least a 10-15 minute breather for myself and she doesn't want me to Hopefully in addition to her crying when I leave, they also help her entertain herself while I catch my breath from giving her constant attention! Man, kittens are a lot of work!
Exactly. And you miss the attention more after it has stopped.I know how it is when you're just wanting that time for yourself after working all day especially.. but hey at least you know you have little kitties who love you.