Cat is still afraid?

Question

Issue 1: I adopted a kitten over a month ago. The cat still seems to be afraid of our home. I kept it in a room for about 3 weeks then occasionally left the door open more frequently over the days after. Later, I moved the food bowl towards the door, then outside the door. The cat doesn't mind me picking him or approaching him in the room but when I do approach it if it's in the living room, it runs away. When I pick it up and bring it to the couch, it seems fine - until it decides to jump of the couch and become "afraid" again.

How do I appoach him gently and without him running away? I;ve kept many cats/kittens in the past but none was ever this scared!

Issue 2: It is 8 months old, is it usual for it to sleep most of the day and be active very little? It seems a tad bit lazy!

Answer 1

Our cat is 12 mos. old and playful as all get-out! He was very friendly from the day we brought him home.

Yours may warm up. On the other hand he might be very independent for years.

Cats have their own personalities, just continue to engage him and offer various toys to play. Ours loves DaBird (feather on a wand), a box with a ping pong ball in it, and the kitty cubes (check Walmart).

Answer 2

I would suggest you try a flower essence remedy with this shy kitty. Dr. Jean Hovfe has a preparation called "Scaredy Cat" at www.spiritessence.com. It is $16.95, no shipping or handling or taxes. The bottle comes with instructions. I use the essences by shaking the bottle well and putting three to four drops on the cat's fur between his ears. You use it as frequently as you can put it on him - intensely for a week or ten days. Then taper off till you have used the bottle up.

The flower essences are for emotional healing and there may be some fears in the kitten's past that he cannot clear from his psyche without some help.

You are certainly doing everything else very right and I am sure he will be loved and protected in your home. Don't pass up the opportunity to treat him with the essences as it might make a big difference in both your lives together.

Answer 3

This will sound strange, but run the vacuum cleaner with the cat in the room. This does something to break the cycle of fear. They fear the vacuum and suddenly nothing else is as scary.

Cats sleep a lot. They are more energetic when they're kittens, but since your kitty seems to have a lot of anxiety, the poor thing is probably exhausted. I would not worry about it at this point.

Answer 4

Your kitten is just a naturally shy and timid individual - like my own 1 yr old kitten. Accept his personality - he will always be a tad timid. But as he grows older and gains more experience of his immediate environemtn and "world out there" he'll get better becuase he'll acquire coping skills. Think of him as a ver shy child.
I think that what you have done so far is very sensible - keeping him in one small room before opening up bigger and bigger spaces for him. That is INSPIRED! he he he. I

f he is a wee bit lazy, experiment with different kinds of cat toys (those that make no sounds - scary to an already skittish kitty). As he gains more confidence, maybe you can graduate him to his very own cat gym.

Good luck!

Answer 5

some cats are way more scared than others. i wound just let it be and it will adjust in time. perhaps you shouldn't have kept it in one room for so long. yeah, they sleep a lot once they are out of the little kitten phase. some more than others.

ok, so our cat is scared of our new bedspread. he jumps clear in the air when set on it. also, our one TV remote will make him jump up in the air too when it gets too close to him.... but the other remotes don't phase him. so, don't worry! weirder things have been seen!!!

Answer 6

farting in the cats face may seem rude but not to the cat
if u a smoker roll up the foil into a ball and toss it to him
if not get the foil from a smoker
i have yet to have a cat that did,t play with it
that should help bring the cat out of it,s shell
it will take time so b pashent

Answer 7

do no longer do this! maximum cats do unlike water, yet some do no longer concepts it or maybe honestly relish it- it honestly relies upon. yet yours will actually hate water now, to no longer point out the easily bathe/ bathtub, and your sister. the reason they do unlike water is by technique of the sensation on their epidermis. they have not got fur like canines- the place the water can basically choose for the flow off the coolest coat. It soaks all of them the thank you to the floor- making them chilly, soggy, and uncomfortable. this is in basic terms a peculiar and wonderful feeling! so they do basically no longer like it, this is not inevitably a terror. yet your cat replace into probable extremely afraid of being locked in the bathe with water and loud noise- sturdy thank you to make your cat very asocial (and at last propose). additionally, even nevertheless your sister is 4- this is not basically her fault. She needs to study suited animal coping with, and needs to be supervised with all animals.

Answer 8

try a big elastic band. It really brought my cat out of her shell. up till Phoebe was 13 mos old she slept all the time. I miss those days sometimes.

Answer 9

This sounds normal to me; cats have a wide variety of personalities. Your cat just takes time to feel confident in the environment. It will come. Are you sure it's a he? It sounds a lot like both of my females!