how can we make a welcoming home for our new male 4 mos old kitten?

Question

Our kitten hides from our family and we have trouble coaxing him out. We adopted him from whiskers. He was handled by a wonderful caregiver who cured him of respiratory problems as a small kitten. He is very shy. We have a 12 year old female who is pretty cuddly but hisses at the new member so we have been trying to introduce them slowly. They have separate dishes and kitty box. Our house can be noisy with kids over. We thought it might be helpful to keep the kitten in my daughters room with her at night and we have the litter box in her room and cat food until the kitten adjusts. My husband thinks that this is unsanitary and the food and box should be downstairs in the kitchen. However, when we bring the kitten downstairs, it seems afraid and wants to run and hide under furniture and not eat. How can we ease the transition for this adorable frightened kitten? we have only had him for three days. (christmas present for my daughter). The cat has been neutered and shots too.

Answer 1

You may need to get your kids and your husband out of the house and then you can.....help your kitty get used to the place. Imagine a 4 month old baby in your house. It will be scared because of the kids and chaos. I think it needs some time to settle down in a quite and relaxed enviroment.

Oh and dont force him to come out...

Answer 2

If you keep the kitten sheltered from all the noise and the other cat you will end up with an antisocial cat. If both of your cats are female or both are male then you need seperate litter boxes so there is no dominance issues but if they opposite sexes you should use just one litter box. You should also have them share food dishes or they will become protective of their own food and that will not help in the bonding problem. The best thing you can do to assure you have a friendly kitten is to just bring him in and put him down and make sure you have all little hiding places blocked off so he can't go and hide from everything and then he will just start to fit in. My mom had an older cat and we got her a kitten and the kitten ran and hid too but we blocked off all hiding spots and it forced the two kitties together and they are now best buds after about 3 hours or so.

Answer 3

It's okay to keep the kitten separated in a room, just make sure the litter is changed often. Cats have their own personalities, like people do, and this little one may be very shy. Don't force him to do something he doesn't want to. It will take some time for him to become socialized, it doesn't happen instantly.
Keep the kids away from him. The kitten may bite out of fear, and that could mean infection and a hospital stay for the human.

Answer 4

I don't think the litterbox in the room is unsanitary, provided you buy a litter that doesn't produce dust and you keep it very very clean. Eg. a silicone crystal litter is what we use, and we take the poop out and the pee when we see him, as soon as he does it. And provided your daughter is old enough to understand that she must not touch the content of the litterbox.
As for the kitte, get him some toys, a scratching post, a nice warm cushion to sleep in (or a place he will choose, like an armchair), let him be where he feels safe, especially when eating and pooping, if you don't want him to start pooping under your couches or sth., give him love and cuddles, and he will be OK with time.

By the time he is 6 months old, you will be missing the period he kept hidden... But don't worry, the naughty period will also be over soon!

Answer 5

Kittens always feel threatened in a new environment, but they are amazingly adaptable. It'll just take a little time. When I first got my 2 year old Siamese he wouldn't leave the cat carrier I bought him home in for almost a week. Now he is the most friendly, nosy cat I've ever had. Anytime people come over he is all over them, in their laps, going through their stuff.

One other thing you can try if they two cats are not getting along is to keep the kitten in a separate room when they are not supervised. Your old cat will get curious and they will start to sniff each other out under the door, before you know it they'll be playing around with each others paws under the door. They'll get to know each other and realize they are not threats to each other.

Answer 6

pets as christmas presents hmmmm... but that is a different issue. I personally think it is funny tat someone would think it is more sanitary for the cats things, ie food and litter box, to be in the same room as they eat that in the room where one child spends a few awake hrs if that. If she, or you keeps the litter box clean it really isn't that bad. Maybe this would encourage her to keep it clean anyway, I would not want to sleep in a room with a dirty litter box.As far as welcominghim, cats don't like change. I would leave him a lone for a couple of days and let him come out as he gets comfortable. let him rub on your legs. Don't run around chasing him and trying to pick him up, this will just scare him.

Answer 7

all i can do is tell you that kittens are not the only ones that do it. my in-laws have two cats that stay away from visitors. they hide all the time and for some reason they just don't like company. they hide most of the time. its rare if all the time. just bare with it and do your best that is my recommendation.

Answer 8

i would raise and love him and show him i cared and he will eventaully come out of hiding it will take a while for the kitten to get used to it's new home but other than that he will stay in hiding for a while and he will get used to you but it will take some time just care and love it and let it know you care

Answer 9

Love, cuddles, and more love , one of my rescue cats is the same, we have to insure her daily.. but it is tuff.


good luck