A Question For Cat Owners?

Question

i've had my little kitten for about three weeks and shes a 14 year old female. she still runs away from you and hides an little holes. when you go near her, she will dart off in another direction. is this normal? will she get used to us?

14 weeks old sorry...

Answer 1

Hi!

Did you mean 14 weeks? :-)

There's no such thing as normal really when it comes to kittens - each one is very different. Some are very scatty; some a timid; some are very friendly, etc.

Your kitten will get used to you in time. Just be sensitive to her needs and try to see the world through her eyes. To her, you are a giant! The world can be a scary place for a tiny kitten!

The best thing to do is not to approach her much; but let her approach you instead. Whenever you do approach her, don't stare at her whilst you walk from across the room - she will find that threatening. Try not to attempt to swoop her up in your arms for a cuddle, either!

Try bonding through play - use a wand toy to get her to run around near you. She will learn that you mean no harm!

When she is calm and sleepy, get down on her level. Sit on the floor for a while, or below her height if she is on a table or chair. Try offering her a treat during this calm time. Don't expect her to eat it out of your hand :-) Just let her see you place it in front of you and she's likely to eat it.

Kittens can be very scatty little things and my kitten is the same way. My kitten is very affectionate and not very timid - but there are moments when she will dart off if I go to stroke her! As far as 'normal' applies for kittens, this is normal!

Don't worry - your kitten will grow up to be your best friend and will calm down with age :-) Until then, enjoy the crazy kitten stage! It doesn't last long!

xx Emmie

Answer 2

I'm assuming you meant she is now 14 weeks old, and will answer as such.

Cats have different time tables. Just like it takes one person 2 minutes to eat the same breakfast that it takes another 1 hour to eat, it may just take your cat longer to get used to her new environment. It sounds like you got her VERY young, so she wouldn't have had the security of her mom as long as a kitten usually gets it. That may make her a bit more skittish. You need to step in a be "mom" to her and make her feel secure.

Are you trying to force interaction, or giving her her space? You should mostly give her her space, but spend a certain amount of time bundling and comforting. Just take a small towel and wrap her in it and hold her and talk to her gently. If she gets upset, just let her go, and don't try again for a day. It's pretty much the same routine used to tame a wild house bird. Once you can start holding her and reassuring her, she'll probably feel better.

You also never said who else, or what else, is in the house. We've had a new cat hid for over a month from a dog we already had. We just put the food and water in her chosen hiding place so she could feel safe and cared for. If the kitten is concerned about something in the house, show you are protecting it by acknowledging its "safe spot" with a dish of water and food (and litter box if need be) so it doesn't have to come out until it is ready.

That's all the thoughts I have. I hope something you get here at Answers helps.

Best to you and your kitty!

Answer 3

There is no such thing as a 14 year old kitten, is this a typo?
If it is 14 weeks old, and you have had her for 3 weeks she should be use to you by now. Where did you get your kitten? Was it a stray? She is obviously very scared. Make sure your house is quite and when you can approach her, do it very slowly, put out your hand and let her sniff it. If she doesn't run away, pick her up, slowly and very gentle. Give her cat treats, do you have toys to play with her? My cats like feather toys to play with. They have long handles on them and you can fly them around in the air or on the ground. It's like a bird to them see if that will get your kitty out of hiding.

Answer 4

It's normal for a cat to run away from strangers. It will take some time, how long is anyones guess, however, there will come a time the cat will feel secure and the running away will get less and less. The important thing is not to force the cat to be out in the open if she doesn't want to be.

I have a cat, which I had gotten as a kitten, he would constantly run away and hide whenever someone walked near him. It took years before he felt comfortable/secure enough to be around ppl. As of today, he is a very sociable cat.

Give her time and Good Luck....

Answer 5

I imagine she'll settle down a little, she'll understand that you bring food and get used to seeing you around, but I doubt she'll ever be a friendly cuddly cat. The best way to your cats heart is through her stomach, so if you wanted to you could start feeding her from your hand, or just sit by her food bowl while she's eating, or you could give her little tit bits every time she comes near you. It'll take a lot of patience - good luck!
Ah, you mean 14 weeks, sorry, your kitten will be missing her mum and brothers and sisters, so you'll need to give her all your attention and play with her - she could be a cuddly cat when she gets used to her new life.

Answer 6

Make sure her environment is calm and quiet. Trying playing using a string or something to slowly draw her in closer to you. Some cats, like mine, just need a lot of time of get used to people. Eventually she will come around but all cats have different personalities. Keep showing her loving attention and one day she will come to you instead of the other way around. All she needs is love and kindness. Good Luck with your cute kitten.

Answer 7

i gather you mean 14 weeks! it could be a couple of things, she may still be nervous of you, did her previous own hurt her? the reason for the small spaces is that no one can get in to her. It also could just be kittens playing and finding small hidey-holes to play hide and seek. Does she come to you at other times, or does she shy away all the time?

Answer 8

hi, i had a cat like that - Gismo. she is about 9 years old now. she was a wild cat and i adopted her 6 years ago. what i started to do with her was encourage her to come out from the hole (with her favourite food in my hand), that took me about 3-4 weeks, doing that for about 3-4 times a day. then after a while she knew that she could trust me and let me fuss her.
now i can give her a cuddle for about 15 minutes; and she lets me brush her. she only plays "rough" with me - but she lets me know (by standing on the back of my hand).
now everyone that sees her wants her. she has become a very love-able cat.

Answer 9

first off, she is new to your house so there are lots of new things for her. i don't know if you have other people living with you, but if you do, the extra noise would probably be a little nerve wracking too. did you get her from a shelter? or as a stray cat? cats need lots of time to adjust and learn to trust their owners. if you see her, don't go over to her, let her watch you, do things slowly without sudden movements so it won't alarm her. basically ignore her, make sure she knows you are giving her food and water, but other than that, go about your life quietly and calmly. if there are other people in the house, make sure they know they need to be calm if they are in a room that she is in and quiet too. if she is hiding, don't try to get her out, this will really make her much more nervous, just do your own thing. Eventually after you continue to do your own thing she will realize that you aren't trying to hurt her or catch her, you are just living with her. She will come to trust you once she learns that.

Answer 10

Well it going to take a while for her to trust you as she is 14 yrs old do you know her history - if she belonged to someone else she could feel abandoned or may be abused. Don't worry you keep feeding her and she will come to you, however she may never be a lap-cat. And yes it is normal