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[Futureman]

I need some advice from former kitten owners. Just got one. She's all black, with a little white on her chest. She's 8 weeks old. She's been in my apartment for 2 days now.

I know it's been only two days, but she still seems pretty shy. She could be walking right next to you totally normal, but if you reach down to touch her, she darts away. I'm lying on the floor right now and she's playing next to me. But if I reach over, she most likely will run away. I know it's only been two days (plus she was seperated from 3 other brothers and sisters), but I just want to make sure she's not going to be so anti-human all her life. She meows a lot, too.

Any advice on kittens is appreciated.

 

[Ghost]

They go nice with salad.









Seriously though,wouldnt worry about it if it's only been two days, she's probably just adjusting, main thing is not to pester her, thats how you will turn her off humans for life.

 

[Jim Bowie]

+1

Just always be inviting, let her come to you, not vice versa.

 

[temp]

I have a cat. It's a little guy cat and he sprays on everything. Good gender choice.

 

[etiolate]

Cats from my experience change a lot as they get older. They get use to you and will want a lap eventually.

 

[Socreges]

We adopted the cat that we have now at about 3-5 weeks old. Very, very young. It became pretty attached to us and still to this day (~ 14 months now) will follow us everywhere. At times I find it annoying, such as when it cries outside the door if I'm in the bathroom, but generally it's a great thing. He's my little buddy when I'm home. Even greets me at the door if I've been gone for a while. We actually left him home alone for three weeks a couple months ago. Our neighbour came in to change the food/litter, but the cat would never come out for her. When we finally came home, he (the cat) went NUTS. Wouldn't stop meowing and didn't leave our side for days. I can't imagine how terrible those three weeks must have been. :lol

Fortunately he can still be independent; especially when outdoors. We get the companionship of a dog with virtually none of the responsibility or problems. He also plays with us [still]. It's like... the perfect pet.

For your situation, it's not one familiar with, but I can probably give you some advice. To get the kitten to approach you at all, try taking away the food dish and putting the food in your hands when you think it's hungry. Pet it softly when you get the chance. Cats will even respond to certain areas, so continue petting the spots where the cat will press back against your hand. On the back (next to the tail) is a popular spot. Under the chin or the top of the head, too.

 

[Project Midway]

Always try to get to her level, kneel or lay down on the floor. You look HUGE in his eyes when standing up. =) And when you try to touch her, dont reach your hand from upward angle. Animals dont like it when their eye vision gets blocked. Touch her chin instead of patting her head. =)

 

[Triumph]

You could always feed it to Butters the cat!

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

I've got three cats, but I'm no expert on raising them. I specialize in tyranny and terror.

However I've observed that some cats are just naturally stand offish. So chances are your cat will recognize you as it's lord and master, but it just won't be all cuddly. Which is good. Because my cats run the gamut of personalities, and my attention whore kitty is annoying. Always jumping in your lap, always mugging for attention, blah blah blah - a terrible pain in the ass when it's a hot summer day, you're sweating, and they're deploying fur. >:|

 

[Futureman]

Anyone have any cost advice? I still have to get her shots. How often does this need to be done? I bought some food, but I have no idea how long it's gonna last. Also, how often should I change the litter?

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Change the litter as frequently as you can. It will help to prolong the life of the litter, which will cost you in the long run, and make your cat happy.

Food - I feed my cats once a day. An 18lb bag of cat food lasts about. . . a month? It lasts a while.

Shots depends where you take them. Shop around. I found a quick and dirty place, which IIRC averaged about $60-90 a cat. Of course they've all had their plumbing stopped up. I let my first cat go into heat, and never again. Jesus christ that's annoying.

 

[Ruzbeh]

Anyone have any cost advice? I still have to get her shots. How often does this need to be done? I bought some food, but I have no idea how long it's gonna last. Also, how often should I change the litter?

I think you need shots (or at least visit the vet) yearly. I think you need to change the litter once in one or two weeks. I had a cat once but I don't remember much about it.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

The more you handle her now, the more friendly she will be in the future.

When my cat was a kitten, I did not handle her enough. I was only about 14, so I might have left her alone for most of each day when she was young. Also, there was a time or two when I terrorized her with my Nerf Arrowstorm. I really, really regret doing this.

Today she is extremely skitish; and unless she is really hungry will not go around humans at all. She absolutely despises being handled, and she pauses each time you open the door for her to come inside, and you can tell she is weighing the possibly of being picked up against her own hunger and security. She does like to be stroked, and have her head scratched, but she will dart as soon you make a move to grab her; and she is constantly watching for this occurance.

Every cat has a different personality, and it is clear that mine is very independant, but I know I bolstered that independance by not spending the time with her early on and teasing her too much when she was young.

We get along, but it s clear that she'd rather be skulking in the wooded area then sitting on my lap.

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Whoops, forgot to plug this hot item.

The Rollaway is your friend, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg like one of those Robo-Cat Shitters. They run $20-30 and greatly expedite the shit cleaning process.

 

[psycho_snake]

Im no good with cats. My GF has two and Ive seen the cats for the last 18 months but they still run away from me everytime I come near them.

 

[pestul]

I have a two cats, one is 4-5 months, the other is ~1yr (and a dog). They have completely opposing personalities. The older one is pretty docile and likes cuddling. The kitten is a crazy mofo. We're doing renovations in our master bedroom and the cat will climb the goddamn unfinished wall and get into the ceiling amongst the blown-in insulation. Needless to say, she gets a tad messy. She likes to bite people at random times. When she runs out of energy she turns into the innocent little thing that cuddles up with you and purs loudly.

Your cat sounds exactly like my brother's. You just need to let it come to you and avoid forcing yourself on it.

 

[krypt0nian]

A good way to fix this is to sleep with them. Gets them over the shock faster IMO.

 

[madara]

Sounds quite normal given the timeframe. Use slow, very slow movements and with time a bond will form.

 

[pestul]

A good way to fix this is to sleep with them. Gets them over the shock faster IMO.

I dunno.. if I were a cat I'd find that pretty damn shocking.

 

[Ruzbeh]

A good way to fix this is to sleep with them. Gets them over the shock faster IMO.

Yeah, but you shouldn't force them. I can remember when I was half asleep in my bedroom my cat walked in and jumped on the bed and slept with me. <3

 

[atomsk]

A good way to fix this is to sleep with them. Gets them over the shock faster IMO.

this is good advice. when i was still with my ex, last summer we got a kitten from the local animal shelter. i was the one in charge of picking it up. so when i got home i let her explore the house and whatnot.

i laid down for a nap on the couch and she just kind of curled up on my chest and fell asleep. that pattern pretty much repeated the rest of the week.

the two things i miss about living there are my ex's daughter and the cat. =(

 

[SickBoy]

I have a cat. It's a little guy cat and he sprays on everything. Good gender choice.

Actually, generally speaking, spraying isn't a big problem in male cats provided they're neutered before they hit a certain level of maturity.

We've got two males and have had (knock wood) no problems. The little one annoys the hell out of the big one, so I do have some concern that if the big one starts getting too pissed off he'll mark territory (which would be unusual -- he's never done it in 5 years)

As for the original question, I agree with a combo of Jim Bowie and ArcadeStickMonk. I think you've got to let the cat come to you -- pursuing it will just freak it out, from the sounds of things. But at the same time, handling them at a young age will make them easier to handle as they get older, and may help them "imprint" on you.

So spend lots of time with it and whenever you have the opportunity, handle it -- and gently if it seems threatened by everything. Let it build some trust and hopefully it will grow to be a little more people-friendly.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Whoops, forgot to plug this hot item.

The Rollaway is your friend, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg like one of those Robo-Cat Shitters. They run $20-30 and greatly expedite the shit cleaning process.

While I'm at it, I disrecommend those robo things. My parents bought one, but what a shitty product (pun intended). For one, it was loud. For another, it would sometimes not be successful in its straining/scooping exercise, so it would just noisily try again and fail, and just end up needing its own nasty cleaning exercises. Repeated failed attempts at scooping through cat litter doesnt' smell that great from 10 feet away either.

 

[Cherubae]

Whoops, forgot to plug this hot item.

The Rollaway is your friend, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg like one of those Robo-Cat Shitters. They run $20-30 and greatly expedite the shit cleaning process.

I have one of these and it did work great when my cat was a kitten. When he grew up through, there wasn't enough 'litter space' for him to use. The rollaway has a grate inside where the littler shifts into when you tip it on it's side. that cuts out about 4 inches of pooping-area and he had was always pawing at the sides of the container to try and cover his mess.

You would think he would figure it out and just do his business in another section of the box, but he never did and I would have to hear him scratching at the plastic walls. I eventually had to take the grate out and convert it into a normal litter box

The box does work wonderfully if you have a cat that is smarter than mine :lol That should cover the majority of cats out there.

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Which size did you purchase?

The smaller one is a bit of a problem for my cats, but the larger one is pretty accomodating. The only problem I have is with my third cat who is just fucking huge and retarded. He gets shitty tail syndrome from the size of the box. I don't know how he manages it, but he drags his tail through his dookie, so I have to shave his tail. It's cheaper than buying a new / special litter box for his retarded ass.