Kitten Issues: Sleep, litter box, socialization

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  • #49015
    Sarmstrong
    Participant

    Ok, so I finally convince my husband to let us foster a kitty and now the kitty is driving him nuts, so I really need some help!! The kitty is absolutely adorable and I’m sure will be a joy one day, but for now he keeps us up aaaaaaaall night, won’t eliminate in the liter box, and is still too scared to let us touch him without hissing. Oh, and he’s only 6 or 7 weeks old – he’s a stray we’re fostering for the local shelter, we did NOT take him from his mommy. Husband says if things don’t drastically improve in the next two days we have to take him back to the shelter, so PLEASE help.

    Sleep: Kitty sleeps pretty well during the day and sleeps a little at night, but the two nights we’ve had him he’s just wandered around our little studio apartment meowing incessantly! He also likes to come up on the bed and just wandering around, hop on, hop off, climb on top of us, meow. It’s impossible to sleep. I can handle it, but my husband can’t. He’s going crazy. What do we do? This is especially complicated by his socialization issues, but I’ll get there.

    Litter Box: Pretty simple, he won’t use it. We noticed that he liked to use our yoga matt instead, so we tried folding up the yoga mat and just putting the litter box on top. We also tried putting his waste in the litter box after he goes somewhere else. We haven’t tried putting him in the litter box because of his socialization issues. What can we do?

    Socialization: When we first brought him home, he hid behind the bookcase for a while. We left him alone at first and intended to just let him come to us when he was ready. He’s made lots of progress here and seems pretty comfortable walking around the apartment. In fact he will come walk all over meet and as I’ve been writing this post he’s been crawling all over the computer screen, but still when I try to touch him he runs away and hisses. And he’ll run away if you walk to close to him as well. I don’t know if leaving him alone is really an option anymore either because he got a cold and I have to at least give him meds.

    I think that about covers it. Sorry that it’s so long! PLEASE HELP!!

    p.s. On the bright side he’s adorable and eats well!

    #705552
    ladysky61
    Participant

    Ideas:

    What you want to do is confine him to a small room or large dog crate. Although you can let him out and explore when he gets used to you. There you can work with him easily and he will be more comfortable. Put an unwashed shirt of yours in the “nest”. Then he can get used to your smell and hopefully be comforted by it. Put his litterbox in there. Then you want to bribe him with food to get him near you. Have him lick food from your finger or eat it out of your hand. After he eats or drinks, put him in his litter box, if he’s relaxed enough. Otherwise, he’ll probably get it on his own, because the litterbox will be the natural choice for elimination. (avoid bath mats; they like to eliminate on those too.) Also continue to put the “accidents” in the litter box. Some people also swear by “kitten attract” litter. Just put some of that one the top.

    As far as getting him to take his meds, I would bribe him with food to get him to come near you and then after a meal, when he’s full and happy, inject the medicine into his mouth with a syringe. Or you can see if he’ll lap it up in his food.

    If you put him in the bathroom at night, he can’t jump on you in bed. If he’s taken to meowing incessantly, then I like to drown them out with a fan. But give him some toys and he should be ok.

    This link explains how to socialize feral young kittens: http://www.urbancatleague.org/SocialKittens.htm

    #705553
    Sarmstrong
    Participant

    Thank you so much for your response! I definitely have had some success today. I could tell he was hungry when I got up in the morning, so I put the food bowl on my lap and he eventually, cautiously came and started eating it there. He seems to be afraid of my fingers, so I didn’t try putting the food on them or anything. I started stroking him while he ate, which he didn’t love, but he was too into the food to do anything about it. Then, when I could tell he was done and about to leave, I picked him up gently, laid him in my arms and administered the meds. He didn’t really fight it and I proceeded to cuddle and pet him for about 20 minutes until he got tired of it and walked away. It was so exciting! I did it again just now to give him his second dose of meds. I’ve found that he still shies back when he sees my hand coming and hisses, but if I can come at him from behind he completely submits as soon as I start petting him, then really relaxes and purrs and closes his eyes. It’s just the initial contact that’s tough!

    Tonight I’ll try putting him in our bathroom. It’s pretty small, which I was worried about because he’s been wandering around our 350 sq. foot studio and I was worried he’d get lonely/bored. I will certainly try it though and hope for the best! We’ve also provided a makeshift crate out of the cardboard carrier they gave us to take him home in. He’s been spending a good amount of time in there.

    I have one more question. Do you think his sleep habits will adjust? I mean, right now he seems to be awake most of the night and asleep most of the day. Will that change? Is there anything we can do to help that along?

    Thank you again!!!!

    #705554
    Nirmal
    Participant

    yes, sky is right. they will do this when they are not used to a new place. it brings them full out of balance. my babes all did the same. after a few days to week, slowly let him explore a little bit, supervised. increase the space every week till he’s able to be wherever. it will slowly associate him, and get him more comfortable at his own pace. it’s basically like when u r in a new place, and u JUST moved in. you think…did i do the right thing? am i going to be ok here? will i get used to this? but for a cat, far less advanced, and much more panic ensues because their basic instincts kick in. my one kitten went screwball all over when i first brought her home. she then proceeded to scratch me up. she eventually got used to things, and even decided to sit on my tub and soap dishes. and then some months later we all moved to new york city…the 5 of us. 4 cats and me.

    #705555
    DancingCatHill
    Participant

    I agree with the above advice. Give him a smaller space until he gets adjusted. A large crate or the bathroom are good choices. The advantage to a large crate is it can be in the middle of your living space so he’s still seeing everything that’s going on but he’s “secure” in his own space. You might also drape the back half to provide him with a “cave” of his own. Good luck, he needs you!

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