# new kitten



## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

hi all

just got a new kitten last night, its 3 months old

little black thing

i was told to put a small bowl of cat food mashed up with cat biscuits with a little warm water, so it can eat easily, i dont think it liked it as this morning, it looked like it wasnt touched, and poor thing was shaking in it carry box

so what ive done this morning is made a bed in a box in the kitchen (a cushion and a towel), next to, a small mashed up bowl of whiskas, and next to it a small bowl of dry food, and next to that small bowl of water, and next to that a fresh litter tray

it seemed to like that more and had a few munchies on both the biscuits and the whiskas seperately 

most of the night it meowed sounding like crying and still is today

i went into the kitchen and couldnt find it!!

then heard a cry , its gone behind me fridge

whats the best thing i can do to make it happy and settle in, ive been told they can live on dry food, whats the best for it ive seen the iams adverts

as i live on me own, there will be times im out most of the day, working etc, and want to make sure its happy and fed well

its gonna be a house cat, (i live in flats, no garden)


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Hi welcome to the forum.Has your kitten come to you from its mum&litter mates.If it has it will take some time to settle.Is the food you are offering it the same food it has had before.If not then try to find out what that was and offer that.I dont see why if the kitten is 3months old its food needs to be mashed up and mixed with water ,it should be eating wet/dry food normally.Where is the kitten sleeping/living in your house.Does it have a free run of your flat or is it shut in a room.As a safety issue you may feel it needs ,for its safety to be excluded from a room at the moment but this should only be while it gets used to you and its surroundings.When you are putting its food dishes down put the meat/biscuits in separate bowls and put the water somewhere away from these.The litter tray should not be anywhere near your kittens food,they dont like to eat next to their toilet(dont blame them)As for food there are two good threads on the health and nutrition site have a look at those ,they will tell you what is good and what isnt in the cat food mine field,but dont change the food suddenly do it gradually over days even weeks to avoid upset tum.Good luck and piccies of kitten please.


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

yes it did come from mum, i feel a bit sad for it, must be missing her, feel horrible now 

ive moved litter tray to other side room,ive shut it in kitchen for now, i only got it last night and need to go round each of me rooms making sure theres nothing it could hurt itself by chewing etc, then itll have free run

ive text the previous owner to find out what it was having for dins, waiting for reply

ill get some pics as soon as it comes from behind the fridge (its still there having a whinge, poor thing)

at one point it came out of its box i was siting on floor (trying to make myself not look to big) and came over to me , 1 slight move and it ran off, thats normal i suppose, its not in a cold room, and think it would be comfy in its box with cushion etc


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

You need to try and get the kitten out from the back of the fridge. Not only will there be the electrical cord behind there, but also venting ... it could be warm or cold I'm not sure, but it isn't safe behind there, that's for sure.

It doesn't sound like the kitten is 12 weeks old if you were advised to feed like that  Can you weigh the little one (on digital scales if at all possible) and try to get a picture or two. If we can see the little one the advice that will follow will be age relevant, and believe me a few weeks in age makes a lot of difference.

Right now more than anything the poor little thing will need company. Lots of cuddles and warmth from you. It will be missing it's mum and siblings something terrible right now.

You keep saying 'it' is the little one male or female?


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

i dont know yet, not had a look, ill go get it from behind fridge but if i move fridge ill scare him/her. ill get a pic asap, in a min


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## NicoleW (Aug 28, 2010)

I got my kitten at 3 months old, dead on, and she was on dry biscuits (IAMS) and had no trouble eating them. To me it sounds like she's a lot younger which could explain this type of scared behaviour. Bless her little heart 

Does she have any toys? My kitten loves those feather toys she's a bit scared of the jingling balls lol


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## Merenwenrago (Sep 5, 2010)

I always feed my cats Hills Science Diet mixed with Catmor Beef Chunks in Gravy or water mixed with the Hills Science Diet.

When i get kittens i normally put them into a small bedroom with litter box on one side and other side with the food and water. Also nothing to get stuck under/between or anything to fall on it.

You should get it the scratch pad tower they love climbing on top of it.


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)




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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

likes having few munchies on the whiskas, i can just about get near to gently stroke head, when i per her up (im sure its a girl, cant see anything yet)

she doesnt go nuts in getting away, but does make a move which i let, her

i dont want her to think im a threat


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

I'm much less concerned about her age now  She (if she is a she) is gorgeous by the way!

Definitely no need to add water to her food to make it mushy, she is old enough to eat properly by the looks of it.

The best way you can get your little one used to you, is by having her with you in the same room the entire time you are home. She will come to you eventually I promise  Try tempting her with bits of string or ribbon if you have any. If you can get her to play with you she will come around soon enough.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

He/she is one beautiful kitten.As Aurelia has already said try to be with her as much as possible and encourage play and contact but dont force it.Also be careful in the kitchen that there is no access to any cleaning stuff as a lot of it is very toxic to cats.


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

string, loved it

she chased it all round me and also onto my lap, sitting on floor, got pins and needles couldnt get up, shes still playing withit now by herself, ive also got a small plastic ball, she could tap about


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

matksik said:


> string, loved it
> 
> she chased it all round me and also onto my lap, sitting on floor, got pins and needles couldnt get up, shes still playing withit now by herself, ive also got a small plastic ball, she could tap about


One minute we are saying play with string the next minute I am saying please dont let her play with it on her own ,she may eat it.Best to keep string/ ribbon for you and kitten play.Old loo roll/kitchen roll tubes,scrunched up receipts,pinpong balls fury mice,even an old sock rolled in to a ball much safer.Kittens love/need toys and scratch posts so looks like you will be off to the pet shop tomorrow:thumbup:


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

Totally agree with Buffie about the string. Great that she is already coming around to you though 

Ping pong balls are excellent toys for kittens. It will wear her out big time, and she will burn off all her energy too, which means lots of scoffing to make up for it.


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

shes happy to try getting string near me, i think she forgets and then when realises how close she is she jumps a little and moves away then remembers string and pounces on it and then repeats


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

She is a little beauty, and sounds like she is settling in well.


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## Emmiiee (Jan 3, 2010)

my rescue cat Mr Tigs is OBSESSED with pipe cleaners!! he cnt get enough of them!! he even steals them out the craft box given the chance!!! x


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## Guest (Sep 5, 2010)

A good way to get the kitten used to you is to sit on the floor with a book and read out loud in a soft voice whilst almost ignoring the kitten and she should hopefully come up and sniff and explore you.


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## Leah84 (Jun 22, 2009)

i agree about not letting her play with the string alone, i`ve heard so many stories of them getting tangled or hanging themselves with it when left alone. you could try balling up some tin foil and rolling it for her, my 2 love them 

she`s gorgeous btw i love black cats!


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

all seems ok , but she hasnt done a number 2 yet, shes had about 2-3 small bowls of meat, ive looked everywhere but shes not done anything, she has scratched around on the floor, shes sniffed the litter tray but not stood on it yet, she did do 2 number 1's on some newspaper i put down cos she peed in a corner, ive cleaned that up but she does goto that corner and does a scratch, so ive put the tray there hopeing she'll go in there, the kitchen light is off, as im thinking shell know that if its dark its sleep time if she does, she has a small plastic ball and some loo roll tubes if the wants to bat things about, im gonna look in pet shops during week for other bits


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## louiserp1 (Jul 14, 2010)

Good idea to put the litter box, where the accidents have been. 
You can show her how to scratch in the box, are you using the same kind of litter as her old house?

Our kittens both love knotted straws, in fact any straw!!

I feel you are probably best shutting off the kitchen to avoid any dangers behind the fridge and checking your main living area now, so she can stay with you. 

We feed ours dry and wet separately, but sometimes i mix a small amount of dry into the wet as they love that most. 

Stick to the food, she was fed previously, and only make any changes gradually. (There are people on here who can advise better than I can)

Cats are night hunters and have excellant sight in the dark, don't be surprised if she starts nosying, during the evening. 

Cuddles and play will come in time, ours have been with us, about 8 weeks now and aren't too keen on sitting on us, it's very much on their terms, but gradually they are doing it more and more. They are also trying to lie with the dogs now, much to the dogs disgust!!

I'm sure as she settles in, she'll interact more and she'll spend more time with you, given chance to settle slowly, at her pace. 

She is gorgeous.


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## tyrole (May 5, 2009)

Don't worry too much about the poo. Max my 5 month old took 2 days to settle before he went. Whilst we were on holiday my mother looked after him and he didn't go for her for 2 days. It must be a stress thing. She'll settle


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

finally about 9 ish did one  and in litter tray

she does run to me now, around me feet, but when i goto stroke her she backs off, when im in kitchen she around me all the time nearly

ive recorded her having a scratch and meowing

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/7012/marley2.mp4

called her marley

can someone have a watch and see if she seems ok video quality not brill but wanted to make it small, to upload the bag you see is the litter bag, like small greyish logs


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

Bless her heart  I think that was her searching for somewhere to go to the toilet, which she finally found.

Can you move her out of the kitchen at least for a week or so until she settles better? It seems awful cold and empty in there for her. How about popping her in your nice cosy living room where you can keep each other company. Remember she has just been taken away from her siblings and mother, she will crave company for the next few days at least.

When she approaches you try holding your hand out palm upwards and let her sniff it. Don't attempt to fuss her until she starts rubbing her face on your hand. It sounds like she may be a little hand shy. You can over come it though. Look how far she has come just today alone  I'm sure she will be your best friend before long.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Tried to watch your video but couldnt get my computer to allow it.As for the hand /stroking try just slowly offering the back of your hand to her and let her come forward to rub her head on it .She may do it she may not.I have a ragdoll kitten who had serious behavioural problems and I used this method for quite a while before he was happy to be stroked.Just take everything slowly and gently and Im sure you will get there.Love the name and it will suit a boy if you have got the sex wrong:lol:


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

shes in kitchen because i have a hell of a lot of wiring in front room, 2 computers ,tv, speakers, projector, keyboards, and worried she might chew them, theres a lot in there im not able to cover them as they are in all corners of the room ill see about changing things bout tomorrow


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

When we kitten proofed our room (the room they were born and raised in for the first couple of months) our best friends became cardboard and parcel tape  Pop to your local shop and grabs some boxes if you don't have any, then cut them up and tape them so that kitty can't get to those things even if she wanted to. It's unsightly yes, but it will do the job until you can get sorted properly.

On one wire that it wasn't practical to cardboard over here ... and we had run out of cable tidy, I just used old loo rolls slit down the side and slipped over the wire, secured with a bit of tape. It took about 6 rolls but does the job


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## sequeena (Apr 30, 2009)

Good gosh she's gorgeous! I echo the advice given.

I have a kitten who is very timid but with a lot of love and care he's almost a reformed character, he now cuddles


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

well here i am on a single matress in the kitchen, she now runs to me meowing and when i shut kitchen door she gets loud, but as im laying here, shes happily pouncing about on top of my duvet, i dunno whos training who here but im besotted with just 1 day!!

dont want to leave her, im a sucker for her already

when i was on my hands and knees earlier she bounded over to me and sat underneath me and meowed then went round back and climbed onto my leg and layed down 

i do the palm up hand out and she has a sniff then scarpers


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

My goodness, now that's dedication for you. I wish you a peaceful night, but I doubt you will get one. However I am in awe of you for doing this. I am sure she will also love you for it. By morning I bet you're the best of friends.

Thank you for making my day  Rep coming your way!


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## sequeena (Apr 30, 2009)

Good for you!! I did the same with a kitten I had when I was a teenager (I slept in the living room on a camp bed) and we bonded over a packet of crisps


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

well apart from the odd meow, went ok, spent some time jumping down on edge duvet then about 5ish i was woken with another as she was sitting on me legs, i held me hand out she didnt run just accepted it and then she flopped down beside me, every now and again shed let me stroke her

this morning she still seems a little hand shy, but is bounding around

its getting better


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Sounds great.You have come so far in such a short time.This little lady looks to have stolen your heart(it happens).Good luck and keep us posted:thumbup:


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

she meyoos, not meyows  she lets me stroke now, but still a little jumpy, today i laid on the matress on kitchen floor had a doze (cos i was up most of the night with her making sure all ok), she went to town on me laces, full of beans , then when i woke up she was laying next to me

yep she owns me now


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## AnnaK (Aug 25, 2010)

Well done Matksik! That all sounds very positive. We are well and truly owned by our two kittens and we wouldn't have it any other way!


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## matksik (Sep 5, 2010)

yep love her to bits, shes worked out that she can nearly crawl up me wallpaper in the kitchen, wont be long before shes jumping everywhere shes so funny, she chases her tail tries to grab it and most of the time she falls over or does back flips, shes learnt where her litter tray is, have had no accidents, she like to have a chew on things which worries me about my front room with all me electrical stuff, i have loads

would she grow out of chewing stuff, cos she loves chewing shoe laces, mad baby


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