Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I agree all the changes might just be confusing her, and maybe scaring her a little. This little things has been traumatized beyond our comprehension. She'll take some time to adjust, especially when you're still experimenting with food, litter, etc. Give her time, and do give her some time to herself. Let her hide for a little while, and then coax her out with yummy smelling food.
I would ignore the one bad post. He obviously didn't read the thread or is just trying to stir up trouble. Not worth your energy.
I understand Bobbles needs to eat. She's doing great. You and your son are doing great. You said yourself she is fattening up. She'll be fine. Put the food where she is.
You can use clay litter, just don't use CLUMPING clay. Clumping litter is clay litter, with sodium bentonite added. You can use regular clay. However at this point, if you do get some plain unscented clay, mix it with the pine at first, don't just change it. Do it slowly.
I agree with =^..^=, cut down on the stimulation for a while. One room, one or two people, no dog.
Just back track for a day or two, she doesn't have to move forward every day, everything is going to be all right.
Don't paint me as the enemy here, I am simply giving another point of view. I wasn't taking the OP to task, just pointing out that there is an adjustment period, especially with a very young pet, that you have to be aware of and tolerate. Puppies are probably worse that kittens in that regard, they will be peeing all over the place and chewing up stuff until they get out of that puppy stage. At least kittens are much better in that regard.
They will sometimes screw up if you leave clothing or towels on the floor, they see them as a place to go to the bathroom. You have to make sure you keep things off the floor until they get it in their heads that the litter box is where they are supposed to go.
As for my suggestion that the kitten might be better placed somewhere else, I am simply looking out for the welfare of the kitten. We cat and kitten owners/lovers are aware of the issues that can come up when adopting a kitten and not everyone is willing or able to accept and work through those issues. It takes a lot of patience and understanding, and even the most pet loving person can be frustrated at times.
Of course you are entitled to your opinion. I was just advising the OP to not allow your opinion to upset her. The thread is full of advice about allowing the baby time to adjust and adapt. It's only been 6 days.
They didn't "adopt" the kitten, they rescued her from certain death on a road.
If everyone decided to "re-home" at the first sign of a problem as you suggest, no pet would ever have a home for more than a week.
Last edited by catsmom21; 06-28-2013 at 09:21 AM..
I agree with what others have said here. Stabilize her environment and routine as much as you can, and if she wants to hide, let her. My experience with cats is they DO NOT like change or stuff being moved around. Find a place where you can leave her food, water, litter, bed, etc. & let it be for a while. I'm one of those that believe that a cat or kitten will eat when they need to, as long as there is no medical condition to affect their appetite. From what you described, it sounds like she was really stressed out, so let her unwind a bit.
Also, I understand that some cats (perhaps not all) purr when happy/content AND when they are stressed or nervous & uncomfortable. I don't know this to be fact, but two of mine hate to go to the vet and never fail to purr quite loudly while being examined. Point is, if this is so, purring may not always indicate everything's ok.
I agree with what others have said here. Stabilize her environment and routine as much as you can, and if she wants to hide, let her. My experience with cats is they DO NOT like change or stuff being moved around. Find a place where you can leave her food, water, litter, bed, etc. & let it be for a while. I'm one of those that believe that a cat or kitten will eat when they need to, as long as there is no medical condition to affect their appetite. From what you described, it sounds like she was really stressed out, so let her unwind a bit.
Also, I understand that some cats (perhaps not all) purr when happy/content AND when they are stressed or nervous & uncomfortable. I don't know this to be fact, but two of mine hate to go to the vet and never fail to purr quite loudly while being examined. Point is, if this is so, purring may not always indicate everything's ok.
They do. I have had cats in the past who were in labor and purred. I think it can be used almost as a soothing mechanism for them....
If the purring is stress, our attention isn't the cause of the stress. She purrs while she is sprawled out on her back, exposing her belly for us to rub. She didn't purr the first days when she was super stressed. She only started purring when she became comfortable with us. She falls asleep in our arms purring---like we're her comfort zone. She loves being held close to our chests near our heartbeats.
She doesn't mind being moved. We've been doing it since day one. All of her stuff gets arranged in the same order in both rooms. There is no other place to keep her. She doesn't want to be in one room. She gets bored with one room and starts wanting out to explore elsewhere. She is all over the house at this point.
The problem is entirely the new litter. She is making that very clear. She will poop in it but she refuses to pee in it. She is peeing on her blankets instead. We cut the pee spots out of her blanket and put them in the litter. Since we're afraid she will start thinking blankets are a place to pee, we are thinking we should just remove blankets from her assortment of things.
I am considering non-clumping clay litter. We're concerned another change will freak her out more. I'm tossing around the idea of putting a second litter of clay next to the litter of pine. I'm afraid to do anything different right now. At least she's pooping in litter still. If I make a change of any sort, she might stop doing that.
She is very needy for attention. I'm not complaining. I'm explaining that we're not giving her too much attention. She comes to us often. She cries for us to come to her. She rubs here little face against us. It's not like I've never owned cats. I know that she is actively participating in the attention. She probably is stressed, but she seeks us out for comfort. She was just freaked out over the litter. She still is but she's working through it and we hope she overcomes it.
Today, she explored the entire living room and went under the sofa to lay 6" from the dog who was sprawled out on the floor against the sofa. She stayed next to the dog for about an hour and then went exploring again. Now she is under the chest again and she has gone to sleep.
Since she sleeps many places that don't have blankets, I think we will be safe removing the blankets from her area, except I'm worried she might move onto peeing on carpeting and furniture if I remove the blankets. At the same time, I can't let her think peeing on blankets is okay because I don't want her thinking she can pee on our beds.
I can't leave food out for her hoping she'll eat it because she's eating moist cat food and milk replacement formula. It will go bad and make her sick if it is left out too long. Our temperature highs are near the 90s. My son finally got her to eat at 2am----12 hours without food or water yesterday! Fortunately, she has been back to eating on a regular schedule since then. She is back under the chest again, but it seems that's her new favorite place to sleep instead of my laptop carrier.
There is a medical reason to feed her on schedule. She is malnourished and has worms. The vet said she will go hypoglycemic quickly. Remember, she was starving to death. I didn't just pick up a hungry kitten. I picked up an almost dead kitten who couldn't even lift her head off of the ground. Her glucose was down to 40 when she arrived at the hospital. The vet said she might not have lived for 15 more minutes if we hadn't brought her in. Her glucose went back up to 200 by eating. The vet warned her glucose could drop quickly again if she didn't feed regularly. She said it happens super fast. Since her body was traumatized, she shouldn't have her glucose going up and down----the vet wants her feeding to be regular to prevent that.
Hopefully the long spell with no food was just a little blip for the day. My cats will have a day now and then when they don't eat much, and I always worry, but they're back to normal the next day. (Of course, they aren't malnourished)
The 2 litter boxes is a good idea. I don't think switching to nonclumping clay would stress her, since she used clay before, but better safe than sorry.
I am considering non-clumping clay litter. We're concerned another change
will freak her out more. I'm tossing around the idea of putting a second litter of clay next to the litter of pine.
I've always had two trays per kitty but I'm wondering why someone said clumping litter is bad? I've used it for years with no trouble.
Hopes you and your family are to be commended for saving this little girl and I hope it all works out well for everybody.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
