Kitten's meow is hoarse

I got a ragdoll kitten 6 days ago (he's 3 months old), he's been meowing a lot  these past few days then today his meow sounds really hoarse. His meow this morning was perfectly clear and normal then when I got home it was hoarse. It doesn't sound cracked or broken or like duck quacking (apparently that's what a broken meow sounds like?)

He's been eating fine and drinking a lot, his behavior doesn't seem abnormal but I'm really worried. Could he have eaten anything small and got a throat infection? 

I'm using crystal litter at the moment and I know I need to change that to something more kitten suitable asap which I am going to do, but if he had happened to ingest one of the crystals could that be a reason for his hoarse meow?

I can't get him to the vet since he won't let me pick him up yet so what do I do? I'm really worried!!!!!!

Sapphy said:

 
I got a ragdoll kitten 6 days ago (he's 3 months old), he's been meowing a lot  these past few days then today his meow sounds really hoarse. His meow this morning was perfectly clear and normal then when I got home it was hoarse. It doesn't sound cracked or broken or like duck quacking (apparently that's what a broken meow sounds like?)

He's been eating fine and drinking a lot, his behavior doesn't seem abnormal but I'm really worried. Could he have eaten anything small and got a throat infection? 

I'm using crystal litter at the moment and I know I need to change that to something more kitten suitable asap which I am going to do, but if he had happened to ingest one of the crystals could that be a reason for his hoarse meow?

I can't get him to the vet since he won't let me pick him up yet so what do I do? I'm really worried!!!!!!

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His meow is probably hoarse because he is meowing so much that his vocal cords are sore, just like if we talk too much or talk too loudly.  The bigger question is why is he meowing so much?  Cats usually meow when they want something, so seeing if he will lead you towards something, food, kitchen, etc may help figure it out.  But the other issue is hiom not letting you pick him up. Can you touch him? Does he accept petting?  If not there is another behavioral issue going on because a 3 month old kitten who's been well socialized should allow touch.  Can you describe in more detail?

Has he been to the vet?  At this age a baseline exam would be helpful, and the vet could look into the meowing issue.  

Where did you get him from and have you called them to ask if he was meowing a lot prior to you're getting him?

I was in your first thread about your kitten and I am beginning to think that the breeder you got Theo from didn't put much effort into socialization.  A kitten from a breeder that put the effort into socialization with humans should not take this long to settle in.  Have you contacted the breeder about the issues you are having?  The things that you are doing are the things that should have helped him settle in and get used to you.  A well socialized kitten should have been allowing touch by now.  Actually he should be to the point where he doesn't even need to be confined to one room.  A breeder that works at socializing a kitten would have given him at least some time with full run of his/her own home before sending him to his forever home.

Denice said:

 
I was in your first thread about your kitten and I am beginning to think that the breeder you got Theo from didn't put much effort into socialization.  A kitten from a breeder that put the effort into socialization with humans should not take this long to settle in.  Have you contacted the breeder about the issues you are having?  The things that you are doing are the things that should have helped him settle in and get used to you.  A well socialized kitten should have been allowing touch by now.  Actually he should be to the point where he doesn't even need to be confined to one room.  A breeder that works at socializing a kitten would have given him at least some time with full run of his/her own home before sending him to his forever home.

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Hi again Denice!!

I didn't buy him from a "breeder", I got him from this lady who had two ragdolls and they had a litter, so she was selling them off if that makes sense. She reared the kittens inside the house and she had no problem handling them, but for some reason whenever I try to pet him he hisses and backs off. He comes out to play with the wand toy when I try to coax him but he won't let me touch him

My mom contacted the lady about Theo's behavior and the lady said "just give him a few days he'll be running all about the house really soon". *Which  isn't happening right now.

I managed to trick him into getting into the pet carrier bag with toys and took him to the vet, they had no problem handling him and hugging him and everything! It made me so depressed I don't know what to do! (He didn't even hiss when the vet was checking his gender to make sure he's a male)

They also said I should start trying to handle him otherwise it would encourage aggressive behavior and they'll have to "knock him out" when they try to vaccinate him in the future etc. 
I tried feeding him treats and petting him on the side of his face like you suggested but he just backed off after eating the treat. Why is it that the vet assistants had no problem stroking him all over and cradling him but I have problems with it? I'm jealous in all honesty and completely lost!

What am I doing wrong?  

P.S. The vet said his throat is fine. 

I am just guessing here but I am wondering if you are too nervous and tentative with him.  I have seen this happen on Jackson Galaxy's show.  Kitties do react differently at the vet's office but it is usually in a negative way.  

There is nothing to feel bad about.  You obviously love Theo and want what is best for him.  Will he come up to you out of curiosity?  Has your mother tried to pet him?

Try to relax, do the deep breathing thing, and don't think about trying to force something.  

Yes I love Theo a lot. I don't have any siblings, I've never done any chores my whole life but for Theo I've done all of them, he's everything to me.

I've been watching some of Jackson Galaxy's shows,including how to say "I love you" to your cat, where to put the scratching post, litter box, etc etc,  the video advices all worked but when I try the slow blink and elevate middle finger so he can nose bump it and slide his head under my palm, it didn't work at all. Theo just sniffs me and backs off. He sometimes slow blinks at me (which I honestly can't even tell if it's the  slow blink or if he's just sleepy and trying to close his eyes. 

Before the vet trip he did come up to curl up behind or beside my chair, but as soon as I move to pet him he runs off. He wouldn't even come out when my mom is over. I had her sit in a chair on the far side of the room and try luring him out with the wand toy but as soon as he saw her he just ran under the bed. 

I don't feel like i'm trying to force something, I literally don't even try to make the first move, I sit there with the toy and wait until he's close then try to reach out. I'm not "nervous" but tentative yes. I try to be careful because no matter what I try he just won't let me pet him. It doesn't even matter if I extend my hand slowly towards him he just backs off. The only way I could ever possibly touch  him is if he's sitting inside the carrier bag where has nowhere to run off to. 

Denice said:

 
 I am beginning to think that the breeder you got Theo from didn't put much effort into socialization.  A kitten from a breeder that put the effort into socialization with humans should not take this long to settle in.  The things that you are doing are the things that should have helped him settle in and get used to you.  A well socialized kitten should have been allowing touch by now.  Actually he should be to the point where he doesn't even need to be confined to one room. 

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I probably should add in that, when I went to buy Theo, I didn't actually get to see him in his "normal environment". I didn't get to see the parents and the kittens were all put in carrier cages, like 3 of them in one cage. The lady said she did so because there were kids at her house earlier and the kittens were very frightened. I didn't think too much about it but my mom thought it was weird as to where the kids came from considering where the lady lived was an isolated house 1 and a half hour away from the city. She lived on a farm with no neighbors and there was nobody else in the house but her. I let the thought pass because I thought maybe she had friends over that day. 

She took Theo out of the cage and he squirmed a bit while she held him, then gave him for me to hold. After I decided I wanted Theo he was then just immediately transferred to an empty carrier cage to be walked down the driveway with me to our car, he was then transferred to a cardboard box in my lap when I was sitting in the car. 

I thought he would have had a lot of socialization time provided he grew up in her house but I honestly can't confidently say that is the case. I'm fairly new to cats so I don't want to put the blame on someone else before considering what I could have done better, but I figured what you said actually is a possibility. 

I think there are a couple of things going on here.  One is  he's in a new home and trying to adjust and some cats just take time, more time than we'd like because we want to love on them and know they're safe and will be taken care of.  Secondly, as unbelievable as this sounds, you might be trying too hard and he's picking up on that.  Give him some room and basically ignore him.  Go into his room and sit on the floor and read out loud, but don't make eye contact and don't try to pet him or pick him up.  Just sit there and "be".  If he's still confined to one room, take some good wet food in each time you go to see him so he associates you with the yummy food.  If you're home all day or most of the day, don't leave crunchies down for him.  When you go in, feed him.  Again, he'll learn you are the food-bearer.  If you don't already have the feliway diffusers, I'd highly recommend them.

stephanietx said:

 
I think there are a couple of things going on here.  One is  he's in a new home and trying to adjust and some cats just take time, more time than we'd like because we want to love on them and know they're safe and will be taken care of.  Secondly, as unbelievable as this sounds, you might be trying too hard and he's picking up on that.  Give him some room and basically ignore him.  Go into his room and sit on the floor and read out loud, but don't make eye contact and don't try to pet him or pick him up.  Just sit there and "be".  If he's still confined to one room, take some good wet food in each time you go to see him so he associates you with the yummy food.  If you're home all day or most of the day, don't leave crunchies down for him.  When you go in, feed him.  Again, he'll learn you are the food-bearer.  If you don't already have the feliway diffusers, I'd highly recommend them.

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It's been two weeks now nothing has changed. I wouldn't even be so impatient and frustrated if he didn't have a cold right now and NEED this antiobiotics squirted into the roof of his mouth DAILY for 6 days. He just runs everytime I try to approach him. I haven't even been bothering him when he's in his hiding places, he comes up to me when I sit in my chair but when I try to pet him he runs. I start playing with him with the wand toy, reach my hand out, he runs. I try to get him to eat treats from my hand and after he eats I reach out slowly, he runs. I can't give this antibiotics to him without chasing him around the whole room which obviously I don't feel like is a good idea because the most likely outcome is he outruns me and I end up with a head full of dust and still nothing accomplished. 

I even put a shirt of mine under his food bowls for the past week with my scent on it, hasn't helped. I don't have feliway at the moment because I can't afford them right now. 

I honestly don't know what to do. It looks like he's never gonna warm up to me and he's had this cold for the past 5 days (of which went undiagnosed until yesterday) and it looks like it's not going to get any better since he won't let me get near enough to handle him and insert the syringe into his mouth to feed the antibiotics. 

Someone knock me out right now I'm completely hopeless. 

Sapphy said:

 
It's been two weeks now nothing has changed. I wouldn't even be so impatient and frustrated if he didn't have a cold right now and NEED this antiobiotics squirted into the roof of his mouth DAILY for 6 days. He just runs everytime I try to approach him. I haven't even been bothering him when he's in his hiding places, he comes up to me when I sit in my chair but when I try to pet him he runs. I start playing with him with the wand toy, reach my hand out, he runs. I try to get him to eat treats from my hand and after he eats I reach out slowly, he runs. I can't give this antibiotics to him without chasing him around the whole room which obviously I don't feel like is a good idea because the most likely outcome is he outruns me and I end up with a head full of dust and still nothing accomplished. 

I even put a shirt of mine under his food bowls for the past week with my scent on it, hasn't helped. I don't have feliway at the moment because I can't afford them right now. 

I honestly don't know what to do. It looks like he's never gonna warm up to me and he's had this cold for the past 5 days (of which went undiagnosed until yesterday) and it looks like it's not going to get any better since he won't let me get near enough to handle him and insert the syringe into his mouth to feed the antibiotics. 

Someone knock me out right now I'm completely hopeless. 

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I think there is a red herring here and that because of it we're missing the obvious.  The red herring i suspect is when you describe him as docile and gentle at the vet (and therefore why is he this way with me?)  I suspect his behavior at the vet is an outlier, and that either he was intimidated by the professional hands touching him, or he was gently restrained or both.  If we exclude his behavior at the vet, than what we have (on paper)  is an undersocialized kitten who never got enough attention when young, and is reaching the age where  overcoming this is becoming increasingly hard and possibly impossible and certainly isn't going to improve without a serious socialization program.

I would give a serious look at this 3 part youtube video on socializing semi feral and undersocialized  kittens by my friend mike philips who runs a TNR/Sanctuary program and is very experienced in taming cats.


part 2: 
part 3: 
Or if you prefer the written version with pictures: http://www.urbancatleague.org/TamingFerals

How's it going? Has anything improved?

I have a cat who took months to warm up to me, even though he was born and raised in my home, and still lives here over a year later with his mom and three litter mates!

I still cannot pick him up just to hold and love him, but I can with all the others. He never gets in my lap, but the others do. He has had a shy personality since birth. He's very sweet, playful, and healthy, but it has to be his idea to lie next to me on the couch or bed.

The mom was a pregnant stray I took in, and she's a real sweet tabby. They were all raised and handled the same, and their environment is stress-free and full of toys- it's just his personality.

I usually approach this cat with my arm and hand extended, and let him smell my hand first. Only then can I begin petting him. He will accept a full body rub (with one hand only) if we are on the couch or bed.

I have had to put him in the carrier and pill him, and I do this by approaching him very slowly and gently, extend my arm/hand, and once allowed, I scruff him by the back of the neck. He submits at this point to being pilled or put in the carrier.

I wish he was more laid back, but I can't change his basic personality. He does love to play with his litter mates though. Have you thought about getting your little guy a playmate his own age? That might help!