Help with adjusting a new kitten?

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Krienze

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I think she just needs more time to adjust, and more attention. Keep doing what you are doing. The playing will probably come some time down the road. More time for her to get accustomed to things is in order before she really is going to feel like playing. She is absorbing what is going on around her, and that is taking up most of her focus.

If you are worried about 'beefing her up', go with some of the ideas in the article above.
I just opened it, actually! Yeah, I am kind of worried about getting some fat on her. She's not stick and bones, but... I can feel her spine and her hips. She has a good size belly, so I do believe she was eating at least, but I'm thinking maybe she was super stressed and the foster didn't have time to really work with her on her eating.

I'm trying to calm down too, because admittedly... I'm stressed too. I want her to have a happy and fulfilling life. I def don't want her to be one of those cats that is so scared they seclude themselves to one room.

(I did look at your edit btw! but for some reason the quote isn't updating)

There are a few gates we saw online at walmart that we plan to order soon as we are able -- though will check and see if lowes is open. If not tractor supply I'm SURE will be (live feed has to count as essential I would think!)
 
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Krienze

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Good morning! Updates for you!

So Mia has gotten comfortable with letting us know when she wants attention. My mom took her out of her crate last night and held her for about an hour and a half and Mia actually 'played' with my moms hands. I know, not the best. I let my mom know she shouldn't do that, but Mia was gentle at least and seemed more like she was worming around as opposed to biting. Either way, it seems she is comfortable playing with my mom and being held by her.

One of our dogs was out with her when this went on and she didn't even seem to care he was there. When we put her back in the cage, she even started eating some of the dry food that had been put down by her and didn't care when Sammy was by her. Just kept eating and ignored him.

She did hiss a bit at Jasper again, but not nearly as much. It kind of feels like she's tolerating him a little more.

Then this morning my mom was holding her and she got spooked. Jumped out of my moms arms and ran under the table. As I write this, she is still there. She isn't huddled though. She's just napping and seems quite relaxed. Jasper has been out with her the entire time and he actually seems like he is respecting her personal space. Right now, she's napping on a soda box under our table and he's sleeping on the chair right next to her. So far it's been about an hour or a half hour and there have been no incidents at all. No hissing, no skirmishes. Just quiet. I'm leaving her alone and pretty much 'ignoring' her in hopes that my calm will show her there is nothing to worry about.

One thing I did notice is that she seems hyper-alert. She notices EVERYTHING and hears EVERY sound. And while she gets spooked here and there, she isn't 'huddling' like she was. She didn't even huddle this morning when we let the dogs out!

I'm starting to feel a bit better with the idea of her coming around. I think she can do it. The fact that she's just sleeping right now, I think is a good sign.

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(My mother and Mia)

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Miss snugglebug herself (Mia)​
 
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Krienze

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Morning Updates! (I apologize if I annoy anyone! I really just want advice/commentary on if I'm doing things right here.)

Mia was let out again this morning. Today, she actually explored the living room and hallway. At one point, she had her tail up, though most of the time her tail was down. Still, she explored and was curious about sniffing things. Jasper was also out with her. For awhile, he was fairly well behaved. We all played with the laser and she seemed to finally start responding to it. She chased it 'a bit' but was very reserved about it. I'm unsure if she doesn't know how to play or what, because she seems like she's got instincts to know what to do, but seems very hesitant when carrying them out. We tried to play with the feather toy, but she seemed afraid of it. Or rather, she didn't like the chimes that were attached to it. When I brought out another toy (it's this oddly shaped ball like toy with a feather attached, that when they bop it, the bottom part lights up and it has a ball that spins around in it) she seemed to be interested in that and actually played with the feather for a bit. When crated, she DOES play with the stuffed loofa toys in there and has been coming to the front of the cage more. Right now she's back in the corner of it, though.

Noises still spook her. Anyone have any advice on how to help with that? It's any noise, really. Doors closing, chairs moving. They send her into a semi-panic mode. She jumps down if held, but doesn't scamper/run.

While she and Jasper were out together, he kept getting a little too playful with her. She hissed and raised her paw every time he jumped at her and several times I had to move him, because she growled/got really irritated with him because he would NOT take the hint and back up.

I want to say this is an improvement from yesterday, when she stayed in one corner almost the entire time she was let out, but the fact that she's still hissing at Jasper/running from noise is concerning and I'm trying to figure out what I can do to help it.

I haven't introduced her face to face with Sammy yet, though she has met him through the bars and doesn't seem riled up by him. No hissing there yet. For the most part, she seems relaxed with Sergio (one of our dogs) too. Unless he's shoving his face at her, then she'll hiss, but it's rare that she seems to hiss at him.

On the really good news front? She is EATING. She sometimes needs encouragement, but she eats. Last night though, she covered her bowl and I think couldn't figure out how to get to it again. I uncovered it when I saw it, and she nommed some dry food. Will try giving her another can later, though.
 

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Noises still spook her. Anyone have any advice on how to help with that?
Try playing soft music so that she adapts to hearing it. That noise might help her to adjust to hearing noise in general, and might mask other noises a bit. She is just on high-alert at this point.
On the really good news front? She is EATING. She sometimes needs encouragement, but she eats. Last night though, she covered her bowl and I think couldn't figure out how to get to it again. I uncovered it when I saw it, and she nommed some dry food. Will try giving her another can later, though.
Glad that she is eating!! The covering up of her food usually just means she is 'saving it for later', but no reason not to uncover it for her so she will eat more!

This still all sounds good, and heading in a good direction! Keep posting!!!
 
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Krienze

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Try playing soft music so that she adapts to hearing it. That noise might help her to adjust to hearing noise in general, and might mask other noises a bit. She is just on high-alert at this point.

Glad that she is eating!! The covering up of her food usually just means she is 'saving it for later', but no reason not to uncover it for her so she will eat more!

This still all sounds good, and heading in a good direction! Keep posting!!!
I had NO idea that cats covered their food to save for later. Jasper has been doing that a LOT with his dish, I just assumed he was being a brat and playing/knocking his bedding over it by accident! Thank you for that info! Sammy, Isabel and CiCi never did stuff like that, so this is new info for me =D
 

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Some cats can also cover their food if they don't like it, but in your case I think Mia is just saving it (since she does eat it). Now, maybe not so much with Jasper?! Is he eating it otherwise?
 
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Krienze

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Some cats can also cover their food if they don't like it, but in your case I think Mia is just saving it (since she does eat it). Now, maybe not so much with Jasper?! Is he eating it otherwise?
Oh man, is he eating. He's like a bottomless pit.
 
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Krienze

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Good morning/afternoon!

Mia's still adjusting to noises, but I notice she's not huddling the way she was (so that's good, I think!) She's also eating and demanding her food when she wants it, which is also good!

We let her out again last night (and we'll be letting her out again here in a little bit) and she explored the kitchen and actually PLAYED with the laser! Chased it and everything. She's super clumsy though and I think she must have only ever been on tile floor or something, because she gets stuck on the carpet with her claws when she's just pouncing around. She's definitely awkward when playing, so I'm fairly sure playing is new to her. But she did watch Jasper play with the laser and I'm thinking maybe she figured out how to play from watching him a bit.

This time while she was out, we put him in the cat carrier for a bit so that she could walk around him and smell him. Each time she did, she stopped and hissed. It was always unprovoked. Jasper just was laying in the carrier, not reaching out, not meowing. Just being calm/chill.Mia would walk up, stop, hiss and go back to doing whatever she was doing.

Earlier in the day, I had taken treats and given them both treats near each other. She doesn't seem to hiss at him as much anymore when she's in the crate and he goes up to the cage. She smells him more, so I was a little surprised to see her hiss at him in the carrier case as much as she did last night. Then, right now, I'm watching what I -think- is them playing through the bars. Pretty sure she hissed once, but couldn't hear well. They seem to be playing 'reach in and bop" with each other Trying to stay back while he's over there so as to not interfere with any possible progress.
 
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Second Morning Update:

Normally would not double post updates, but I probably should have waited to write the first update! Here is the second one.

Mia came out again. She's skittish with sound still, but getting better. She and Jasper were lose together again. There was some hissing on her end, and a few swats -- but over all they seemed to be okay. It seems like as long as he doesn't try to engage her in play, she doesn't hiss or swat him.

She does play though. She played a bit with one of her stuffed animals and played with me and Jasper both when I used the laser. Anytime he tried to jump on her though, she'd hiss. It's at the point where if he touches her, that seems to be what triggers the hissing when they are out together for some reason. She came face to face with Sammy for a split second and didn't really react at all (he got put in another room though, because I didn't want him to intervene with her batting Jasper)

She explored the house some more and seems like she's sniffing. Tail is still down usually though.

She still loves attention and will snuggle/sit to be petted. Contact with humans is most definitely not an issue with her.

I did end up having to vacuum a bit, and she hid originally. But then came and sat and sort of just watched -- so I think noises make her skittish at first, but she observes a lot.

One thing I did notice when I cleaned her crate is that there was a wet spot. My mom smelled it and said she doesn't smell urine, I smelled it and thought maybe I smelled it faintly but I'm also super paranoid about that. She clearly IS going in her litter box, but I changed the towels and bedding in her crate anyway.

I thought maybe she couldn't be food motivated but she's eating a lot better now and LOVES cat treats.
 

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I really think this all sounds very good! She is letting Jasper know that she has her limits - he will eventually 'get it'. Not sure about the wet spot, just keep an eye on it...
 
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Krienze

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Good afternoon! Update time!

Bad news first -- Mia got pretty spooked today when she saw my step dad for the first time (he's a trucker and has been on the road) She ran and hid for a few. I had to fish her out so she could eat. He's a pretty tall guy, though. So I get why she's scared when she see's him. I'm hoping once she is around him a bit, she realizes he won't hurt her.

The good news though!

So, while Mia still hisses at Jasper, she ONLY does it when he pounces on her to initiate play. She has NOT hissed at Sammy, who has NOT pounced on her at all. Both Mia and Jasper played today again with the laser, and she even initiated play with him by jumping on him without hissing.

Part of me wonders if she thinks he's attacking her when he pounces to play -- she seems to want to try, but on her terms.

She explored more of the house again today and she's starting to feel comfortable walking around. She runs when we walk near her, but if we're patient and offer her our hand, she'll usually stay still and let us pet her. She melts the second she realizes she's getting attention and lets you pick her up.

She's eating better, too. Loves treats, it would seem!
 

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You are getting there!! Mia is trying to get across to Jasper who is supposed to be calling the shots when it comes to their playing. Given that she goes back and forth with playing with him, it might take a while for him to 'catch on'! As far as your step dad, since Mia loves treats, have him keep some on hand and offer them to her - low to the ground and let her come to him to get them.
 
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Krienze

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You are getting there!! Mia is trying to get across to Jasper who is supposed to be calling the shots when it comes to their playing. Given that she goes back and forth with playing with him, it might take a while for him to 'catch on'! As far as your step dad, since Mia loves treats, have him keep some on hand and offer them to her - low to the ground and let her come to him to get them.
That's a great idea! I think I'll do that. We're going to the store today, gonna try and get some cold cuts (hopefully) specifically for her and might have him try with that =D
 
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Update: Not much has changed, she seems more alert/personable and doesn't hiss at Jasper when she's in the cage anymore. Or any of the animals, really. The only concerning thing is that she seems to have diarrhea, and it's lasting a few days now. I'm unable to take her to the vet because of corvid-19, though I'm thinking of calling him and seeing what he thinks. I had to wash one of her toys because of it, but thankfully she seems to stay in her litter box with it.

She's gaining weight and no longer looks scraggly. I can still feel her hips when I hold her, but I don't SEE them like I did and her spine isn't as noticeable when touched either.

I started leaving dry food down for her, because she didn't eat the wet food as fast as she was before and since she touches it with her paw, she was getting dirt and litter in it. I thought maybe the wet food was upsetting her stomach, but now she's eating dry food and still having an upset tummy. I thought maybe it's because of the food change -- but Open Nature was the only cat food I could buy at the store -- plus the rescue had no idea what the foster was feeding her.
 

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Runny diarrhea or just loose stool? Either way, food changes can have immediate affects, or they can take time to cause issues. If she was eating the same dry food before you tried the wet food without issue, give it a day or two and see if she goes back to normal. How is she acting otherwise, in terms of feeling well or not?
 
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Runny diarrhea or just loose stool? Either way, food changes can have immediate affects, or they can take time to cause issues. If she was eating the same dry food before you tried the wet food without issue, give it a day or two and see if she goes back to normal. How is she acting otherwise, in terms of feeling well or not?
Hi! I'm so sorry, I never saw you replied. It was just loose, I think. It's def cleared up! She's acting fine. Actually she's been begging for food and attention now! she's coming out of her shell. We're still working on her and I think it's going to take some work but...



(Mia's the one getting sniffed!)

She still hisses at him when they are playing but I think it's because she doesn't really understand playing. He's a good teacher. He's teaching her!

She no longer hisses at him or any of the other animals when she's in her safety crate either.
 
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