Kitten had a rough day- and suddenly turned skittish

[pika007]

Hi everyone

My gouda is a tiny 8 week old kitten, 2 days ago we went to the vet for the first vaccine, the shot itself went by uneventfully. She didn't even twitch.

After that i also had to stop by the pet shop for food, in hindsight, it was a BAD call to take her with me.

Staying in the carrying cage too long (though it was less than 10 minutes) freaked her out, she peed in the cage and started yowling.

When we got home i gave her a bath, she had pee all over her. Needless to say, while she didn't went berserk- she didn't like the bath.

Since then she turned a lot more skittish, won't greet me when i come into the room i'm keeping her in (she used to come over with her tail held high and sit on my foot) , will run under the bed a lot and stay there, and won't come over for rubs and cuddles, though she did TONS of that before.

No doubt this is due to the not really nice day she had, but now how do i fix the situation?

I spend TONS of time in the room with her, moving slowly and letting her getting close without startling her.

Any more ideas?

-important to say, she doesn't growl/hiss or anything, will let me pick her up, and she plays with her toys in the room. She's not hostile or depressed, just turned skittish.

 

[sivyaleah]

We had similar incidents with older cats.  Once with our senior cat, where he wet himself in the carrier on the way home from the vet because we had been there way too long, and well, he had to go and he was already upset by the situation.  The other one, was our girl, who had had some kind of stress reaction after an incident with the older one, urinated on herself, we had to bathe her, etc.  

Both were pretty skittish afterwards, for a few hours, but by the next day had totally forgotten about it.  Probably even sooner.

Most likely, Gouda will too.  It was just a lot of stress for her little system to deal with in one day.  Just give her some space to allow her to decompress.  As long as she's eating, drinking and using her box she's doing ok.  The fact that she's playing is a very good sign.

 

[pika007]

More than a few days have passed, her behavior went 180 from what it used to be.

She always greeted me when i entered the room- now she rarely does so. Always stayed close to me while playing- now she has a "home base" point beneath the bed, where she bolts to at any given chance, and won't respond to my calls to come out. In general, she rarely responds to my calls anymore, when previously she used to all the time.

Instead of regular playing she bolts and jolts everywhere, bounces off the walls and whatnot, and misbehaves extremely when i try to put her to sleep after 2 (!!!) hours of continuous play and a nice large meal.

She also folds her ears sometimes when playing, which is weird- it's supposed to indicate anger and hostility, no?

Before she happily went to her box and cuddled with the warm bottle, purring. Now she tries to get out at any cost.

I don't know what to do. I'm afraid that once i start taking her out (she's going to be an outdoor cat with a special indoor place for sleeping and resting) she'll just bolt somewhere and won't return.

 

[katluver4life]

I think she just needs time to feel safe again. All cats are different in how they react and recover from a stressful incident. Right now she associates you with that bad day. She is still VERY young. Have you tried using a Feliway diffuser in the room? I would step back a bit and sort of treat her as though you are new to her. Play soft music in the room to calm her, sit on the floor talking softly or reading out loud, not forcing yourself on her. When she eats, gently pet her, this will reintroduce your touch with good feelings. Continue to play and reward her with treats. She will eventually return to her old self, she just needs time. What seems like a long time to you, is not a long time to her.

 

[pika007]

I am starting to run out of ideas, the situation is turning worse....

She started clawing EVERYTHING, though she never did before, moving away from my hand if i bring it close, her play biting turned into just biting, started chewing my hair at any given chance (i have long hair), and if i try to pet her while she's on my lap she just runs away.

Even when we play, if i try to pet her while she gnaws at one of the stuffed animals- she jolts straight under the bed.

I'm getting mixed signals and don't know what to do. Though she won't greet me , will run away if i try to interact with her, bite, scratch, completely ignore, and make a mess- sometimes, at random, she'll come on her own accord, climb to my lap and start kneading and purring. Even if there's food in the room, so i guess it's not because of hunger.

She'll also play with my leg if i'm standing up, jump and "hug" my leg without clawing it.

It doesn't happen a lot, but it does.

I don't have a feliway diffuser, will try to get one and see how it goes. If anyone has any more ideas, please share, i'll make any effort for my kitten to be her old self again. She certainly doesn't look as happy as she did before.

 

[yayi]

If I am reading it right, Gouda seems like an overactive, normal kitten to me. Instead of expecting her to behave the way you want her to, why not let her be? Pet her only when she wants to be petted, let her go when she does not want any more cuddles. Do not feel bad if she does not respond to your voice or presence, cats do not mean to offend, they are just distracted by something else. Kitten proof your home by storing your valuables and breakables. Discourage biting even if it is only play. Have lots of toys to keep her from being bored. 

 

[katluver4life]

Kittens her age are very active and need a lot of play. Do not let your hands or feet/legs become her play toys. Redirect her to an appropriate toy. Wand toys such as Da-bird or the cat catcher are great and will wear her out lol. After a play session offer her treats. I agree with yayi, that you need to let her be her, and not try and force things.

 

[pika007]

About toys, i got her something like a metric ton of them. bell-balls, stuffed animals, tassle wands, boxes and tunnels to go in, and more.

I never "force" a petting session on her, when she's playing- she's playing, and i know it's useless to try get her attention while she's engrossed in something.

The thing is that while she eats,for example, if i touch her- she'll abandon the food and take some distance, things like that.

I know kittens this age are pretty much 100% pure energy that needs to be spent, but her behavior change happened over a single day, not gradually. This is what worries me.

 

[katluver4life]

Have you changed laundry detergent or the type of soap you use? I'm wondering if there is possibly a new scent on you she doesn't like. By "force" I didn't mean to imply you were forcing her in any way, it was meant as, let her do what she does and let things turn around naturally. She will eventually get over whatever it was/is. You just have to be patient and love her, and as long as she is eating, playing and acting like a normal kitten in every other way, there is no need for concern.

 

[pika007]

OF COURSE!

I'm so stupid i didn't notice this before! The day we were out to the vet the room she's in was washed, for the second time overall since she's there, the first being long ago when she was tiny.

The floor detergent's scent is pretty strong, it even feels offensive to me, she must've been driven out of her mind by the harsh new scent, being much closer to the floor than me, and having a much stronger sense of smell.

That aside, i'm pleased to report that over the last 2 days she suddenly behaves much like before, started greeting me every time i enter the room after being absent for more than 10-15 minutes, stopped running from my hand all the time, kneads and smurgles a bit more, and bites a bit less. (working on getting her to understand my hand is not a plaything right now)

I'll refrain from washing the floor with detergent for as long as she's there. In a few weeks she's supposed to start going outside, so it wouldn't be a problem not using detergent until then.

Thanks for helping me pick up on this, the answer was right under my nose (literally) all the time.