Kitten seems odd

[Els90]

Hello
I need some advice
I bought a kitten about 2 weeks ago and when I got her home we realised how skinny and rough she was .. she had fleas and was really really underfed you could feel all her ribs and tail bone .
I cleaned her up and took her vets who said she was dehydrated and They gave her some fluids and told me she needed time
So it’s been roughly two weeks and she eats brilliantly and her poops and pees are fine she goes in her tray and everythinb seems fine with that but she worries me becuAse she never ever ever plays !!! With nothing . I bought a cat tree and some toys and a laser to play with but she just follows it with her eyes and then just gives up . She never explores the house or jumps or runs and I’m just worried she’s not normal somehow .
She grooms herself and will sharpen her claws on some wood we have but that’s it .
she’s not bouncy or playful like a kitten should be.
she is due for her first injections next week buT I don’t know if I should ask for teststo be done on her as it will be expensive and I’m not sure if she is sick or just uninterested .
we have another kitten who is all over the place and when she plays with her she just lets her jump all over her andhardly bats a paw back .
Just want to know if anyone has experienced anything similar . Maybe she was mistreated so badly she doesn’t know how to play ?? I don’t know how to help her .

 

[Tagrendy]

Does she respond to sound? Sometimes deaf cats don't track a toy / pray.

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, its not uncommon for kittens to need a week or so to adjust to a new home, and illness can definitely extend that. So its very much a bit early to get overly worried, especially if your vet isn't worried. Just keep a good eye out and let your vet know what you are seeing.

 

[klunick]

We have 4.5 month old kittens and they are different as night and day. Gracie is high energy while her brother would rather sleep. Sounds like your kitten had a rough start in life so hopefully once she gets back to being healthy, her energy level will pick up.

 

[Kittycatcat]

My cat who we got at 12wks old didn't really play much for the first few wks of settling into our home, to be honest I suspected the owner where I got him from didn't interact with them much and we basically had to introduce toys to him.
How old is she?
Did she have litter mates? Or was she a single baby? This can sometimes happen if she didn't have other kittens to play with.
I'm sure with time she will come out of herself and its great you have another kitten for her to play with. Some just take alittle longer.

 

[Els90]

Does she respond to sound? Sometimes deaf cats don't track a toy / pray.

Hello thanks for your response
I don’t think she is deaf because when I call her sometimes and she comes for her dinner or if we come home she comes to the door or looks at me if I make kissing noises .
I was thinking the same in the beginning but I don’t think she is deaf.

 

[Els90]

We have 4.5 month old kittens and they are different as night and day. Gracie is high energy while her brother would rather sleep. Sounds like your kitten had a rough start in life so hopefully once she gets back to being healthy, her energy level will pick up.

Yes I hope so but she is just not interested in anything . I see her walking around more in the evenings but she’s still not really playing like the other kitten she’s just walking a little and then sitting down like she’s had enough .
I’m hoping she just needs more time

 

[Els90]

My cat who we got at 12wks old didn't really play much for the first few wks of settling into our home, to be honest I suspected the owner where I got him from didn't interact with them much and we basically had to introduce toys to him.
How old is she?
Did she have litter mates? Or was she a single baby? This can sometimes happen if she didn't have other kittens to play with.
I'm sure with time she will come out of herself and its great you have another kitten for her to play with. Some just take alittle longer.

Yes I was thinking they must have mistreated her somehow but was hoping that surely she would have been a bit more proactive by now . She’s happy to sit and be hugged and comes to lay down in the evening sometimes with us. I feel it’s like she just doesn’t know what she is supposed to do with anything we give her , she just looks at it and walks away .
I think she’s around 10 weeks but our vet said she thought she was younger.
when I collected her from the house she was bought outside in a cat catty with three other kittens inside so I presume they were her brothers and sisters . We never saw the mum .

 

[Els90]

Well, its not uncommon for kittens to need a week or so to adjust to a new home, and illness can definitely extend that. So its very much a bit early to get overly worried, especially if your vet isn't worried. Just keep a good eye out and let your vet know what you are seeing.

The vet wasn’t over worried she said she was too small to see anything .
The vet also wondered if she had been dropped because when she eats her jaws click but she’s still too small to see what that is .