New adopted kitten hissing

[RJP1216]

Hello everyone, new to the site. My family and I just adopted our first kitten (5.5 months) from a rescue shelter here in Pennsylvania. We were told when we saw her and met her the first time that she was skiddish but she did sit with us nicely, even sat with my 6year old with no issue. We brought her home the next day and put her in our bed room to get her bearings and plan on leaving her there for the first couple weeks as advised by the shelter. We do have an apartment so it's not very big and we only have 2 bedrooms hence the reason why she's in the room with us (I've read they should be in a room alone). To cut to the chase, anytime we try to get near her or talk to her she hisses and her hair stands up. She's been under the bed since we brought her home and has not eaten at all. She did use the litter box a few times but no food and very little water. She also cried/meowed most of the night. Obviously I'm chalking all this up to being in a new home with new people but the hissing is what kinda concerned me. Is this something that she will grow out of? We're giving her her space but also want to bond with her.. she shows absolutely no interest in play. Just stays curled up under the bed. Looking for any input or ideas as we are new to this and trying very hard to make sure she has a long loving life thank you!

 

[Sonatine]

How long has it been since you brought her home? I'm not reading anything that sounds alarm worthy yet. The hissing sounds like something she is doing because she's scared; same with the hiding and crying at night.

How are you playing with her? For a scared kitty, a toy that gives her some distance from you would be best. As for food, are you feeding the same thing she ate at the shelter? If not she may not recognize the smell, especially if she's already really nervous. Of course, you might also try some strong smelling treats like dried bonito or even tuna (in water, NOT any sort of broth) to tempt her to eat.

 

[mazie]

Simply put, she is scared. Who can blame her. She is a kitten, new place, new people, understandably she is frightened and un trusting at this point. It will take time, but she will come around. While she is huddled underneath the bed, can you sit down on the floor and talk to her, read to her, have some soft music playing in the background, anything that would make her at ease and curious to come out from under the bed to check you out. Have some treats at hand to giver her as she "inches her way over to you." The whole idea here is to make her feel at ease with you. Don't worry, she will come around. and, Welcome to the cat site. Do you have some pictures to share with us of your new addition to your family?

 

[amandag1]

Try some treats a little trail of them, some new toys and maybe spraying them with some Feliway.

 

[RJP1216]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I figured it would just take some time. The hissing just scared me haha. I will give your ideas a try and we all will definitely be working hard for her affection. I have attached a picture of her (Genevieve)

 

[fionasmom]

The kitten has no context for where she is yet. In our minds, she just got out of a shelter and into a nice home, but she has no understanding of what that means so she is wary. She will come to understand that you are her family and that she is safe. Almost every kitten that I have ever dealt with has hissed in the beginning but everyone came around eventually.

 

[stephanietx]

She is away for her littermates or friends at the shelter and in a totally new environment with new people, smells, sounds, and routine. She just needs time to decompress. Be patient with her and don't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, like don't pick her up or anything like that. I would suggest you NOT leave food out for her 24/7, but rather feed her small meals each time you go into the room to visit her. That way she comes to associate a positive thing (food) to you and you become a positive thing for her. Also, just sit in the room with her and read to her out loud. It can be whatever you're scrolling through on your phone, a book, the paper or a magazine. This allows her to become used to your scent and your voice. If you're physically able, sit on the floor so you're closer to her level. Play soft classical music for her if possible and get her a small stuffed animal for her to snuggle with. Also, get a calming pheremone diffuser such as Comfort Zone or Feliway and run it 24/7. This will help her relax. Get some interactive toys like wand toys or a laser pointer and use those to draw her out while you're in the room playing with her. Be sure to put them out of her reach when you leave the room. Leave small balls and other toys in the room for her to play with, though. Mostly, give her time, be patient, and she will blossom in your home.

 

[Elemteacherjoy]

If you aren't already, I would definitely add using a canned/wet food, especially while you are in the room. It's "fragrant" and more appealing to cats. Good luck with your new little sweetie. She is gorgeous!

 

[RJP1216]

So update from just a few minutes ago. Tried some wet food on a dish. She went up to it and smelled it.. looked like she was licking her chops but wouldn't eat. I sat with her for about 25 mins talking softly and trying to get her to eat the food but was not successful. I am using the food recommended by the foster mom but so far hasn't touched it. Won't eat her dry in the morning either. Water looks barely touched and litter box is empty. Going to take it slow and work at her pace. It's just so hard cause she's so soft I just want to pet her lol. But I'm going to be patient and buy her trust.

 

[mazie]

Have you tried Sheba wet? My cat is a VERY PICKY eater, so bad that after I adopted her 5 years ago, I too had to call where I got her, it was a shelter and they gave me a brand to try, so I got it, of course it did not work. Someone on this website mentioned Sheba and Fancy Feast, has been eating those 2 brands ever since!! FYI, Shba Trout flavor is her favorite. Hang in there!

 

[ArtNJ]

She will eat at 3am when the house is quiet and you haven't been in that room for hours.

As others have said, this is nothing abnormal. Some kittens can take up to a week or so even with patient owners, so just keep doing what you are doing and dont worry too much.

I don't agree with the shelters advice to keep her in the safe room for several weeks without considering how the kitten is doing. Keep her there until she feels safe and is much more trusting of you all, then maybe add couple days. However long that takes. My last kitten was insta-friendly and only spend 2 or 3 days in a safe room. Some may indeed take several weeks, and the way your kitten is reacting its possible, but my guess is that with you being patient, this will resolve within a week or so of arrival in your home, and you can tack on a couple of days to that to get the kitten more comfortable. Keep in mind that when you open the door, the kitten doesn't necessarily venture far for several days -- you won't force it.

As the kitten gets more comfortable, see if you can time allowing her out of the safe room with the weekend if you are off. Its nice for first time owners to be able to watch the kitten for a bit and see how their kitten proofing is holding up.

 

[Maria Bayote]

Awws she is very cute .

Give her time. You have got great advices above. She will come around. Just leave water and food for her and access to her litterbox. As others said, she is just scared.

Congratulations! Your kitty is adorable

 

[glittercat]

I had the same issue with mine when I got them as kittens. I got two sisters together and for the first few days they would hide away from me, one more so than the other. (They were meant to be 12 weeks old but vet thought they were nearer to 8 weeks).

I did what people here have advised and sat in my spare room with them, on the floor, and just read out loud initially to get them used to me. Dari would approach but if I tried to pet her, would run away. Feora hardly came near me at all!

By the end of the first week though they were venturing out around the house and getting much braver, having decided that I apparently wasn't out to eat them

I got my boy Anubis about a week later, again at about 12 weeks old. As the girls were out and about, he went into the spare room, partly so he could get used to their scent and again so he could get used to me. For the entire first 48 hours I didn't see him. He hid between the wall and the sofa bed whenever I went in and hissed like a furious, supremely upset kettle lol.

Took a couple of days after that but all settled after a week or so, including an introduction to the girls (which I did quite quickly but I felt they were all young enough to get on quickly).

First pic is Dari, being a tiny brave fluff on her second day with me. Second pic is Anubis now!!

Your kitty will be fine once she's settled in

 

[RJP1216]

Thank you everyone for your advice and replys. She started venturing out alot more yesterday. We played alittle bit and I even got the chance to pet her which she seemed to really enjoy. Still getting hisses at first but she seems to eventually warm up. Dealing with some middle of the night cry's which I'm trying to ignore but her being in our bedroom makes it difficult. Hopefully it's something she grows out of as well.

 

[Sylvia Jones]

How are things progressing?