New kitten’s behaviour

pmarsz666 · Jul 3, 2020

Hi, this is my first time posting on this website and I am on mobile so I apologise for any formatting issues.

I picked up my first kitten yesterday (03/07/20) and he was fine on the way home apart from being a little scared and he came out of the carrier fairly quick on his own too. For the first couple of hours he hid under the shoe rack so I sat close by until he was comfortable enough to come up to me. He lets me stroke and pet him and also plays with his toys.

He had eaten before we collected him but he didn’t eat the rest of the day and he hid in various corners and also napped. I know today is only the second day but I am worried as he isn’t eating as often as he should or drinking the water in his bowl and he hasn’t used the litter tray either. He peed once on the towel that he came with that has his mother’s scent on it and he puked a teeny bit this morning. I have been trying to show him how to use scratch posts but he ignores them.

He mostly just naps behind the sofa, nibbles on a bit of food and plays with some toys. When he gets in his litter tray he sniffs it and scratches at the tray liner and lifts it up to see underneath. He won’t let me lift him either.

His behaviour is not extremely concerning as I know he is nervous and scared and needs time to adjust but is there anything I can do to help him and how can I train him using positive enforcement if he won’t listen?

Thank you for reading.

ArtNJ · Jul 3, 2020

Since this is your first cat, lets start with sending a guide your way:

First-time Cat Owner’s Guide

Kitten could well be sick, especially if you got it from the street or a not great breeder so I won't discount that possibility. Unless you got a schedule of vet care from wherever you got the kitten from, you should take him in anyway for shots and such anyway. Watch the eating and puking, take him in if that persists regardless of the schedule, but otherwise sounds to me like the kitten is doing pretty well adjustment wise.

My opinion is that trying to show a cat the scratching post is very unhelpful, especially if you grab the paws and try to show them. It just stresses them out, makes a negative association. Praise them when they use the scratching post. You might need to try different kinds as well. Use a loud "no" when they scratch something else. Not the first few days. Can take a while for cats to get -- cat owners don't tend to have fancy furniture -- but they usually do pick it up eventually if you work at it. As far as the litter goes, normally they just get that on their own, although very young kittens do have some accidents. Folks that get kittens from a breeder and sometimes a shelter often get some of the food the kitten has been eating, just to take that issue out of the adjustment for a bit. Similarly, if you can match the box and litter, that takes an issue away. But normally none of that is a real problem unless you have an unusual litterbox or a fussy kitten.

game misconduct · Jul 3, 2020

i dont understand what you mean by train? if its using the litter box he should already know how to he will use it once he feels safe and comfortable enough to do so. if you try to force him to he will associate it with bad things then . patience is the key give him space and time to come around once he feels safe in his new home he will be out and about some cats just dont like to be held . best of luck you

Mamanyt1953 · Jul 3, 2020

And don't take that towel with mom's scent on it away from him. Don't wash it, either. Even if he pees on it, it can be washed later, when he is more confident.