Regret Taking A Kitten

[lunaleopard]

*Hello Everyone,

I thought I'd post here because this is the only place I think I will get good advice on what to do. Yesterday, I adopted an 8 week old kitten. I was taking only one because I have 2 other cats and I thought that I could only handle one more. I regret separating him from his family sooooooooo much! I think I should take him back and let him live with his litter a few more weeks. I want to do this but I got him from a town 3 hours away. (I got him while visiting family). I know that I could take him back but everyone is telling me I am overreacting. I think he is lonely and if I take him back quickly maybe his mom won't have forgotten him. Everyone is saying "it's too late, you already have him" like it's pointless to return him and then take him away again. But he is crying and very unhappy in his little room I have set aside for him. And sometimes I can't seem to comfort him. But he seems ok as long as I am playing with him. Now that I have him, I know he wasn't fully weaned. When I took him I cried because I was separating him from his family. I felt like the worst person ever. But my husband said it would be ok because we've had younger cats that were just found outside. What should I do? Should I take him back or just accept what I've done? Would his mom accept him again?

 

[Jcatbird]

I’m so sorry this is upsetting you. I can only tell you what I have experienced myself. I know others have posted that a cat could refuse taking a kitten back but I have reunited cats with kittens that were separated for two weeks. You don’t mention if it is a tame or feral kitten. I work mostly with ferals. I can’t guarantee you that Mom will accept the baby but if you are this upset you can try. I’d suggest that getting two kittens is very helpful. They offer each other comfort and support. It would make things much better for you and for them. You could just go back to see what happens on the assumption that if Mom refuses ,you need to see which brother or sister your baby is bonded to and bring both back home. If you attempt to reunite the kitten and Mom then you must make sure the kitten is accepted before leaving it. At eight weeks she may be starting to wean them. In that case she may be beginning to pull away from them a bit. I would give her a little time with the kitten before judging whether or not she is going to accept it. I have seen kittens as old as twelve weeks be accepted back. I have seen adult cats get reunited and accept each other. A lot of this depends on the individual. If you decide not to try a reunion then you can help the kitten at home by giving it more attention. If it is in a room by itself then it is lonely. I sleep with the kittens beside me or put a warmer with them. If your other kitties accept it, they may also act as a surrogate Mom. Even male cats will do this sometimes. Make sure you feed the baby often too. Feeding is also a part of getting comfort and reassurance for a kitten. They need that closeness very often. You could try holding the baby at some of the feedings. I wish I could give you a straight yes or no answer but it may vary. It is hard to take a baby from a mom. I do understand your feelings. I generally believe that we should trust our instincts. If you feel the kitten is really suffering then take a chance and make that drive. If the kitten is doing well but just lonely then you need to compensate for that. One other thing that I do with lonely babies is to sit down and put them under the edge of my shirt. They are comforted by hearing our heartbeat and the closeness.
I hope this helps. I’m glad you came to the site. You are very welcome here and I am sure that others will be posting with their experiences and other information for you. Please check back and also update us so we know how things are going. I think it’s great that you are willing to love and adopt another kitty. No matter what you decide, you’re great!

 

[lunaleopard]

Thank you for your advice Jcatbird! I truly am upset about taking him. I will never adopt just one cat again.

 

[talkingpeanut]

I think it would be best to keep the kitten, and to consider getting a second kitten his age. Returning the kitten to an owner that let him go too early isn’t a great solution either, because you can’t guarantee the care he’d get. It will also be another big change traveling three hours, and then he would need to resettle at your house again. He will adjust, and your cats will help him to learn cat manners.

 

[lunaleopard]

I know he would receive good care where he was from. I took him partly to help out his owner. She has two small children and adopted a stray. She took her to get spayed but was was too late. Having 6 cats run around as well as children was getting to be too much for her so I partially thought i was helping her. The part that is killing me is that he is lonely. I may go get one of his siblings. I am just nervous about having four cats in one apartment that is just under 1000 square feet.

 

[kittyluv387]

An 8 week old kitten won't like being alone in a room. I don't think any kitten would really. But quarantine is a must so there's no way around that.

 

[lunaleopard]

I'm going to take the kitten back tomorrow. What's the best to make sure he is going to be regected by his mother?

 

[talkingpeanut]

I would really recommend against it... He smells totally different now, and like other cats. Cats depend far more on smell than on sight.

 

[lunaleopard]

really want to try Talkingpeanut. I think it's worth a try and maybe it will work. Jcatbird said that there have been duccsucces reintroductions after 2 weeks. Please any advice on how to increase the chances of her accepting him would be sooooooo appreciated!

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't know of any way to increase the acceptance chances.... wait, actually I take that back. You could, when you get there, obtain a blanket/towel that's been slept on by mama kitty and the baby crew, and wrap your little one in it for a few minutes to try and transfer the blanket smells to your kitten.

Alternately, if you keep him, get a heartbeat toy or a ticking clock (you can muffle the ticking with a towel if it's too loud). Also if you aren't already, have a heating pad set on low with a couple towels over it. Additionally take a sock, partly fill it with dry rice, beans or corn grits, gently heat it (test on your skin) and let him snuggle with it. The sock will need to be maintained so maybe have a couple extra ready to be heated, or used depending on his needs.

Also try low volume classical harp music, or see if MusicForCats . com has something for kittens.

 

[golondrina]

An 8 week old kitten won't like being alone in a room. I don't think any kitten would really. But quarantine is a must so there's no way around that.

Why must quarantine be a must? There are no other cats in lunaleopard's home are they? When I adopted my young cat Sombra a year ago they recommended at the shelter that I should keep her in a room for sometime and introduce her gradually to the rest of the appartment. I didn't do that at all. Sombra was delivered to me at 6 o'clock in the evening. At first she hid away from me under the sideboard but she couldn't resist the ping pong balls I started throwing around and soon came out after them. To cut the story short by the time I went to bed 3 hours later she followed me to the bedroom and slept with me that very first night. She had the run of the whole appartment from the very first day.

No wonder the little one was lonely and cried if, after separating him from mom and siblings, he was kept in a room all by himself! Adopting a sibling would not only solve the problem of his loneliness but would also further help lunaleopard's friend which was after all the initial reason for adpting him.

 

[lunaleopard]

I do have two other cats. They are both female. I isolated hum to protect him.

 

[kittyluv387]

Why must quarantine be a must? There are no other cats in lunaleopard's home are they? When I adopted my young cat Sombra a year ago they recommended at the shelter that I should keep her in a room for sometime and introduce her gradually to the rest of the appartment. I didn't do that at all. Sombra was delivered to me at 6 o'clock in the evening. At first she hid under the sideboard but she couldn't resist the ping pong balls I started throwing around and came out after them. To cut the story short by the time I went to bed 3 hours later she followed me to the bedroom and slept with me that very first night. She had the run of the whole appartment from the first day.

No wonder the little one was lonely and cried if he was kept in a room all by himself! Adopting a sibling would not only solve the problem of his loneliness but would also further help lunaleopaard's friend which was after all the initial reason.

She has 2 other cats! Well I’m just concerned about diseases the new cat might have. It’s hard but I do believe in quarantine. At the very least the newcomer should get a vet check up. I would hate for the new cat to spread something like FELV.

 

[Furballsmom]

Have you had a chance to try any of my ideas above yet? Even if you take him back, try them anyway, he'll be more comfortable

 

[lunaleopard]

I'm going to try the harp music later tonight furballsmom. I will try the heating pad now

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[golondrina]

I do have two other cats. They are both female. I isolated hum to protect him.

I am sorry lunaleopard, I don't know how I missed this info. Please excuse my error. I hope the suggestions in this thread will help you take a satisfactory decision.

 

[She's a witch]

So many people adopt 8 weeks old kittens and they're totally ok with it, thank you for noticing that kitten this age is simply too young to be separated without important reason. If it were me, I'd probably take him back and stay there for a while making sure his mom accepts him. If she won't, well, I'd bring him back to your home together with one of his siblings. And hopefully when you introduce them to your older cats they will replace their family and teach them everything there is to be taught.
I hope the person you got him from will not decide to separate the rest of this litter at this age, they should stay together at least for another month and then, preferably, adopted in pairs. Kittens do so much better in pairs.
Best of luck!

 

[lunaleopard]

Here is a picture of him with some of his siblings. I will let everyone know how it goes. He is the black kitten and I named him Osiris.

 

[Furballsmom]

Gracious they're darling!!