Suddenly nervous kitten

[malt]

Hi there, it's me again... Recently my friend and I took in an abandoned/neglected cat and her two kittens. I am keeping the Mama cat, we found a home for one kitten, and my friend is keeping the other kitten, Phil. Phil was the more quiet and reserved kitten, but she wasn't really shy or skittish - I think she was just overshadowed by her more rambunctious sister. My friend loves this kitten, but unfortunately she is about to miss the next 2 or so months of Phil's life - last week she broke both her ankles in an accident at work D: Our house is the opposite of wheelchair accessible, so she has to stay with her parents until her ankles are healed. I'm happy to look after Phil, she's a lovely kitten. But my friend's parents came and spent 2 days and 1 night at our house, and since they left, Phil has been uncharacteristically skittish. If you approach her, she runs, and she cringes when you try to pat her. She's okay with me about 40 or 50% of the time, but 3 days ago she loved me 100% of the time. The parents didn't seem the kind to mistreat animals - her mother especially really took a shine to Phil, she kept picking her up and giving her snuggles. But even if they did do something on purpose there's nothing I can do to prove it, so it's moot anyway. Whatever upset her only upset her; Mama is more friendly every day. 

What the woof could have happened to Phil?? My friend thinks one of them might have accidentally kicked her or stepped on her tail. I really have no clue except suddenly Phil is suddenly scared of people. What might have happened? And more importantly, is there any way I can aide in restoring her trust in us to get back the friendly kitty we had? Thanks for your time. 

 

[ondine]

A short visit like that may simply have disturbed Phil.  All cats like routine and that probably upset the routine in the house.  It may not have been anything specific they did - just their short, whirlwind presence in the house.  Just like some people, some cats need routine more than others - which is why her sister didn't seem fazed by the visit.

Having said that, however, I will add that if you have ANY inkling that your friend's parents hurt Phil, please be careful about letting them spend time with her.  It isn't fair to her to expose her to possible danger.

 

[mservant]

It may be that this more skittish kitten has been upset by the brief iinvasion in to her new home by strange people and this has left a little shyness that she needs to overcome again.  It is also possible she has gotten underfoot accidently, as kittens do, and people haven't realized she has been there.  This can give cats and kittens a big fright, and they can be injured in the process without anyone knowing.  There is another alternative which has little to do with your visitors and much to do with her being a kitten: they get up to allsorts and are very prone to getting injured in the process.  Something could have fallen on to her, or she could have fallen off something and hurt herself hitting a corner or something hard.  It could have been in play or running about anxious when your visitors were there.  

She may need nothing more than some patience and time to relax with you again. Being quiet around her and encourage her to come to you by talking to her, reading to her, fiddling with her toys to try and attract her attention without being directly inviting and threatening her.   However, give thought to whether she may be cringing when you pat her or avoiding contact because of pain and if there is any chance she might have been hurt a visit to your vet would not be a waste of time.  Mouse was VERY well aquainted with his vets by the time he was 9 months old (and I only got him when he was 4 months)!

 

[lamiatron]

Sounds like the brief visit might have freaked Phil out a bit. it was an impromptu change to her routine.I don't think your friend's parents would have done anything to harm her.

My cat Jet, a former stray, gets extra skittish and nervous when my room mates have guests, and they dont even interact with her or see her. she will stay in my room the whole time, and hear their voices and it makes her feel uneasy, along with skittish and nervous for a couple days afterwards.

I agree with what @MServant  as well as @Ondine  said. Give kitty more time and patience.

Also here is something to consider:

has Phil ever been around males?? i mean Men, with deep voices? cats tend to feel more comfortable with women, because our voice frequency and pitch is similar to cats, and around men, some cats actually feel quite nervous, because they have deep voices. Cats are sensitive to sound. Again, case in point, my Jet. She gets nervous around my BF. He constantly has to talk in a soft voice to her or around her so she doesn't get too nervous. One of my room mates' BF Jet is totally scared of. He's tall and has a deep voice like Paul Bunyon hahaha. she can NEVER get used to him. But the point i'm trying to make, if your friend's Dad is the first man that Phil has ever come in contact with, that could have freaked her out and made her more skittish.

I would recommend keeping some calming treats on hand. The next time your friend's parents decide to visit, you can give it to Phil, or they can give it to Phil, to provide her with some immediate relief from the stress. Also if they give her treats, she might be more inclined to stick around and try to bond with them. Maybe ask your friend's dad to speak softy with Phil or around Phil if they come over again...

 

[malt]

Ahh, thank you all! She has a vet appointment on Friday to get her stitches out, so I will bring it up then, ask him to do a phyiscal checkup while we're there to make sure she's not injured. I don't think she is - when I let them into the garden for a romp she was running and climbing all over everything, and all yesterday she kept trying to bait Mama into playfighting. 

Like I said, I don't think her parents would have hurt her, not on pupose at least. They almost certainly won't be staying here again - it was just a one-off thing because of my friend being hospitalised. But if they ever do I will keep the cats away from them - just in case. 

Phil has been around men before - they all have - but I know what you mean about cats not liking men!! I can tell Mama doesn't really like my boyfriend simply because he's so loud. And my cat Jasmine is a total misandrist! If there is a man in the house we may as well not have a cat. She hates men.

What I think might have happened to Phil is one of them didn't see her and accidentally kicked her as they were walking along. Because her main problem is an upright human approaching while she is on the floor (although yesterday she ran away when I was sitting on the couch and just looked at her... O_O)

I'll give her some time and see how she goes. She's not so upset she won't come and sleep on my bed with me or play with me. Although she is trying to suckle a lot and Mama is letting her - she's over 3 months old now and has been eating proper food for a while now, so suckling is a comfort thing at this point. Usually when she tries Mama kicks her in the face, but yesterday she must have drank her own weight in milk. So I think Mama knows she needs comfort as well. I'll give her treats and gentle attention and we'll see how she does. Thanks all. 

 

[mservant]

If her stitches are recent spay it could be down to that too as she will have had that trauma as well as strange people in her home.  They might have tried to be friendly and touched her where she was a bit sensitive or anything.  Also, hormones are still racing around for a bit after the surgery so she could be a little different because of that.  Sounds like her fur mom is taking good care of her and offering extra comfort too so she is a very lucky girl - very few young cats have moms there for them by that age.  (Mouse did and I'm sure that is one reason he is so confident now).  It's good to have the vet appointment lined up as if she doesn't settle by the end of the week you know she can have a good check up to reassure you.

Lots of night time cuddles will help her I am sure.