How can I get my rescued kitten to open up?
I just got my new kitten, Minx. She is as cute as
she can be, but I’m worried about her behavior.
She spent the first month of her life in survival
mode, living under the shelter of a pipe drain,
until she was rescued. Now thats she’s here, she
seems to be okay, I mean happy to an extent. She
eats fine, and uses the litter box, but she is a
tiny kitten, and never plays. She is also very
timid. At the slightest thing she will run and
hide under the couch for hours. She even spends
the night there sometimes. I want her to be able
to open up and know that I am here to help her and
love her, but I also don’t want her to miss out
on the fun of her kitten years. What is the best
course of action to make her comfortable and
happy? Thanks.
Jess
Virginia
Cats, like people, have unique personalities. Some cats are outgoing and seemingly fearless (I picture many orange tabbies that I have known). Others are shy, easily frightened, and introverted. Either extreme, as well as anything in the middle, is completely normal. There’s nothing wrong with being shy.
It sounds like Minx had a rough life before you adopted her. Most pets with that sort of background are shy when they are adopted. Once they have a good home, many become more confident over time.
Also, remember that Minx is still a kitten. Just like shy children can grow into confident, outgoing adults, many shy kittens become more sociable and less skittish as they mature.
The best way to help Minx become more confident is to provide a stable home environment with plenty of love. Fortunately, most kittens are pretty lovable, so hopefully that task won’t be too much of a challenge.
It is most likely that, over time, Minx will grow out of her shyness. However, there is a small chance that no matter what you do she will continue to be shy and easily startled. If that happens, it does not mean that there’s anything wrong with her.
On a different subject, one thing you mentioned does trouble me slightly. It is Minx’s reluctance to play. This reluctance could be due to her shyness, but sometimes failure to play can be a sign of a medical problem. If you haven’t already taken her to the vet for a basic checkup, I recommend that you do so to make sure that her health is good.
You have questions. 
My rescue cat Al (who I adopted last November) hid behind the speakers in the spare room for about 3 weeks, and had no idea what to do with toys at all. I left some in his room and started petting him when I fed him. He acts like a proper looney kitten now, playing with toys and me and pushing his food bowl around and loving cuddles and tearing around the house like a furry ballistic missile.. He’s 4!!
I have had the great honor to rescue 8 cats in the last 35 years.
All of them except one (A black long black haired fellow in Labrador) was scared, shy and prefered solitude all the time.
After an average of 3 months I had cats jumping on laps, flying around corners, chasing lights on the wall and purring in my ears.
So just keep loving Minx and she will know that the pipe drain will never be her home again. Then be ready for the fun?
I adopted a 3 year old and a kitten 4 years ago (or shall I say they adopted me?) The baby was sweet and very playful from the start, and he continues to be. It took a lot longer for the 3 year old to come around- she was initially very sick, painfully shy and she also wouldn’t play or even show any interest in toys. After getting her back to good health it has taken awhile but she purrs, cuddles and talks with the best of them- and she and her brother chase each other around like lunatics!
Give Minx time to settle in and open up- even after 4 years I’m seeing new bits of their personalities ever day!
I use to live out on a farm (my grandfather still lives there so I visit daily) so we had our share of dropped off cats.My last loved kitty passed away about 2 years ago and there has not been a cat there since.That is until about a month ago someone dropped off a older female cat,and two kittens.When I first saw them they ran from me and when I got close they even growled.CAN OF TUNA FISH worked miracles.I did that for a few days and they let me make light circle pets on thier heads.I started buying them regular cat food now.They are all very friendly,they purr and meow for me,and let me pick them up,and they started playing around more.
I ‘rescued” a kitten 3+ years ago. I can pet her, literally, at arm’s length, I can’t pick her up, and she will not sit on my lap. But she will walk “through” me on the way to the window or something, so I don’t think she fears me. Is it too much to hope that “someday” she will sleep on my lap and cuddle?
We have a kitty who is around 2 years old. She has been “around” our house for1 3/4’s of a year. We finally got her to come in for her food. We shut the door on her. Now that we have had her fixed and her shots, she stays in one room. When she was afraid of us, I blocked off all places that she could get under, around, and behind to hide. This made it possible to interact with her. We have a childs gate at the door now, where at night or when ever, she can go out and look at the rest of the house, yet she knows that her “room” is her safe place from any of our other animals. We have since taken down the places blocked off, and she accepts us as her ‘parents” and interacts. She is not as close yet as our other “children”, yet it has been only a month and a half since she came in our house. It takes alot of time to interact with a ferral cat. but with soft words, slow movements, and kitty treats it, I believe, will only be a matter of time.
Charley came to me as a feral kitten after a hurricane-yes, he lived through a direct hit! He’s 4 now, & still hates rain & thunder-gets in the bathtub! (smarty) He hides under the bed when someone comes to the door, or the garbage truck is in the complex. He’s NOT a lapcat-he’ll tolerate it a couple minutes at most, then struggle out of my arms. But he DOES like to lay on my feet, or the back of my chair. He shows in lots of ways he loves me, on his terms, & I am content (usually) to follow his rules! When HE wants to play, I get a workout, but when he’s done, he just stares at me like I’M crazy. LOL! He’s kind of picky about toys-no balls, mainly small mice, & sometimes the laser light-until he realizes again he never catches it! Give Minx a little time & space. Charley preferred to sleep under the bed for months, & still will, but not as often. Minx will eventually let you know what she likes, & how SHE wants to interact. Just keep loving her!
sounds like she might not really know how to play. it seems some cats that don’t have very much human contact don’t know how to play like we do. and some are natually timid. we have a 10-year-old who doesn’t like groups of more than 5 people in the same room and never has. at the other extreme, we have a 1-year-old who greets EVERYONE who comes to the door and always has. when she gets more used to human contact, i’m sure she’ll be less to worry about on that aspect. you should probably make sure she does have a safe place to hide when she gets scared. sounds like under the couch works well. for our 10-year-old, she hides in my parents’ room because it’s “off limits” to pretty much everyone. i’m sure she’ll come out of her shell eventually, at least enough to make you feel better. hope things go well!
I have a rescued cat who is almost 3 years old, he is still very timid and runs at every noise, I haven’t even been able to pick him up as he runs away….He will come on my bed and wants to be petted but if I get to close away he goes. I can’t even get him to the vet so he isn’t fixed and sprays everywhere. I am at my wits end not knowing how to comfort him and make him less scared. he gets along great with my old female cat and plays with her and his toys, but really won’t let me get near him. I keep thinking he will come around but I am losing hope fast. I really don’t want to give him away, but am thinking that maybe our personalities just don’t jive.
I work at a no-kill cat shelter where we see our share of scared, semi-feral, or grieving cats and kittens. We put Bach flower remedies into the waterbowls and I have seen it do great things, especially for the timid. We had a very timid cat returned to the shelter for the third time because of being too timid. In her second home, she lived under a bed for more than a year, refusing to come out even to use a box. She was given Bach flowers Mimulus and Aspen in her water for the time that she was with us. Slowly, she started to come out of her cage and play with toys and even enjoy being pet. She was with us for some months before a couple decided to take her home. She is now in a home sleeping ON the bed with her new family after being there less than a month. You can find information about Bach flowers on line or there are several books on the market.
i once in a while get stray kittens in my back yard i must be a mommy magnet or it is because i have 2 of my own they have never been parents so that means hey are fixed but when i do get a baby i bring it in and give him or her free range of the first floor wich is quite large so the can have plenty of places to hide i put old clean towels in hidden corners and let them come out when they are ready it usually takes about 2 days before we see em and we all fuss and koo and put treats here and there and make little toys out of ribbon they love paper bags and boxes i have a 7 week old he’s been here about a week and hes my lil cry baby he meows when he wants to be held and we caddle and koo him and he was even litter trained by the 3rd day he doesnt have a name because he is going to a home when i find someone i aprove of patients is wonderfull praise everything and fuss fuss fuss
My beloved cat BUTTONS was farrel when I got her off the street. She was about 3 months old. She is now 16. I just let her have the run of the house. I didnt bother her. I let her do what she wanted. Then one morning I woke up and she was sleeping snugly against my let. I said hi kitty and touched her with one finger. She ran. Next day same thing, this happened for several days. Then finally I was able to touch her with my whole hand. This all took about 2 months. She never became a lap kitty but she is the LOVE OF MY LIFE and I do mean love. Just let them be … they will do it in their own time on their own terms. It always works great that way.