I am desperate. I bought an 8 week old applehead siamese male kitten on Saturday. This kitten wants absolutely nothing to do with anyone. He stays under my king-sized bed unless we aren't home, sleeping or otherwise thinks no one is around. He cries constantly...it ranges from frantic and loud to soft, sad and confused. Last night was his second night with me and he literally cried all night. He didn't eat for at least 24hrs, nor did he use the litter box. I finally pushed the food dish under the bed along with the water. I also put the litter box RIGHT beside the bed. I heard him eating and I'm sure he probably drank too. I saw that he had pawed around in the litter...but didn't actually use it. I've tried picking him up a few times when I've been able to get him without making it traumatic and he wants nothing to do with me. He'll put up with it for about 30 seconds and then starts clawing and squirming. No purring...no following me around...just this scared kitty under my bed. Help? What should I do?
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Purrs
PLEASE - Need help with my new baby kittent
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This is normal--he's afraid of his new surroundings. You are doing the right thing by putting the food, water & litter near his hiding place. After a few days you can start moving it a bit farther away--eventually he will get used to the new sights and smells. He is missing his mom and littermates, and since Siamese are very vocal he is letting you know it! He will adjust--just don't push him. Talk softly to him and don't panic or force yourself on him. This is why most reputable breeders socialize their kittens--my daughter and I used to work with a breeder doing this. 8 weeks is a bit young to sell the kittens--good breeders will wait until about 12 weeks. Again, time is what's needed---he will soon be very attached to you, as Siamese do bond with their humans.
Posted 2 years ago by Sheba's Mom in Phoenix, AZ 10/8 #
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Thank you Katthays and Sheba's mom. It's been a LONG time since I had a kitten...and I was young so I dont remember all the ups and downs my parents probably went through with our beloved family siamese. I've had a handful of kitties in my life and I loved them all like family members...I know how to handle kittens and cats...but never have I had a cat cry so much AND not want anything to do with me. I can't even comfort the poor little guy. I've had some kitties that cried a lot in the beginning...but they were also very clingy so at least I was able to feel like I was helping the kitten/cat through the hard time. This time...I can't seem to do anything to help him through...and meanwhile my family and I aren't getting a lot of sleep. I also feel very misled by the breeder. I thought I found a good one in a nearby town. Her website described the home/family environment in which her kittens were raised in and made it sound like she was a very experienced naturalist...which is what I was looking for. I didn't want an overbred, frail kitty...I've had problems with this in the past. I also didn't want a cat who came from a 'cattery' type of situation. I made the mistake of taking my kids with me...once I got there...there was no escape...my kids would have been crushed had I walked away. Basically I was not allowed to go downstairs to where the kitties were...they were brought upstairs as her brother in law was working on remodeling the house. The woman's 3 year old daughter was like a little kitty natzi..I could NOT believe how she was handling the kittens...very rough...so now I understand why the website said, 'raised in a family environment and kid-friendly'...poor little babies. So I think that this kitten probably spent all it's days with mommy and litter mates with the occasional torture from the toddler. The weird thing was that when the little girl was so roughly handling the kittens...they didn't really fight her.
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Also...I didn't know that 8 weeks was too young. I feel so foolish...I trusted that this lady knew what she was doing. When I got there...I asked her what she was feeding them...she kind of shrugged and said she was using this brand I'd never heard of and that she ran out and was short on time and picked up Cat's Pride or something like that. I then asked her what type of litter the kitties were using...and again she basically said whatever was on sale. All red flags... So that being said...I bought Iams...but the store didn't have the kitten formula, so out of desperation because of the hour I bought the original Iams chicken formula and I thought since they had been eating Cat's Pride that the Iams would probably be just fine. But now that you say that he's a little young...should I buy him something different to eat?
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This lady was running a kitten mill. You rescued that baby, in addition to purchasing him. Thank God for you! And quit beating yourself up about what SHE was doing. You're the one in possession of an applehead Siamese angel. He's lonely and unhappy and he needs to eat and poop and make new friends. You can help him through all of that, and grow your own little snuggle-monster Siamese.
As for the food: Please go get some Iams Kitten Chow or Nutra Max Kitten Chow. That will help. Make the call to PetSmart, PetCo, or your local grocer concerning availability.
My next piece of advice would be to close the door of the bedroom, stay in there on the floor next to the bed, reading something. Make sure the room is quiet, and let the kitten get used to your scent and your presence. If at all possible, stay there for a few hours. Ask everyone to keep the noise down in the house.
Have some unflavored yogurt with you. The kitten will eventually creep out and share it with you. He will start associating you with peace and good food. Please don't give up on that baby. The little guy just needs some time and patience.
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Poor little baby - he probably hasn't been around humans enough to trust them. He'll get use to you and things will get better but it will take time. He's very young to be away from his mom - some of the purebred varieties need 12-16 weeks with mom to learn all they need to know. Make sure that you are providing him with food he is use to. Did the breeder tell you what she was feeding him? Whatever it was, he was probably not quite weaned either. You may want to get a little bit of Kitten formula to augment his food with. Never give a kitten cow's milk - they can't digest it.
Here are a few suggestions to make it easier on both you and him.
1. Don't try to push him to go faster than he's comfortable with.
2. Talk to him a lot. If you can take the time, sit on the floor beside the bed and read to him. If you normally read the newspaper, read it aloud by the bed. Or read the cookbook to him. It doesn't matter what, just let him hear your voice a lot.
3. When he talks to you, talk back to him.
4. When you aren't able to read to him, leave a radio on. Something easy with announcements between the songs is good.
5. If he's sleeping beneath the bed, push something that smells like you under there for him to nest in. Maybe your nightgown, or a sweatshirt. Something comfy that you've worn recently. If you share the bed with a someone, add their jammies or T-shirt to kitty's nest in a few days.
6. Let him get comfortable with one person at a time picking him up.
7. In a few days, try putting something tasty (plain yogurt, tuna juice, wet cat food, etc.) on your fingers and then put your arm under the bed. Don't try to pick him up, just let him lick your fingers.
8. When you do pick him up, as soon as he starts squirming put him back into his safe place. That way he learns that being picked up doesn't mean being moved to a scary place.
9. Keep his food and water under the bed but slowly move it closer to the edge. Each time you pull the bowls out to fill them, put them back a few inches closer to the edge.
10. If he's not coming out to use his litter box, put that under the bed too. Just make sure it's on the opposite end of where the food is. Cats, like most animals, aren't too keen about eating in their bathroom.
If you can spend lots of time with him on his terms for the next 5-7 days, he should get comfortable with you. Then you'll have an active, happy and vocal little boy to love and play with.
Posted 2 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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Make sure the litter box is not too high for him, and the dishes, too. Size his world to his stature. He will feel more comfortable with little kitty sized dishes and litter.
And Siamese rock! They are the most affectionate little creatures in the world: loud, opinionated, smart, funny, super-affectionate and wonderful.
Give him and you and your family time to get this situation under control, and you will be SO rewarded!
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Wow...thank you so much for the advice and the support. I've been beating myself up. I went home to check on Jackson over my lunch break. He was sleeping in the bedroom of course...I shut the door this morning. I bought him a small kitten sized litter box...but I may re-think that since he must like to play in the litter! There is a full radious of spilled litter all the way around the box...but no urine or poop in the box...so he still hasn't gone yet. As soon as I came in he started crying...not quite as frantically as he was last night...but you know...cats are nocturnal. He was sleeping on the fluffy towel I had set out for him at the edge of the bed...underneath. Previously if I looked under the bed...he would slowly back up...all the way to the head of the bed so that I couldn't even see him. This time he stayed on the towel near the edge of the bed. He didn't move...of course I interrupted his cat nap. I walked around talking and made my lunch. He continued to cry...and I answered him too. Then he started making this really weird meow...almost like talking so I went in the bedroom and he was meowing/crying AND drinking water at the same time! I knealt down to look at him...the water is also by the edge of the bed...and he looked at me...but kept crying/drinking water...didn't retreat. Then he did a kitty stretch...the first time I've seen him do anything that would indicate that he was ok...and then circled the towel and laid down. I did leave the bedroom door open since no one will be home until later tonight. I just live in an apartment and I shut all the other doors so he can really only explore my room, the living room and the kitchen. I will definitely stop at the store before I go home and get him the proper food. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess it's been at least 5 yrs since I had a cat and I'm out of practice. We loved our siamese kitties growing up...and my grandmother had himalayans...I fell in love with their personalities. Most cats act like they own the place...but boy with siamese...it's personified and I find it delightful! I cannot wait to finally get to see my kitty's real personality. It's got to be in there somewhere.
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Just parroting what I have read here before... can you get Jackson a stuffed toy to snuggle with ? Something about his size but without eyes/nose that can be pulled/bitten off and swallowed.
He sounds wonderful! And we are all about pictures !!! That is ... when he comes out from under the bed. :)
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food wise, wet food is better. good brands for dry and wet food are blue buffalo, instinct, wellness, EVO, and natural balance. i'd avoid Iams because it has so much corn, science diet because it has so little meat, nutro doesn't use much meat either, though it is better than science diet.
i stay away from wheat/corn/soy in any cat food. dry food the best stuff has at least two meats listed first (such as chicken and chicken meal, avoid any by-products because it indicates bad quality). any dry food with wheat/corn/soy for me is out. wet food - stay away from veggies/fruits in it. first five ingrediants should be something like chicken, chicken broth, turkey, basically any meat (fish can cause problems later in life). some brands use water because its cheap, but also cats don't like it as much, something like chicken broth is better. meat by-products are okay if not first few ingrediants.
i know petsmart has blue buffalo. petco has wellness. feed stores (farm supply stores) tend to have the high quality foods. some fancy feast flavors are good, the gourmet chicken (pink box) is good. authority is also good for the price, they have cheap wet food and has pretty good ingrediants.
Posted 2 years ago by furryfriends50 #
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You might want to leave the bedroom door shut for a few more days. When cats get older they generally don't like being closed out of anything, but while they are still little, it gives them a little more secure feeling. There's just so much new stuff to smell and check out and they tend to do better when they only have to memorize one room at a time. Of course, once he's comfortable with your room, he'll want to rule the entire house.
Posted 2 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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Oh, and if you are using clumping litter, consider using something else while Jackson is tiny. The ones that like to play in the litter sometimes ingest it. There have been a few cases of kittens eating clumping litter which then clumps in their tummies.
Posted 2 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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Many others have already given you good advice. I'd strongly recommend feeding him high-quality wet food for now, keeping him confined to the bedroom for the next 3-5 days, separating his food & water from the litterbox as much as possible, and switching to a plain clay litter (non-clumping). If you haven't seen poop within 3 days of him arriving home & eating, you'll need to get him to the vet. After food, stimulate him with a warm, damp washcloth on the behind and then set him in the litterbox.
Sit on the floor of the bedroom and read a chapter in a book. Read the first paragraph out loud, if you'd like. Talk to him in a high-pitched tone of voice; use his name frequently, especially when you get to pet him or put food down for him.
Good luck!
Posted 2 years ago by anncetera2 #
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Hi KST, welcome to TDK! Little Jackson sounds adorable, I hope he settles in well. Please keep posting and telling us about him!
I can't add to the excellent advice you've already received, but agree that the woman you got him from sounds highly suspicious - don't know how these things work in the States, but is there some Federal animal welfare body you could report her to?
Posted 2 years ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #
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God bless YOU! You saved this kitten from untold horrors! Its gonna be rough at first but please hang with the kitten. He needs you more than you know. He is terrified and needs his mommy. I don't normally adopt kittens either, I am a sucker for the older abadoned ones. Please come here often and don't be afraid to ask ANY questions! We love kittens and are willing to help any way we can. We have folks with a wide range of knowledge here and someone always knows the answer to your question. Lots of love and patience I say and your baby will grow into a beautiful young cat before you know it! Welcome to this great cat community, we are so glad you came to us!
Posted 2 years ago by mollycat71 #
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I just want to take a minute to thank all of the posters with the great advice and support. My work day is almost over and I'm heading to the store to get a few things for the kitty. I will respond more later and let you know how the night goes...I just wanted to make sure to thank everyone for taking the time to give me such great, detailed, intelligent and loving advice. This morning when I got up I was so upset...I didn't know what to do...I definitely feel a renewed motivation and hope that Jackson will be ok and grow into a normal healthy kitty.
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KST, welcome to TDK! Everyone here is all about kitties!! Jackson sounds like he's a little wonderkitty! My first kitty baby was an applehead siamese, too.
KMR with wet kitten formula food may be tastier for Jackson. Has he had a checkup with the vet?I am concerned about your posts that he hasn't used the litter box yet ~ it is important that he "poops and pees" ~ you might have to stimulate/rub gently his little bum with a warm washcloth to get him to go ~ it is similar to what his mom would do for him...
Keep us posted on his progress! If you can take pics, we'd love to see the little guy! -
Good evening Ladies! Well it looks like it will be another long night...although we did make progress. I'm in bed on my laptop and Jackson is crying to varying degrees and it's constant. Here is the progress though...he came out from underneath the bed! He has come right up to me, but will still not allow me to touch him...if I make one move towards him...he's outta there. But he is looking at me and giving me some signs that he will eventually trust me. I also got to see a glimpse of playfullness...a first since I brought him home. I went to Petsmart and bought the kitten formula, a can of kitten wet food and the Blue kitten dry food that was suggested. I do think he is constipated, but I think things are still moving. I cleaned out his litter box to find that he did in fact go pee...and there were 'chunks' of poop in there...though they looked a little small and hard. I put the new dryfood in his dish and he cried and ate at the same time. Then I mixed alittle over a spoonful of the wet food with a small amount of the formula...and he ate every single drop...he also drank a fair amount of water. Oh wow...he just clawed his way up to the bed. When he can't see me or hear me his cries seem to get a bit more frantic. But he just climbed up here, possible got frightened and got down and now he is crying again. Oh well...that was short lived! I would like for him to come to bed with me so I can keep him warm and help him feel safe...and so that we can get some sleep! I am still concerned about the whole constipation thing though...I will keep my eye on it and as soon as he will let me...I'll try the washcloth trick. Also...I don't have any pics of Jackson! My camera battery is dead and he hasn't given me much of an opportunity. The lady I bought him from though has a pic of him on her website, I'll see if I can post the link. Oh now we've discovered a new skill, climbing up and down the bed and seeing if we have the courage to snuggle up to the new mommy!
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Just skimmed through this post.
Thank you for taking on this little challenge, you did rescue this baby. Your efforts will be well worth it in the end.
Play can be a good way of helping socialize a kitten. As he does not like to be touched at this point, maybe try just a long dangly string type toy (of course can be home made) that he will follow as you move, soon he will follow the string all the way to you :)
Hope he lets you sleep a little.Posted 2 years ago by Tigerlilly #
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Jackson sounds like he's becoming brave! This is a good development.
As far as not being able to pet him, I'm not surprised. If all the handling he's ever received before you has been rough, with his legs dangling and him crying for his mama, then that means he's probably afraid of human hands. Your job is to help him learn to not be afraid of your hands. Hands are for petting and praise and gentle handling, nothing else. (When playing with him, always use a toy - your hands are not playthings.)
I highly recommend sitting on the floor against the wall, with a shallow saucer that has a tablespoon of plain, unsweetened yogurt plopped in the middle. Hopefully, he'll find this irresistible to investigate. (Plan to do this once a day for the next 3 or 4 days.) The first time, when he comes out to lap it up, don't make a move toward him; just say his name in a friendly way a lot, and tell him what a brave kitty he is, and tell him how good the yogurt tastes. This will help him associate you, your voice & presence with good things like yogurt.
The next time, put the saucer in your lap, and dip your finger in it. Hold your finger close to the ground, talk all nice with him, and encourage him to sniff your finger and then lick off the yogurt. Next time, more of the same, but do it with all 4 fingers of your dominant hand. The fourth time, you should be able to pet him gently while he's lapping up the yogurt from the saucer.
Soon, he will come to associate your hands not just with yogurt or food, but with being petted. I'm sure he'll come around quickly!
Posted 2 years ago by anncetera2 #
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Welcome to TDK, KSTN. Good luck with your little Jackson. The TDKers have all given great advice. It sounds like his is making progress with your help.
Posted 2 years ago by SammyandOliversmama #
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So last night Jackson cried all night again...but it was a little different. He was active in the bedroom, playful and was getting into things...typical kitten-type behavior albeit he was crying the whole time. We had two breakthrough's last night/early morning. Last evening I opened the bedroom door and went into the dining room (I live in an apartment). He came right out, crying, but came out and explored the living room, dining room and hallway. He walked right by me...fairly close and even displayed a little playfulness. I could tell that he really wanted attention from me, but he was just too scared to give in. I didn't try anything with him...just kept talking. I went to bed admidst the cries and just tried to sleep. He kept crying, climbing up onto the bed and looking at me, but staying at the edge...if my hand made any move towards him he ran off the bed. I've tried hand flat on the bed, hand open, hand folded under...I think ANNCETERA@ is right about the hand thing. Anyway...around 6:00 a.m. He finally clawed his way onto the bed, and curled up right beside my pillow and fell asleep...like really asleep. Of course my alarm clock went off...didn't even startle him which was surprising. BUT He let me pet him! Not like a normal kitty though...definitely afraid of my hands...but wants them too. AND he started purring! He was the most comfortable with me petting his back and backside...then he rolled over for tummy rubbing, but he didn't stay that way for long and you could tell he was still nervous about the whole thing. He didn't really want me touching his head like most cats love...but I think it will come. What I really want is for the crying to stop. Anyone have any thoughts as to when or IF the constant crying will end?
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You are making great progress! Now, I have never been owned by a meezer but I have a friend who always has had them. I know from being around them that they are VERY vocal. You described previously that he had a "different" meow, almost like talking. Well, that is what my friends cats do all the time. I think his crying will calm down as he feels more comfortable, but you should expect the "talking" to go on - forever!
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Yea! Jackson is making progress! NNGM is right, meezers are very vocal ~ my boy was vocal his whole life, and I would just meow right back at him. We had 'kitty conversations' all the time ;-) When mine was a baby, he would get right up by my neck next to my ear at night and knead his little paws, purr and lick my neck until he fell asleep; maybe Jackson will soon be sleeping next to your head on your pillow soon, too.
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As you can see from my avatar, I am owned by the most beautiful apple head siamese, Abby...... she was a rescue kitty from the 04 hurrianes in Fla. A breeder got hit, and lost her litters.... anyway, meezers are VOCAL..... they are IMHO the most vocal of all breeds..... the crying is normal...he's getting used to your responding to him, so he is doing his best to communicate with you... that's the way meezers are. As you and he bond, you will learn the subtle differences between his crys, trils, and sounds of distress..... talking back is the best thing for you to do... he will learn that he doesn't need to scream, as you speak gently and softly, he will learn to trill in response to you, and will only use his "shrill" voice when in distress. Meezers are also IMHO one of the most trainable breeds, and they really want to please their special "human".... in my experience, they tend to bond toward one person rather than many, but males especially can bond to a family group, however, will still have one special person......He probably won't let you pick him up until he trusts you to be gentle, you're doing everything right - be patient, he will want to be near you, and if he's already letting you begin to pet him, he's open to the relationship...... the only thing I might add to the already excellent advise given by others, is start now training him to use a scratcher.... cats (particularly meezers) need to pull their nails, and if you train them to do it on a scratcher, the won't ruin your furniture other other thing. it's better for you to pick the scratching object, because if they pick something its hard to get them to switch.... so buy a scratcher (doesn't have to be a big one)... and keep that near his bed/safety place... Best of luck, I can't wait to see pics!
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