How do I socialize my scared new kitten to feel comfortable?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male
Hi I Have A Cat Name Sky She Has Had Kitten But Not In My House & The Kittens Are Scared Of Me Can I Get Advice On How I Can Make The Kittens Comftable Because I Have One Of The Kittens With Me & I Want He Or She To Be Comftable & Not Scared Of Me & Im Not Sure How Old He Or She Is . I Have He Or She In The Cage Because I Dont Want The Kitten To Get Scared & Run Out & Stracth Me
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on May 8th, 2017
It sounds like your kittens may need some socialization training. Here is a link that will help you to socialize your kittens and allow them to be more comfortable with you: https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/kitten-socialization/
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on May 12th, 2019
Hello and thank you for reaching out to PetCoach. Depending on the age of the kittens, it can be challenging to socialize them. The socialization period for kittens is between 2-7 weeks of age, but can be up to 14 weeks of age. During this time, it is important to try to give kittens as many positive experiences as possible. This can include feeding them tasty food, petting them, giving them toys to play with, etc. If they are much older than this time, it may be very hard to try to get them to be positive pets, and will take lots of time, patience, and training. Below is a website all about kitten socialization that may be educational! https://www.americanveterinarian.com/journals/amvet/2017/february2017/the-keys-to-kitten-socialization I hope this is helpful!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
I have kittens that are stray and I want to make a lovable before surrendering them but everytime they look at me they hiss and they are pretty scared around us I was going to take them around three days what should I do?
Hello and thank you for reaching out to Boop by Petco. Depending on the age of the kittens, it can be challenging to socialize them. The socialization period for kittens is between 2-7 weeks of age, but can be up to 14 weeks of age. During this time, it is important to try to give kittens as many positive experiences as possible. This can include feeding them tasty food, petting them, giving them toys to play with, etc. If they are much older than this time, it may be very hard to try to get them to be positive pets, and will take lots of time, patience, and training. Below is a website all about kitten socialization that may be educational! https://www.americanveterinarian.com/journals/amvet/2017/february2017/the-keys-to-kitten-socialization I hope this is helpful!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
New Pet
I have just rescued a wild kitten of 5 weeks in my back yard she was crying for 3 days abandoned by mother i take it in feed it meos but when try to get closer her she runs away and hide and when she comes out and i try to pet her she bites what do i
Make sure she has her own safe space so she doesn’t become overly stressed (a large dog crate with food, water and litter box is perfect). Make sure all meal times are interactive and distract with food or treats when you’re trying to make physical contact. Take it slow and eventually she will become used to you being around. This website has some good tips: http://www.urbancatleague.org/TamingFerals
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
New kitten. I've had her for 4-5 days. She purrs and rubs on me and my dogs in the morning for a bit and then proceeds to hide for the rest of the day. She's 5 months. She does let me carry her for a bit. I want her to be out during the day and be wi
Moving into a new home can be very stressful for kittens - since she has only been with you for 4-5 days, it's likely that she's still adjusting and getting settled. It will take time for her to feel safe and comfortable in your home, so I would be patient for now and give her plenty of time to adjust. You can try using Feliway pheromone diffusers around the house to help make her feel more at-ease, as well as a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure if she seems anxious.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have a 4 months old kitten, saved her when she was only 1 month old she's a street cat, my boyfriend decided to get me another 7 months old Persian cat for my birthday. The issue is that my resident kitten is traumatized and keeps on hissing and me
I would slowly introduce them to each other. Take the kitten, and put her in her own room with her own food, water, and litter box. Keep the door closed, and for a few days, feed them both treats on other side of door so they associate each other's smell with a good experience. Then let the other cat in the kitten's room while the kitten is in a cat carrier. They can smell each other, but not be in contact. If either becomes upset or show signs of aggression, remove the second cat from the room, and try again later. Praise them when they interact appropriately. When they are interacting well with each other through the carrier, you can let the kitten out of her room, and see how she interacts with the other cat. Praise them when they interact appropriately, and separate them with any sign of aggression or upset. I would get a cat tree with lots of shelves to give the cats vertical space to get away from each other. I would keep the kitten in her room when you go out until they
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
So my friends are all really excited about my new kitten, but whenever anyone comes over to see her, even if it's just one person, she gets scared and hides under the bed until my friend(s) leave(s). How can I prevent this?
Congratulations on your new kitten! Freckle has certainly had a lot of changes recently and it is common that kittens and cats are nervous about new people, so this may be a temporary thing or may be Freckle's personality. You could try something to decrease stress to see if that makes a difference. One option for decreasing stress is to add a Feliway Diffuser ( https://www.feliway.com ) to your house. This is a calming pheromone that will work for a month. I have also had luck with Rescue Remedy ( http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ ) which can be added to the water. You could also consider calming music specifically for cats ( http://throughadogsear.com/tace/through-a-cats-ear-1-music-for-calming/ ) or even a calming treat like Composure ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/cat/cat-health-and-wellness/cat-calming-aids/vetri-science-composure-feline-bite-sized-chews ). Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using Boop by
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I’ve got a a three month old kitten and my friend gave me her, at first she was scared of everything and hid under the bed in scilence now she’s running everywhere and constantly meowing and i cant play with her cause she hates being pet or carried a
From your description, I wonder if Nala is a feral kitten. A feral kitten is a kitten that is born to a cat who lives outside and is essential wild without very much human contact. The general rule is that if feral kittens are taken away from their mom by the age of 10 weeks that they can get used to humans and become well socialized. If they do not have human contact until after 10 weeks of age, then that can be much more difficult. I would ask your friend where Nala came from and get more information on her situation. In the meantime, I would not push Nala to have any more contact than she is comfortable with. Let her hide and come out when she is ready to. I would also consider adding a Feliway Diffuser ( https://www.feliway.com/us#redirected ) to your house to decrease stress. This is a calming pheromone that will work for a month. I have also had luck with Rescue Remedy ( http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ ) which can be added to the water. I would try to find
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have a litter of three foster kittens that are under one pound in weight. One has already warmed up to people and become very affectionate. One doesnt like being touched but won't run from me and the third is still acting feral, will bite and scrat
Since the kittens are still under a pound, they are probably only about a month old, so you still have time to socialize them. The most important socialization time frame is up to about 8 weeks of age, and it is important for them to learn social skills from their siblings, so I would recommend keeping them together for another month if possible. Hopefully, the 2 that are more fearful will learn from the affectionate one. Do not force any of them to interact with you (unless medically necessary). Try to make them associate you with good things like food and play. Sometimes you can get feral kittens to be willing to play with you before they would ever be willing to allow you to touch them. Don't give up on the shy baby or the more feral one yet. Continue to try to find a way to interact with them that they like, then build their trust from there. Good luck! Please let me know if that helped. Thanks for using Boop by Petco and being a good foster parent.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, my father brought me a kitten which was given by his friend—it seems like the kitten is very scared about its surroundings. I'm not really sure how to explain it—she does not seem feral (since she approaches me at times and doesn't hisses/atta
Moving into a new home is often frightening for a kitten, and it will take time for Amber to get used to her new home and you. I would give her lots of love and attention when she approaches you, including treats. This shows her that coming up to you is a good thing. Give her treats when she allows you to touch her. I would not try to approach her yourself, allow her to come to you. As she becomes adjusted to her home, she will eventually allow you to approach her.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
New Pet
How should I best allow my two new kittens to adjust to being in an open environment,there not use to being held or handled but can be picked up but run away as soon as there put down and you can’t hold them to pet them and if you approach too quick
You can use baby gates or covered X-pens to help make the open space a bit smaller as you gradually introduce the kittens to the area. This can help control where they go and make it easy for them to adjust. Shutting doors, etc can also help control the number of areas they go to at once. Once they are more used to the area, you can then open up more space. I also highly recommend a pheromone diffuser plug-in such as Feliway in the room you'll be introducing them to in order to help with stress.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My four month old kitten, who I got over a month ago is terrified and refuses to leave my room. Have her liter box and food in here because I live with another person. Who wants to see her but she just gets terrified. No claws, unless I keep holding
I would recommend trying Feliway products to help de-stress the environment. You can also try a melatonin supplement to help calm Tor. I recommend using Naturvet Quiet Moments with Melatonin Calming Chews, which you can pick up at your local Petco. I hope this helps! You may also consider taking her out and socializing her with your friends and exposing her to more people. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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