Expert: Tina - 12/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a question about my kitten behavior.
I have recently (4 days ago) rescued a very young kitten, the vet said that he is probably about 3 weeks old. When I found him, outside my building, he was all wet and freezing because it was raining a lot and he was almost dead. I think he is doing well and is very healthy now, which is good, but he is always meowing at me, sometimes almost like a scream and aggressively when he is hungry. When I feed him he stops for a while and then I put him in the floor and starts again, so I think he still hungry but sometimes he isn't and he just keep meowing a lot and then I have to let him in his bed and go away so he can't see me, he keeps meowing for a while and then he stops, but then he sees me  or hear my voice and he starts meowing like crazy again, and if I pick him up he stops for a while. I'm worried because I can't be with him in peace and the most important I can't be with him all the time. I never had a cat so I don't now if this is normal and I don't know the right way to educate him because I don't want him to be neither aggressive nor to spoiled..please help! Thank you!  
Dani

ANSWER: HI Dani,

How lucky for this little kitten that you found him! Three weeks old is very very young - Kittens normally are not even starting to eat solid food in the wild until around 5-6 weeks. At 3 weeks your kitten is very helpless and still needs his mother - which is now you! He is afraid to be left alone because he's still a baby and defenseless. If you left a human baby alone they would cry too, because they want to be comforted and protected. He is like a 5 month old human baby would be right now. Don't worry, kittens grow up fast and in a few weeks he'll be much more independent but in the meantime he does need to have you around almost all the time.

You can also set up a surrogate "mom" for him to make him feel comforted when you're not around. Get a stuffed animal about the size of a cat, and make a hold and stuff a hot water bottle inside - or one of those microwavable warming discs you can buy at pet stores. He needs to feel protected and snuggled - in fact there is a company that makes a stuffed animals exactly for this purpose, called "Snuggle Me" with a built-in heart beat, and warming disc:

http://snuggleme.com/store/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=3&option=com_v

Orphaned kittens this young are very fragile, it is not a bad idea to keep him in a large cat carrier or dog crate when you are not around, for his own safety.

I don't know what you are feeding him right now, but I'd recommend mixing a kitten milk replacer (sold at pet stores) in with a good quality canned cat food (I recommend Nature's Variety Instinct or Wellness canned food) to make a soupy food he can lap up from a saucer If you are still bottle feeding him you can start out by putting the milk replacer in a saucer and dip your finger in it and let him suck it off, when he gets the idea of lapping from the saucer let him do that for a few days and then start mixing in the canned food a little more each day. I do not recommend using human baby food as some people do because many types contain onion or garlic (toxic to cats) and they do not contain enough calcium for cats. So instead just use a canned cat food to mix into the milk replacer. Changing his diet suddenly can cause diarrhea so go slowly by adding a little more each day.

When introducing litter make sure you use one safe for kittens. I recommend World's Best Cat Litter (made from corn).

You should also read and  bookmark the following links for help over the next few weeks:

http://www.kittenbaby.com

http://www.acfacat.com/orphan_kittens.htm

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

http://fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Tina, thank you very much for your previous advice, It was very helpful, my kitten is know like 2 months old and is more independent, maybe he became too independent!. The thing is that we went to a 3 days trip with my husband and we left the cat with our house keeper, she took him to her house. We left her some food, toys and his bed to make him feel like home, but when we came back and he returned home he acts very aggressive like he resents us or maybe she (the house keeper)didn't treated him good. What can we do to reduce the aggressiveness and win him back?? because he was a lovely kitten before we leave and this is making me sad!!. By aggressiveness we mean that every time we try to pet him or grab him he bites and scratch.
Thanks!!
Dani

Answer
HI Dani,

I am so glad to hear that the kitten is doing well with you. Since he was an orphan he is probably abnormally attached to you because he sees you and your husband as his own parents. The petsitter may also have encouraged rough play behavior, hopefully she was not mean to him! Some people do not understand that it can be very bad to encourage rough play with kittens because it is not cute when they get bigger. He also is getting old enough to start roughhousing with his siblings if he had them. Now instead of just being his "mother" you will also be his playmate. He will have to learn it is not acceptable to bite and scratch.

Whenever he tries to bite or scratch you should have a stuffed toy on hand, and put it between him and you, try to redirect his aggression onto the stuffed toy. If you don't do that fast enough and he gets you, immediately make a hissing noise at him - like an angry cat - and leave the room, ignoring him. He will learn that biting or scratching means he loses his playmate.

Young growing kittens have a lot of energy and require at least 3-4 15 minute play sessions a day. You can use a laser pointer, feather on  a string, whatever toys get him running and jumping long enough to wear him out. Encourage him to burn off that energy playing with toys instead of trying to "play" with you.

He is old enough to be neutered soon, I recommend scheduling an appointment for him to get neutered at 3-4 months of age. Neutering at this age will help prevent more aggressive behavior and territorial urine spraying.

You may also want to get this book: "Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat--Not a Sour Puss" by Pam Johnson-Bennett  it is only $12 at Amazon, and will help you raise your little orphan to be a happy cat.

http://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Cat-Well-Adjusted-Cat-Not/dp/0140288546/ref=sr_