My 7 months old kitty is fearfull

by Alemsha Darwish
(Moonachie, NJ. USA)

my two kittens

my two kittens

I adopted 2 kittens when they were 8 weeks old, brother and sister, now they are 7 months old. Since the beginning they both were very friendly, playful and very affectionate. Recently, my neutered male Happy has been acting strange, every time my nephew or someone else comes over, he runs and hides, especially, my nephew. He is good with me and my husband, he plays with us, lets us pet him with no problem. This problem started about 3 weeks ago, please any advice how to keep him calm when we have people over? I don’t want him to be scared and hide, I feel hurt for him, I want him to be happy not scared. Can you also tell me, what could have caused this behavior? I’m really desperate. Thank you.


Reply
Hi
As gets grow up they go through many different stages, I have seen it with my own two cats, their behaviour would change from month to month during the first year or two. I suppose it’s because they are learning new things every day and encountering new experiences.

It sounds like your male cat may have been frightened by something, it could have been anything from a loud noise to a new cat in the area, it is often impossible to now. But cats do have this odd way of associating their fear with something other than the actual cause, it is known as aggression trauma. But in your case your cat is not being aggressive but is hiding from whatever he has associated his fear with, which in this case is your nephew or stranger to the house.

He should eventually get over it but you could try and help the situation by helping to re build the trust and confidence between your cat and your nephew. This will take some effort on your nephews part but if done correctly will help to build your cats confidence.

Please see my page about how best to bond with a cat.
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/new-cat.html

If your cat continues to be timed and fearful you may want to consider trying one of those cat calming sprays or medication which can help cats through particularly difficult situations. Please see this page for more on these

scared-cat.html

Best wishes Kate

Comments for My 7 months old kitty is fearfull

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Hi Kate
by: Alrmsha

U hace taken him to the vet many times, happy is healthy other ways. I dont know why he is so afraid neither does the vet. I tried feliway but to no avail. I am so hurting because he only comes out when we have no company. As soon as he hears any one or door bail he hides for hours. :(((
My cat still scared
by: Alemsha

I wrote in my page about my cat Happy. He was about 5 months old when we had him neutered, now he is 2 years old and he is still scared of everything, I mean every noise, person and other cats besides his sister me and my husband. I tried everything to make him fell safe, He was very happy kitten before the neutering. We noticed something new, every time he hears water running in the bathroom he starts to cry of fear.I fell hurt because my baby is wasting his life hiding. My heart hurts for him. I try to give him all the attention to him. He does sleep on top of my head holding my head with his paw. Any suggestion? why is he crying when the water is running in the bathroom sink? Has been long time now, shouldn't have he forgotten whatever was that scared him? I think was at the vets. When we took him to get neutered he was quiet. I told the girl to be careful because if he gets scared i wont want him scratching her, she yelled at the staff,' We got a bad one her" I said to her no we don't, happy is a good cat...I should never left him there. could have been that they miss handled him? or fixed him while he was awake heard water running? PLEASE HELP.

Reply
Hi
Sorry to hear that your cat is so scared.

there are many possible causes for why your cat is scared all the time. yes it may have been a bad experience but also it could be many other things, Such as
A learned behavior pattern
Feeding off your own anxiety around him
Naturally a timid cat
Not being socialized properly during the first few weeks of his life
Fleas or other irritant

As you can see there are many possible causes. I really do not think you can put it down to his neutering though, yes he may not have liked the vets but it would not have caused long term scared issues.

have you checked out my page on this site about scared cats. it has lots of information about how you can help your cat. Type in scared cat in the search box on my site and you should find my page.

Don't worry I'm sure there is a way to help your cat, including perhaps taking him to see a vet just to have him checked over in case there is some possible health issue causing his fear.

best wishes KAte

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