Is this normal kitten behavior?

Question

I have a 2 month old kitten or so - she's changed a lot in the last month. She used to be very affectionate and used to love to sleep on my lap.. Now she only cuddles with me at night when it's time for bed. She doesn't really like being held and hates being cuddled sometimes (normal I think) but I notice her tail bushes out, her ears point, and her back is arched whenever she's afraid - she does this stance. (Friend of mine brought his puppy over - that's when I first seen it. NO I DO NOT SCARE MY KITTEN) Sometimes when she's in the basement and I go downstairs she begins standing like this and runs away. Did I just surprise her? Or is she really afraid of me? She was a stray in a litter of 3 when I found her. I put the other 2 in good homes and I'm keeping her. I spend all day with her and I make sure she's never lonely. She likes going outside (a habit I really wish she'd stop) and sometimes I spoil her and take her outside for a few minutes. I know I'm taking good care of her, so I don't know why she does that. Any advice is welcome. This is more of me asking for general advice than a 'specific' question. But you guys are so helpful ;)

Answer 1

Intuitivechick:

im so happy to know that if the cat makes anything its toy its a sign that its healthy.

my kitty does the sameeee thing with everything! even to his kibbles :D

Answer 2

You might want to try getting her toys. She could just be go through a "faze" and if it keeps going on you might want to talk to a vet about this

They might have some sort of medicine or ideas for her

Answer 3

"notice her tail bushes out, her ears point, and her back is arched whenever she's afraid"

makes her look bigger and meaner, to scare an attacker. this is the stance before the fight. it means she is ready to fight.

if she was a stray, she still has not adjusted to humans, yes you are scaring her, but she will adjust.

cats want to be outside. lots of things to hunt, i guess. if you keep her in, she wont go out. if you let her out, you wont be able to keep her in.

Answer 4

I have a cat just like that! She drinks a lot of water, we have 4 female cats in the house, so she drinks from that water bowl, trys to drink from the toilet sometimes and we even have her own little cup on the sink in the bathroom for her to drink, so she drinks a lot and she is pretty healthy so I'm sure that it's ok, shes been doing that since she was about 3 weeks old (we had her since birth). The kitten being scared, is normal especially if she was a stray, you don't know what she had to go through being an outside cat :(. And if she is not spayed, then she will change when she grows, most cats (but not all) change as they grow up, especially in a female cat.... they tend to be more "brats" than male cats when they grow up, but it's normal and she may change once she is spayed (as in being nicer again). And maybe she just isn't as tired as she use to be, jsut play with her, keep her company and keep her playing!! Toys may be a good idea, especially a bouncy ball (my cats LOVE them), but most of my cats like the toys they make themselves better than store bought.

Answer 5

As cats grow up they change. I know that my cat Byron loved to sleep with my other cat when he was a kitten, now god forbid they try and share the same bed!

One of my cats favorite toys is a paper grocery bag, he loves to hid in it and play around with it.

Cats can be afraid of dogs, I might try and reintroduce the dog and her and see if they can maybe get along better? My cat swears my dog is going to kill him, but then I catch my cat butting up his head on the dog saying hi.

Cats can be funny creatures. They can take a bit to get over a shock, so I would not worry too much about it.

One of my cats is blind and I let him out side in a little pen, so he can safely play, though I can't imagine a cat that could see would be willing to hang outside in a fenced in area. My other one is a avid hunter, and despite my efforts to make him a house cat, he loves to go outside.

Answer 6

If she's a stray she's really not use to you yet.  When they do that, it's a natural instinct to make herself look bigger and it's just the way she's found that works for her.

Alot of patience and kindess will do the trick; she's still growing which is why she's drinking alot of water and her body is changing so fast.

Unfortunately again she is still getting use to people, so I know you feel bad when you step on her by accident.  In time, she'll get use to you and feel more comfortable.  Just talk to her in a different higher voice than you usually use and she'll get use to it and it should comfort her.  It's just part of getting a stray since she hasn't been hand raised and hasn't been around humans and having someone look out for her and take care of her.

I love that you say she makes anything her toy!  Healthy cats do that.  My cats do the same thing; I find either a sock or a shoestring is one of their favorite things.

It sounds like you're a great mom to her.  Great job!!!

Answer 7

I love how you describe your little kitten, you obviously love her a lot.

She might be really traumatized of the previous encounters. If she doesn't like to be held, try to " force" her to be stroked, and then let her go freely.  When you do this several times she starts to like your strokes and hopefully be tamed. This worked for me with a stray a cat.

Dogs are no no at this point!

Good luck!

From owner of four cats