2 adopted frightened and prossibly abused kittens

Question
6 and 8 months, hiding in dark corners -flinch when approached.  The younger (Tigger) suckling on the older (Satie)who is the most frightened. Tigger will play but the Satie holds back. They are in the den, with lots of pets and visits from us. Dark box provided, toys too. What else?

Answer
Kit,


The important thing is to make sure that these little guys are healthy before assuming that any action is purely behaviorally related. A holistic vet may be a useful resource as they have been trained in conventional medicine as well as one or more alternative therapies including massage, homeopathy, acupuncture and more. The nice thing about a holistic vet is that the whole animal matters as opposed to treatment being geared towards medical symptoms only.

Unfortunately I have rehabilitated more than my share of abused cats in my time. Sadly there is much more animal cruelty than most people realize. I would encourage you to speak with the authorities if you adopted these kitties privately. If these guys were adopted through a shelter or rescue organization I would highly recommend that you contact them and see what you can find out about the history that these guys share. If these cats were an owner surrender the authorities can press charges in most jurisdictions with a veterinary/behavioral assessment. It is possible that the issues you are seeing are the result of emotional/psychological abuse/neglect which unfortunately isn't punishable by law in most places....

A couple of things are fairly helpful when dealing with abused cats and kittens. I would recommend that you try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences that helps to calm and reassure. This is a very safe remedy that is used by some vets and pet parents worldwide to deal with everything from accidental trauma to fostering abused animals. You can find the Rescue Remedy in most health food/natural health stores. I would recommend that you begin treatment with this remedy as soon as possible, the kittens should respond very well to about 8 drops of Rescue Remedy in their fresh water each morning.

Another important thing is to try not to intimidate the kittens. Unfortunately although people see eye contact as reassuring cats don't, they tend to view direct eye contact as confrontational or threatening especially when they've been abused. My recommendation would be to continue on with trying to get Tigger to play as often as possible. As for Sadie the approach that I would use would be to help her to understand that I mean no harm, the technique that I am recommending has helped to save a number of kitties who've had tough lives. You will want to make time each day to go into the room with a ziploc bag containing something extra special like cooked chicken, tuna or salmon. You'll need to come into the room, sit down very slowly and quietly on the floor. Don't make eye contact or speak. Bring a book or crossword puzzle to keep your attention elsewhere. Every time the kitties approach you they should be rewarded with the special treat that you have brought into the room with you. How long this takes varies depending on the severity of the abuse that these guys have experienced and their general personalities. Over time you will see improvements, the cats will eventually allow you to speak to them softly and they may even initiate contact by rubbing their faces against you and your family members. The important thing is that everyone who handles the kittens at this point must be consistent and follow the same routine at least until the kitties are a bit more comfortable. Once the fur babies are making contact by rubbing against you this is a sign of acceptance and it's perfectly okay to slowly and gently raise a hand (keeping it below their heads, if they've been hit most people would raise their hands above the cats to threaten them)and give soft, slow pets at whatever rate the cats are comfortable accepting. Rewards are going to be important over the next little while. Lots of love, patience, time and commitment are needed to bring around severely abused cats because they have had bad experiences with people and in the back of their minds they will always hold a certain amount of caution in some cases. Sometimes cats who have been abused come right out of it after some gentle socialization, but I prefer to let people know that their cats may still have some fears including fast movements, being pet from above their bodies, loud noises, yelling, etc.