8 week old new kittens - handle them or not?

[Marlus]

We've brought home to 8.5 week old kittens today, adopted from a farm. They are happy to explore and are playing with each other, but do not like us to come too close. There seems to be mixed advice, though, on whether you should start handling them right away. They had some of this in their old place, but maybe not too much. Do we leave it for now or try? If we wait, how long should we give it?

Personally I'd play with them loads, sit by them let them crawl all over you and get used to human contact.

Thanks Lolimax, they’re so wary though, when we come near they hiss. Pick them up anyway?

Go for it! They will just be a little scared. Get a toy to lure them out and they will soon be quite happy to be cuddled

I would sit near them, be around them a lot, play with them using toys, wool etc. Once they kniw you feed them and thay they're safe, they'll get closer to you and feel more trusting. Don't force it. Be patient

Get them used to it but give them tonight to explore first. Touch their paws and faces useful getting them used to it incase you even need to treat sore eyes or paws.

Try not to pick them up at first just stoke them.

There are a lot of videos on Youtube about socialising 'spicy', hissy kittens.

They all seem to involve wearing gardening gauntlets.....

Thanks so much Sleeplessnights1234, Brakebackcyclebot and Shadeslayer. Sounds like the best thing is to be near and interactive, but leave the actual approach up to them. We'll leave them for tonight, and try tomorrow.

Arghhhh so cute. I've had hissy feral kittens before. You need to be sitting with them all the time and getting them used to your smell, give them little treats by hand and start "bothering" them so they become tamer.
They will hiss at you if they are not used to human contact and that's ok.

Thanks "Gingernaut I'll check out YouTube for tomorrow and not take the hisses too seriously madcatladyforever*. I've never had kittens before, so not sure what's best for them. Is there anything we can do with body language (e.g. look in their eyes or not, talk or be quiet etc) to make them more comfortable?

I would play with them. Get a feather on a stick toy - my cat loves hers or a fishing rod toy. Anything dangly will intrest them.

Thanks everyone, going to bed now, but will try to motivate with food, toys etc in the morning.

There is a small window to socialize kittens and you are in that window right now, be with them, food is your friend and soon they are yours, cuddle them and talk to them. Lots of effort now and super cat later on, good luck

No advice but

Kitten foster mum here:

Handle handle handle handle handle. If you have children (over about 6) get them to play and handle them too. Ignore the hisses and spits, this is the moment to get them used to you.

You need to handle them LOADS if you want them to be sociable and you need to start immediately.

Definitely try to gently handle them, we got our kitten at 8 weeks and at first she hissed and hid from us all, but, after a few nights in my DD's (11) room being stroked, cuddled, fed and pampered she was fine, now my daughter can't sit down for 10 seconds without the cat jumping straight on her lap for cuddles 😍

Super cute. I had the exact same baskets!

With any kittens we've had, we've given them 24 hours to settle in, without touching them, but regularly checking on them so they can see us. Then after the 24 hours we start to handle them. Its always worked for us. So yep, go ahead and play with them!

Carry them around lots now when they're little, just as you walk round the house - I did this with my kitten and although she's not really a lap cat as an adult, she is very compliant about being picked up and carried. My childhood cat hated being lifted up and would struggle and jump out of your arms immediately which made loads of things much harder.

Gosh yes! They need to socialise with so as not to be afraid of you. We’ve been handling our kittens from birth - at nearly 8 weeks old they are happy to play with us and be fussed and are generally happy to see and interact with whatever we are doing (ok .... they are not be helpful when ‘helping us’ empty and clean their litter tray).

You didn't mention this but can I just check you're getting them vaccinated, microchipped and neutered? The first two can be done now & neutering can be done from 4mths onward depending on weight. & yes, do handle them!

Our rescue kitten (almost 4 months when she arrived here) was very scared of us all at first, she would hide headfirst in a corner for hours. If I tried to pick her up and walk with her to go and sit down or something she would panic and scratch me to ribbons. I gave her time and gently and quietly stroked her wherever she was, I avoided picking her up as she seemed to hate it. Now she is 7 months old and rules the roost! She comes to all of us, is very vocal, will let me pick her up for a morning cuddle, and likes to lie on our lap. She doesn't have any nastiness in her, I must admit I was worried at first that she might be one of those cats that doesn't like human contact, I suppose what we did with her worked.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the help. They’re starting to enjoy some of the stroking, but still try to get away, especially if the 5 year olds are getting involved. Feeding wet food from a spoon and playing with string are also helping. Idlevice we had to plead to get them into the vet’s for vaccinations and worming on Wednesday, we’ll then be booking them in for neutering and next set of vaccinations.

You're right op it's hard to get into the vets at the moment, our girl has just had her spay op last week and I wasn't allowed into the surgery, I had to drop her at the door.

One more question: should we give them a break from handling when they are in a specific place (eg their basket) or time of day? Leave them alone when they’re sleeping? I don’t want to overdo it, but from the advice so far I’m not sure if that’s possible.