New kitten anxiety

[Redleaves15]

I adopted a kitten last week, she is 12 weeks old. She has settled surprisingly well, she sleeps in the utility without making a sound (she has been kept to one room at night since birth so it's all she knows), she hasn't cried for anything, eats well, plays well, tolerates my kids being annoying.

But I'm suffering from anxiety really badly. It's almost like when my children were babies but worse as I don't have the hormones telling me to bond. I'm looking after her, she is spoilt for attention and has loads of play time but equally she likes to come and rest with me.

But I just feel sick constantly worrying about what new things we will have to deal with as she grows, I'm losing sleep and I'm barely eating. It all feels really intense because she's always there, and we can't leave her for very long, and I worry about everything. Will she destroy the house? Will she go missing? Will she always be placid or will she turn into a terror? Will she get herself into trouble? Please can people reassure me that it does get better?

It's 100% my problem not the cats, I just need good stories to put my mind at ease. I'm desperate to make this work, how do I manage this? I do plan to let her outside when she's ready, but that's possibly 2 months away and I need help now. Cat tax included.

I think some anxiety is normal. It's a big thing to take on. I'm an experienced cat slave and am very anxious about my new arrival on Friday. I'm sure as you get to know her and she grows. You'll feel better. If you are out, could you use a security camera to keep an eye on her?

Thank you for your kind words. As for the camera I'm not sure if I'd feel better being able to see what she's up to if I can't do anything about it. Weirdly I don't think I feel anxious about her being able to go outside, I think it's just home based dangers that I'm focusing on.

She looks adorable!

Oh she is beautiful, I love torties, she's so pretty.
I remember feeling the same when I had my first kitten.I looked at every room at saw hazards like cables and things to fall off.It was mainly me being panicky.
I looked at her and thought how am I going to keep her her alive never mind thriving and happy !.It felt such a responsibility, my first kitten.We always had dogs at home.
It was surprising after a few weeks I felt like she had been there forever.She taught me as much as I taught her.She was a dream and lived to be 21.
I must have done something right.!!
Good luck.She sounds as if she is settling well.Try to relax a bit if you can and enjoy your new baby 😻

Totally normal to be anxious. If anything it makes you more conscientious. It means you really care about her and her wellbeing.

I've had my cat from 9 weeks and the worst he's done in terms of destruction is get into a box of tissues and make an unholy mess with them. He can be left alone for a workday, he can entertain himself, he's loving and calm (a bit scratchy at times). When he was scratching at the carpet by the door, I got a plastic carpet protector from amazon - completely solved the problem. He's nearly 2 now and perfect and happy and content.

Have you considered keeping her inside, or catproofing your garden so she only has access to a secure outside area? She's a kitten who has never known the outside, so you wouldn't be depriving her of anything, and it would allay your concerns about her going missing. Plus being hit by cars, poisoned by pesticides, harmed by cat-haters, attacked by wild animals...