How long do new kitten blues last?

[hannahthespanna]

I feel awful even typing this.

we adopted a beautiful kitten 10 weeks old 2 weeks ago. She’s beautiful and settling in well.
Shes in her own safe room which is our second lounge. She’s playful, eating well, using the litter tray.

But I feel totally overwhelmed by the responsibility. I want to be a good mama for her but am finding it a bit all consuming and overwhelming. Friends have said feeling like this is quite normal but how long does it go on?

Does she still need to be in one room? It gets a lot easier once they have the freedom of the house, as they feel more integrated and part of the family.

Kitten tax must be paid, forthwith, please!

What are you finding overwhelming? 10 weeks is young to pick up a kitten, is it the amount of playing you need to do?

It’s usually easier to get two kittens as they keep each other entertained. One kitten needs a lot more from you in terms playtime.

Is kitten blues a thing? I would say let her out into the film house and it’ll be easier. There’s no need for her to be in one room two weeks after you’ve got her, she’ll be going crazy with just that one small space.

10 weeks is early to pick up a kitten, and her behaviour will be worse for being kept in a small room. I would let her explore so she can entertain herself more and find safe spots in the house.

I didn't experience kitten blues so I'm not sure what to say about that. Have you had cats before?

I had a bit of this OP when I adopted my boy but he wasn’t a kitten he was a bit older. I just felt like I had no idea what I was doing and I panicked that I wouldn’t make him happy or give him a nice life

It didn’t last long only a couple of weeks. He definitely has a lovely life with us and is chief lazy boy, sleeps in our bed and generally part of the family.

Sorry I meant at night she’s in her own room. During the day she has free roam. I was meaning it’s not lack of sleep.

Ive not had cats but DP has. I’m autistic so find change hard so I’m sure I will adjust and I do love her just not sure why I’m feeling so overwhelmed

What is making you feel overwhelmed exactly, if you can articulate it?

Don’t lock her away during the night, she is better coming to sleep with you in your bed, she will settle much easier. I have one who likes to sleep on the floor at the end of the bed, and another who sleeps on the bottom corner (except in winter when she snuggles up to our legs to keep warm)

It is normal and it can take a few weeks to get used to the responsibility.

As a rule, cats get easier as they get older - a kitten is into everything and spends half its time trying to get to your ceiling - they calm down a lot when they reach adulthood.

My advice is to put in some very simple training now to make life easier later.

Teach her to respond to her name by feeding a treat as you say her name, and gradually moving away so she has to step forward to get the treat, then cross the room - always saying her name, so she will learn that you calling her = something nice if she responds.

Teach her 'off' and 'out' by clearly saying those words if she's somewhere you don't want her to be and gently moving her away. Feed a treat once she is in the right place.

The kitten tax means a photo OP and we should go on advice strike until it is paid.

I always feel a sense of baby anxiety in case they do something stupid and hurt themselves or get stuck in a cupboard especially when I'm out the house but I wouldn't call it kitten blues.

Definitely time to let them explore the whole house though, they won't like being stuck in one room.

Don't beat yourself up for needing time to adjust. I'm autistic too and sometimes processing any change to my lifestyle, even if it's positive like a better job, stresses me out for a while. You're adjusting to this responsibility and eventually the bond you have with her will be worth it 100x over any anxiety. Kittens are hard work but it will only get easier from here.❤

Early days yet. You are learning new things of how to look after her, bit like wheh you have first baby! But kittens grow incredibly fast!!! Will soon be 1 year old and way easier

Dont shut her away on her own at night. She's still a baby and needs comfort and reassurance. She can snuggle up on your duvet through the night until she finds her feet x

I had exactly this after getting two kittens shortly after my Mum passed away - it was the absolute worse timing! I was so overwhelmed by the change and having to be responsible for them. I was in tears quite a lot and often thought about rehoming them in the first couple of weeks. I hadn’t realised how destructive and messy cats could be, so it wasn’t helped by having to clean up messes and lots of my lovely things getting scratched! (Mine are indoor cats so probably amplified, I’d had outdoor cats when I was a kid and didn’t recall any of those issues 🙈). However, once we all got used to each other and they settled in, it got much, much better and I became much more relaxed about things. 5 years later and I could never be without the wee adorable (still destructive) monkeys! ❤️

Don't want to discourage you but it lasted around 8 months in my case.
I highly suspect I'm autistic too and I struggled from the moment all the cat accessories started to arrive at our house. There was obviously no cat or food smell yet but it was just one overwhelming sensory overload at once.
Having cats was my biggest dream in life and yet, when the kittens arrived, I hardly told anybody as I was this close to giving up and returning them and therefore didn't want to deal with the shame of that on top of everything else.

It does sound strange but having two kittens made everything a lot easier as they could play with each other. Also, they have a dedicated room which they sleep in at night as I can't bear the thought of being woken up at night or early in the morning. I never let my children sleep in my bed and wasn't going to allow cats to disturb my sleep.

In the beginning, I even struggled with feeding them and cleaning the litter tray. It was all so overwhelming and I thought is this my life now?
Now we have our own little routine every morning with feeding and cleaning the litter tray first thing and I bought a stick vacuum which I can quickly whizz around in the morning and before going to bed. Proving to myself that the house can still remain relatively clean with two cats was a huge relief to me as I struggle when my house feels dirty.
I think as soon as we "survived" the first few milestones (giving them their flea medication, spaying, leaving them and going on holiday etc), everything started to feel easier and they just became part of our lives.
As they grow older, they'll calm down and develop their own little personalities which force you to fall in love with them whether you like it or not 🙂
Also having cats in the house, especially now as it gets colder, makes everything feel noticeably cozier so maybe try to actively think about that when you feel low.
Try to work on your bond with your cat it makes a big difference when it's not just a cat but a whole little being with its own quirks and personality.
Hang in there it's early days still and everything will become easier and you will start to enjoy having your cat.

I love my cats but I found having kittens hard. It must be quite a lot if you’ve never had pets before. The very small kitten stage doesn’t last long, they grow and learn very quickly. You will find your own routine and get to know each other, it’s still early days and you are also learning new things so don’t be hard on yourself until you find your stride

We got two kittens yesterday. I’m autistic too but we already have a cat and a dog so I feel we are already used to chaos!

I didn't realise kitten blues was a thing. I think though like any big thing you've been excited about that also requires quite a lot of work it can feel a bit of a let down.

I was actually really excited & deliriously happy when we got our kittens, then the novelty wore off & I seemed to constantly cleaning up poo. But they grew on me & now they are really easy, great company and completely adorable

Kittens are mental but your kitten will soon grow up into a cat and calm down.

It is unusual where I live to be allowed to adopt a kitten that will be living by itself. It might be easier if you had two of them to play with each other.

I think kittens (and puppies) bring a level of stress that adult animals do not. It's just a bit intense, they have no sense of safety, still learning good habits and need feeding more regularly. Plus more cleaning up poo.

I've always adopted adult cats (for good reason) before our current pair. It's been interesting. Just as well they are cute.

I think it’s important to remember that they are very self sufficient, live from moment to moment and don’t need you to worry about them constantly. If you can let that worry go, a little bit at a time, it will feel a lot less emotionally overwhelming.

My personal preference is not to have a cat sleeping with me so mine stays downstairs. I don’t feel bad about it because he’d be a disruptive demon if he did have full access at night.