What should I do about my cat?

Yay! Kitty!

First of all, she’s 2 months old- she’s still just a very little baby. She might have been taken away from her mother too young, and this can be highly unsettling for a kitten. To help settle her in, I’d leave the cage there, but leave the door open rather than closing her in. Let her explore the house one room at a time. Once she’s built up confidence in one room, open up another room coming off from that room, and gradually keep going until she knows the whole house. When you want to introduce her to the outdoors, I recommend getting a harness for her, so you can let her explore, but pull her back if she goes too far.

Cats often warm to you more once they realise you’re the one who controls the food. I suggest you take a small piece of chicken, or a kitten treat between your fingers. Call her, make sure she can see what you have. This helps her to get to know her name, and know that you’re the one who feeds her.

Because she’s so young, she will be very playful- that’s normal. Let her play and explore as much as possible- this is crucial in getting her to understand this is her new home. She will also get tired easily, and find places to curl up and sleep. when this happens, you can reach down and stroke them, making soothing noises or talking in a soothing voice. It lets them know you mean them no harm. Because she’s so young, she won’t respond to routine right away, but you can gradually train her into sleeping at night (you’ll find she sleeps at odd hours right now), when it’s time to eat, etc.

Toilet training- usually, leave the litter box somewhere easily visible. Usually they scratch around and figure it out. If they go somewhere in the house, move their little “present” into the litter box. They usually find their toilet place by smell, so clean up the area you found it, and usually they go to where they smell their last mess. After a while, they know this is their toilet place. Don’t expect miracles straight away. Remember, she’s just a baby.

Finally, bathing- it can be done, and the earlier you introduce them to it, the better. Fill a basin with warm water, about body temperature. You can get pet shampoo at most pet stores. To keep her in the tub while you do it, keep a firm but gentle grip on the scruff of her neck. Gently stroke the shampoo in, talk soothingly the whole time to her. When it comes to drying time, DRY HER THROUGHLY!!! Use towels and a hair dryer turned to a warm setting. It’s important to dry them throughly, as they can get chills very easily.

Hope this info helps. Just remember you’ll both have to get used to each other. Show you can be kind and she’ll respond. Good luck!!!