I brought my new kitten home last evening. He is moving aroung the room I have him confined in. He ate during the night and is using his litter box. But he is hissing, growling, and meowing non-stop. He also will lung at my hand if I extend it to him. He was born of a semi-ferral cat in my sister's garage. The mom and now the kittens are being fed by my sister. I have four other cats and do not remember having a new cat so unhappy and I think aggressive. Should I take him back to my sister or will this behavior subside soon. He is 8 weeks old.

Think this is more for the cat section, try posting there

I think lots of time and patience is needed, Be gentle with him and play with him as much as you can whilst keeping all 10fingers attatched to you Hes probably very scared and frightened as he has been seperated from his siblings and mother. Try feeding him some food via your hand, and stroke him gently when he behaves well. My kitten pounces on my hand alot and it now looks like its been caught in a shredder since ive had him for 2 weeks, but hes just playing, and hes now slowly but surely learning to keep his claws in
I hope this helps, and some of the more experienced people will reply too

He is still very young and probably terrified..

Just make sure you spend time with him but don't try and stroke him untill he approaches you...

He will soon learn that you are feeding him and he will learn to trust you.. will just take a little time

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Thank you very much to all. All of your advice is definitely very realistic and what I wanted to hear because I do not want to take him back. I have been going in the room and just sitting in a chair while talking gently to him. I was supposed to take him to the vet today but he was hiding and I could not get him. Usually I have a new pet checked before I ever take it home. This is an exception. So we have an appointment for one week from today and I hope he will let me pick him up by that time. He is orange and because of his color, I am assuming he is indeed a male. The problem is that every time I go into the room to socialize, he begins meowing, hissing and growling and does not stop for a long time after I leave the room.

I had a thought for you. Ask your vet for some Feliway spray, it's not cheap, but it's worth it. Spray it around the room where you are keeping the kitten. It works wonders with most cats.

I had a terrified adult cat (but basically domesticated) who took more than two weeks to stop hiding when I went into the room. Then all of a sudden over just two days, she turned into a lovely purry friendly cat. It can take time. Was the kitten handled before or has he been able to hide all the time? What are the other kittens like?

Liz

I don't think the kittens were handled very much. I am not sure what the other kittens were like because they were taken to a pet shop. This little guy hid and when he was discovered, I offered to take him. I had lost my 14 year old, very loved Siamese the day after Christmas and had room for a new comer. I wanted a Siamese or a Maine Coon but do think that some purebreds are not as healthy as regular domestics. Also, three of my four cats are strays and I wanted to give a needy cat a home. My fourth cat is a Maine Coon and is a real lover.

I'd say just give him some time to adjust, I am sure he will be comfortable enough after a few weeks