The cause behind your kitten’s hiding or defensiveness could be anything. It may be due to making the adjustment to a new environment, introducing s new pet to the household, inability to reach their beloved possessions like food bowl, litter box, etc. But generally the cause is a specific person, an animal, or a loud sound coming from electrical household appliances.

However, if the fearful streak goes on for too long, you should do something about it. As it may be due to a medical condition, you should fix up an appointment with your veterinarian to do a checkup on your kitten. However if your kitten receive a clean bill of health, you will need to identify the cause behind your kitten fearful streak and take a gentle approach to solving it.

For example, if your kitten hides every time the doorbell rings, make sure her “safe spot” is always easily reached. Only let her come out once she is ready. Do not ever try to force her out or else she will only become more terrified and withdrawn. One way that you can build up confidence in your kitten is by sticking your cat to a set routine of daily feeding, playing, cuddling, and grooming time. This will slowly instill more self confidence in your kitten.

Once you have identified the cause of your kitten’s fear, you can start to desensitize your kitten by getting her to get used to the object of her fear. If your kitten is fearful of the loud sound made by the vacuum cleaner, you can leave the vacuum cleaner unplugged and set it in the living room for a few days. Don’t draw attention to it and let your kitten approach it on its own. Praise her whenever your kitten sniffs it, and then start putting some of your kitten’s favorite treats near to the vacuum cleaner. In this way, your kitten starts to associate pleasant things with the vacuum cleaner.

Take note that you may need to go slow on this. Sometime, you will need to take two steps forward and one step back in order to rid your kitten of its fear for the vacuum cleaner.

Cat Lover