Hi all, I have a 12.5 week old kitten and one of the issues I'm facing is that he has to spend 10 hours a day alone whilst me and my partner are at work. On top of this my partner does not want him sleeping with us at night. Essentially he's alone 10 hours a day and then shut out of our room for 8 hours a night. This has got me feeling REALLY guilty and anxious as it's a long time for any creature to be left alone. I'm so worked up that I've had to miss work for the last 2 days as I started having panic attacks 😞 I saw my GP yesterday, he was little help and just told me to go back to the psychologist that I've been seeing for a few years. I can't see her until next Friday.
Getting another kitten isn't really an option at the moment (due to cost and the fact that we are going overseas in March) so I'm trying to do all I can to keep him happy. I've left a radio going, food and 2 bowls of water, lots of toys, a cat tree with scratching posts and platforms, the A/C going so he doesn't get hot and he also has a couple of options for beds. Despite all this I'm still incredibly nervous about him being a happy, healthy and well adjusted kitten. On top of all this he's scratched up our vinyl dining room chair so we've had to take them out of the room. I'm planning to pick up a second scratching post, some anti-scratch spray and also catnip spray for the post today. Will this help? I'm also going to get him a nice soft cuddly toy for him to cuddle up to. We've only had him 5 days and I feel silly for feeling this way but I don't know what else to do!
I'm sitting at work right now shaking and feeling really on edge. I feel like I could burst into tears any second. I'm almost feeling like I've made a big mistake adopting a kitten and keep doubting myself and my ability to give him all the love and care he needs 😞 Am I being silly in feeling this way and letting it eat away at me?
