How do I socialize my scared new kitten to feel comfortable?

Make sure she has her own safe space so she doesn’t become overly stressed (a large dog crate with food, water and litter box is perfect). Make sure all meal times are interactive and distract with food or treats when you’re trying to make physical contact. Take it slow and eventually she will become used to you being around. This website has some good tips: http://www.urbancatleague.org/TamingFerals

Moving into a new home can be very stressful for kittens - since she has only been with you for 4-5 days, it's likely that she's still adjusting and getting settled. It will take time for her to feel safe and comfortable in your home, so I would be patient for now and give her plenty of time to adjust. You can try using Feliway pheromone diffusers around the house to help make her feel more at-ease, as well as a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure if she seems anxious.

From your description, I wonder if Nala is a feral kitten. A feral kitten is a kitten that is born to a cat who lives outside and is essential wild without very much human contact. The general rule is that if feral kittens are taken away from their mom by the age of 10 weeks that they can get used to humans and become well socialized. If they do not have human contact until after 10 weeks of age, then that can be much more difficult. I would ask your friend where Nala came from and get more information on her situation. In the meantime, I would not push Nala to have any more contact than she is comfortable with. Let her hide and come out when she is ready to. I would also consider adding a Feliway Diffuser ( https://www.feliway.com/us#redirected ) to your house to decrease stress. This is a calming pheromone that will work for a month. I have also had luck with Rescue Remedy ( http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ ) which can be added to the water. I would try to find toys that she can play with herself that do not involve you if that stresses her out. You may find some good ideas on this website. https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Since the kittens are still under a pound, they are probably only about a month old, so you still have time to socialize them. The most important socialization time frame is up to about 8 weeks of age, and it is important for them to learn social skills from their siblings, so I would recommend keeping them together for another month if possible. Hopefully, the 2 that are more fearful will learn from the affectionate one. Do not force any of them to interact with you (unless medically necessary). Try to make them associate you with good things like food and play. Sometimes you can get feral kittens to be willing to play with you before they would ever be willing to allow you to touch them. Don't give up on the shy baby or the more feral one yet. Continue to try to find a way to interact with them that they like, then build their trust from there. Good luck! Please let me know if that helped. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and being a good foster parent.

Moving into a new home is often frightening for a kitten, and it will take time for Amber to get used to her new home and you. I would give her lots of love and attention when she approaches you, including treats. This shows her that coming up to you is a good thing. Give her treats when she allows you to touch her. I would not try to approach her yourself, allow her to come to you. As she becomes adjusted to her home, she will eventually allow you to approach her.

You can use baby gates or covered X-pens to help make the open space a bit smaller as you gradually introduce the kittens to the area. This can help control where they go and make it easy for them to adjust. Shutting doors, etc can also help control the number of areas they go to at once. Once they are more used to the area, you can then open up more space. I also highly recommend a pheromone diffuser plug-in such as Feliway in the room you'll be introducing them to in order to help with stress.

I would recommend trying Feliway products to help de-stress the environment. You can also try a melatonin supplement to help calm Tor. I recommend using Naturvet Quiet Moments with Melatonin Calming Chews, which you can pick up at your local Petco. I hope this helps! You may also consider taking her out and socializing her with your friends and exposing her to more people. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.