While the introduction of a new kitten into your home may seem like an exciting adventure, it is important to remember that it's an extremely traumatic experience for kittens.
New Environment
Wherever your kitten came from, whether it was a shelter, a friend or the streets, your kitten was accustomed to a certain environment. In most cases, your new kitten is probably used to being with its mother and litter mates. However, now that you have brought that kitten home, you have put him into an environment that he is unfamiliar with.
A new environment entails a variety of elements that your kitten is not used to; namely new smells, new surroundings and new people. It is important to remember that this is an adjustment period for your kitten, and he is probably scared. The best thing that you can do is to allow him to hide, initially.
When you allow your kitten to hide, you are allowing him to go through the natural process of fear and examination. It will take some time before your kitten can learn to trust you and learn that his new environment is not harmful to him. You have to let him experience this for himself, or he can end up feeling like he has been forced into this position.
The important thing to remember is that your new kitten will eventually come out of hiding. At some point he will get hungry or thirsty and will have no choice but to seek food. This is actually good, as it allows your kitten to begin to trust you and his new environment.
Other House Pets
If you have other animals in the house, regardless of whether they are cats or dogs, you are most definitely going to notice that your new kitten is hiding. These are new animals to your kitten and he is going to have to learn for himself whether he can trust them or not.
Introducing new animals to your kitten can be a very difficult situation. You have to remember that your new kitten is just a baby and is not entirely sure that he can defend himself if the situation were to arise. So, the best thing that your new kitten will figure he can do is to hide.
By hiding around the house, your kitten is maximizing his chances of survival. He has no way of knowing that the other animals in your house are domesticated and safe. They only way that he can learn this is through trial and error.
You kitten will gradually come out of hiding and attempt to either make friends or show dominance towards the other animals. This behavior truly depends on the personality of your new kitten. However, most new kittens will want to make sure that other animals in the house know that they are capable of defending themselves if needed.