Kitten nervous at night

I'm posting for my SIL who has two kittens, Dori (6 months) and Jack (9 months). Both were adopted in early Oct. and are doing well in their forever home.

My SIL's concern is Dori's nighttime behavior. For the past month or so, Dori has been extremely active starting around 3 a.m. on. Jen describe's Dori's behavior during this time as "nervous" rather than playful and says Dori is very restless and clingy, crawling around her neck and head and not settling down. Jen says this is relatively new behavior Dori. She and Jack have been allowed to sleep with them (or wherever they wanted) since they were adopted. Dori has been playful at night in the past, but always settled down fairly well.

My advice was to play with Dori and get her tired out before they go to bed, so they'll definitely try this, but I'm wondering if you guys have any more ideas. My SIL is more concerned about Dori's wellbeing than anything. Said she seems fine and is happy, well-adjusted kitten, otherwise. She and Jack are very affectionate and playful with each other and it's a very loving household.

Any other ideas? Thanks guys!

Sounds like she's going into heat, and if Jack's not neutered (and she isn't either) they both are more than old enough to get into trouble. Tell her to get them neutered right away. If they have been already, then either the kitten's just very affectionate (they are nocturnal animals) or she's looking for some protection from Jack, who may be trying to intimidate her (the guys do at some point - sister or not).

Originally Posted by Larke

Sounds like she's going into heat, and if Jack's not neutered (and she isn't either) they both are more than old enough to get into trouble. Tell her to get them neutered right away. If they have been already, then either the kitten's just very affectionate (they are nocturnal animals) or she's looking for some protection from Jack, who may be trying to intimidate her (the guys do at some point - sister or not).

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Thanks for your response! I should have mentioned that both were fixed prior to being adopted, so we can rule that out. Dori's is VERY affectionate, so that could be it. As far as Jack intimidating her, it's actually the other way around. Dori's the boss even though she's tiny compared to Jack.