Kitten behvior and how to deal (long)

Hi. So I have questions about how to deal w/ certain things that Sherman does that I don't want him to do.

1. When we're eating he comes right up in our faces/bowls and sniffs, sticks his head and paws in whatever we're eating. We've been picking him up and moving him or blowing a little puff of air near him. He usually walks away when we blow at him but comes back on the next meal.

2. I have this sorta mesh thing that hangs from my dresser that I hang earrings from. He decided that he likes to climb it. I really don't want to move that thing because I have no where I can put it that he won't do the same thing and I *need* a place to put my earrings (those of you w/ a jewelry habit, will understand) at least temporarily until i get another wall hanging thingy. Also, moving my earrings will entail moving all my jewelry and *sigh* beauty is complicated. So anyways, lately, I've been misting him with a squirt gun and that makes him stop. Oh, he only does this in the morning when i'm standing there getting ready and he wants to play

3. He gets on the counters. I have heard of the sticky tape trick, but I can't very well put sticky tape all over the counters (and stove for that matter) or cover the counter w/ anything that would interfere w/ the kitchen life. Would it work if i just put sticky tape on the edges? Or will he figure that out and jump over it?

4. Biting my fingers when we're sleeping and he wants to play. (see my response to Ozziegt's post "Need to stop love bites" http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=136526)

5. Waking up at 5a.m. to play. I do play with him for several hours at night while watching TV etc. And it's pretty hard core playing where he's jumping, running, rolling around...5 a.m. is only *2* hours until i wake up, so if i could just tire him out enough to sleep those two hours...But last night I fed him just before bedtime and let him eat till he was full and he stayed calm until we woke up this morning. Will he get huge if I feed him 3x a day? He's probably about 4 months old now. I do want him to sleep with me because he's SOOO CUTE! He curls up next to my neck and lets me cuddle him like a stuffed animal, it is the most adorable thing...Luna likes to sleep w/ me too, but she stretches out horizontally in the middle of the bed

Ok, I'm just rambling now. Any advice would help greatly!! Thanks!

Have you thought about getting him a playmate?

I would say the same... since getting a 2nd kitten (and it's only been 3 days now), some of the crazy things Shinya used to do have lessened or stopped completely. The only one that really bothered me was her need to bite me... which I didn't mind when she was a baby, but now she's bigger and it HURTS! Now, she just directs all the play fighting on Yuna.. and she's so worn out at the end of the day that we can sleep together without the usual "GIVE ME ATTENTION!!!" interruptions. Yuna doesn't even sleep in the same room as us yet but already things are better.

And Yuna is a little ball of terror, she really is... She's still shy so it's not too bad, but I can tell that if it were just her in the house, she'd TERRORIZE the place! Having Shinya around keeps her both amused and in line.

Simply put, I think my life is going to be much easier now I have 2 kittens instead of one.. Well.. not EASY.. just EASIER..
So, if you can handle the extra expense!

Well, I already have two cats. Luna is my 2nd cat and she's 4 years old. They do chase each other around the house (and sound like elephants sometimes). She is not as active as Sherman, but I was hoping Sherman would make her more active (which seems to be happening). And I definately don't have the money or room right now for a 3rd cat unfortunately

I've also been told to ignore his bad behavior, but it's kinda hard to ignore someone who is chomping on your fingers....

1. For getting into your food. Do what another cat would do, hiss at him and give him a dirty look. They eventually get the idea that it's your's and will only try to steal it the moment you set the bowl or plate down and turn your back to it. Food is only your's if you're touching it.

2. Hanging jewelry. Might as well call them cat toys, if it dangles and can be patted around they won't know any better. Can you put the mesh holder in the bathroom and keep the door shut? I'd be worried about a kitten eating an earing.

3. Counters - Keep the counters as clean as you can, as not to give him a 'reward' for his little adventure and keep putting him down and saying NO. He'll at the very least figure out that he should stay down while you're looking.

4. & 5. Lock him out of the room or get used to it. I rarely wake up anymore when Tomas starts bothering me. DH says I just roll over.
Tucking under the blanket and rolling over does work, as does shoving the cat off the bed. They pout a bit, but do get over it.
An alternate suggestion is snuggling the kitten up and going back to sleep, this works better with older kittens and cats though.

1. Eating
Merlynn would do this to us when she was a kitten. We would pick her up and set her down and say no. But after about 10 times of doing this, my boyfriend eventually picked her up and put her in the bedroom and closed the door until we finished eating. After a few times of this, she learned not to jump up on us while we were eating so that she could stay around and not get locked up.

2. Jewelry
I agree with strange_wings. And I've seen Piccolino try to eat one of my earrings so I'd be worried about that too. If you could put it somewhere Sherman can't reach...that would be best.

3. Counters
I still have this problem. But I have learned to keep the counters free of "treats" so they have no incentive to go up there. If I see them up there, I just have to say, "oye!" and they know to jump down and run!

4. Biting
You'll have to either hide your fingers...push the kitty off the bed or away from your fingers...or lock him out of the room. If you can ignore it, that would work too.

5. 5am Wake Up Calls
Merlynn started doing this. And it would get earlier every day. I had to stick to my guns and just plain ignore her. I didn't want to lock her out of the room so I just pretended I couldn't hear her or see her. I wouldn't move and she eventually stopped. Now she knows not to "wake me up for breakfast" until she hears my alarm at 630am. Once that goes off, I have no excuse.

Oh! One good thing I did when she was doing these wake up calls...
I was feeding both cats one meal for breakfast and one for dinner when I got home from work. For a while, I started breaking up the dinner meal to two. I'd give them 1/2 of the portion when I got home from work. Then about an hour before I was ready for bed, I'd play with them for a good 20 minutes then feed them the other 1/2 of their dinner. They say that cats function on cycles: hunt, eat, groom, sleep...sooo! I was giving them their hunting fun (playing) and then they would eat, groom, and go to sleep. And she would sleep through the night.

Good luck!!