is this kitten behavior normal?

ut0pia

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So Jake has been acting really crazy today. I've only had him for about 2 weeks and he has never done this before since I got him- he was 5 weeks then. This morning he woke me up while trying to play and I think my hand surprised him while trying to pet him and he jumped scared and fell off of my bed. He landed on all fours but still that look of fear on his face made me feel weird.. He has always been very calm up until now but now he is acting like my hand scares him ?!?! And throughout the day, he has been sleeping a little bit more than usual, he only woke up a few times for play sessions...While he plays though- he is a lot more jumpy and he frantically throws himself in the air when I lift up his toy on a string..Then he falls and I am guessing he should be okay if he willingly does this and shouldn't hurt him but it kinda scares me to watch him drop such after all four paws were up in the air...I guess the main thing that concerns me is how he is sort of frantic like he will play for a while and then run away like something scared him....And after play sessions he will fall asleep really really quickly too. What could be wrong?? It feels like he has been through some stress but there has been nothing....I dunno I'm afraid he has some mental problems now...
 

cheylink

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Don't panic, all sounds like normal kitten behavior
. Five weeks old is very young and at this age they desperately look for nurturing, guidance and reassurance. You become the mommy kitty and may need to teach him boundaries and limitations. When he seems to be so worked up that he may hurt himself or other, stepping in and calming him down is what his mommy kitty would do. Sudden collapse from exhaustion is also completely normal, I have some hysterical pictures of Maia doing this very thing!
For example.......


Happy Holidays!
 
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ut0pia

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Aww thanks! Your kitty is cute! I think she is the same color as Jake, is she brown mackarel tabby? Seeing that picture is almost exactly what I am seeing right now hehe Jake is sleeping...But another thing that bothered me was that he attempted to hiss but his hiss came out all wrong like he had a hairball stuck in his throat of like he was gasping for air. I guess the main thing that worried me is that yesterday whenever I walked into the room he was up and ran up to me as soon as I entered, but today I always found him sleeping. After he woke up he got really really crazy with playing and then collapsed asleep again...I guess it could be because he woke up too early this morning ...My biggest fear is for him to get all lethargic..I am busy until Thursday with college final exams and I cannot take him to the vet if he needs to go so I am getting all paranoid and worrying over the smallest things...
 

skimble

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Was he checked by a vet when you got him? If not it is a good idea to have a vet check him out for the routine kitten things like worms and kitten vaccines. Especially if this is a sudden change in how he usually acts.

Has he been eating the same amount of food? Is he drinking water? Has he been going to the bathroom the same? Has he gotten into anything that he may have eaten and should not have?

Too many variables with kittens. Some of what you described sounds like a kitten, but no way for us to know how he has been up until now. Five weeks is still very young.

Vet will be your best option.
 
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ut0pia

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He is about to be taken to a vet really soon for his first shots. He should be 7 weeks now because it has been two weeks since I've had him. I think he just returned to normal he woke me up in the middle of the night with a playfight as usual. And yes he has been eating, drinking and using the litter box with no changes there. I am getting extremely observant of his behavior and little changes scare me but I should know that small changes in behavior are expected of a growing kitten..I will keep watching him for any signs of illness to be sure but for now I think he is okay. I need to teach him to stop biting really badly and teach him some proper behavior.. Oh gosh it's going to be hard because I can't bite him back like another kitten would...and he doesn't get scared by any noises or anything so I can't let him know somehow that he is doing something wrong. This morning when I was talking to him I noticed him getting ready to jump at something and I was confused because nothing was moving lol but it turned out he was getting ready to jump at my lips because they were moving as I was speaking.....

Oh, and about the hissing: this is the first time I've had a cat since I was about 10 so I guess I forgot what a hiss is supposed to sound like! I looked at some youtube videos of cats hissing lol and some of them sounded just like Jake! I can't believe I had to do
But Jake had never hissed at me until yesterday
 

mrblanche

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Kittens are on a very fast development track and can change a lot over the space of a few days. But it may just be that he has finally gotten comfortable enough to play with complete abandon, and enough in control of his body to make it look a lot more vigorous.
 

howtoholdacat

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

Oh gosh it's going to be hard because I can't bite him back like another kitten would...
Why not? That's exactly what I did with Friday and it was the last straw in a long, long string of other things that didn't work. Friday was the only kitten in his litter so he didn't have any brothers or sisters to teach him better. Honestly, biting him was the best thing I ever did with him!
 
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ut0pia

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That's funny! I just might try..
 

sweets

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I need to teach him to stop biting really badly and teach him some proper behavior.. Oh gosh it's going to be hard because I can't bite him back like another kitten would...and he doesn't get scared by any noises or anything so I can't let him know somehow that he is doing something wrong.
Hiss at him. Thats what Momma would do.
 
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ut0pia

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Ohh awesome idea I actually just did that and he looked at me weird and then turned the other way lol and stopped playing
 
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