Its like having a child.....

Alfie is 2, and its a very vocal/demanding cat.
He is always full of energy and charging through the house and skidding across the laminate flooring, even when we let him out in to the garden he will insist on running back indoor MEOWING at the top of his voice, and some times makes really odd noices lol , he rarley wonders off so is never out for long before he gets bored.

Then there's bed time.....

He will wake up my partner by doing ANYTHING he can, he always targets him instead of me, i think mainly because i sleep heavy and dont hear him half the time, he will meow, charge across the bed, stand on OH chest, jump up the walls, tried to get in to anything he can, cupboards/draws/bags/boxes, knocking random stuff of the sides, plays with coat hangers if i happen to have left any out and jumps on to the top of the door too! OH will get up and feed him when he finally gives in to the torture and it will shut him up for an hour or two then he will create again even if there is still food in his bowl, some times all OH has to do is walk down to Alfies bowl and alfie will except that.

We cant shut him out of the room because we live in a rented house and he likes to pull carpet up when doors are closed so that's a big no-no, and we dont like to let him out at night because we don't have a cat flap so that he can come back in when he wants. We do play with him allot but its obviously not enough, our whole living room is full of toys and they have giant cat tree.

Our other cat is nothing like this at all lol

Our vet seems to thing he may have some kind of 'blue blood' in him, and said that that may explain why he is so vocal.....

Does any one else feel like they are looking after a child!!??? and any tips and one has would be fantastic, my poor OH never gets a full night sleep, all i can say is i hope he grows out of it s he gets older........

Wow..he's one amazing cat. I love the 'cat on the door' picture. I'd be so afraid if my cats did that...obviously Alfie hasn't hurt himself.

My Cameo is only 6 months old and used to be fearless...but even he has calmed down as far as the jumping aspect has gone. He'd jump on anything, at anything, up as high as he could go.

Alfie should calm down in a few years...hopefully sooner. I know about ripping the carpets up.....mine will do that too if shut out of a room.

Alfie looks like a wonderful cat....and yes, it is like having a child.

Originally Posted by troublesome2

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Ok - really: here is a case where an image speaks for 1000 words!!!!

Taz, our "big orange guy" is 10.

We rescued him at approx. 12 weeks of age.

He was very active for the first 2 or 3 years.

In the first year, it seemed he needed an exhorcist, I have never seen a young cat be so active for so long without the usual naps.

He has slowed down to a more sedate pace, though; although he did start a concentrated assault on the Chrismas tree this year, starting on Boxing Day, this was not frantic activity but more of a quiet, determine and calculating effort.

That picture cries out to be LOLed.

I LOVE that picture, it's classic!

My boy Grigio is 5, but I only adopted him 7 months ago. He is only that active in "spurts" now that he's aged, but waking me at night is a constant!

I've tried everything, but he's like clockwork--or at least I am. That is, when he senses me stirring for any reason, he's there purring in my ear or sitting on my head to get me up! I'm convinced it's because he's up and gets lonely (he's very social) because he always has dry food in his bowl so he can eat without me if he's hungry.

Ironically, when I get up and either feed him or play with him, he's napping an hour later, but by that time, I'm wide awake!

All the behaviorists I've consulted have said to just ignore him, but that's difficult because he's incredibly persistent. No, I can't keep him out of the bedroom because then he creates such a fuss that I can't sleep at all. The behaviorists say that he's very, very human bonded so he's "anxious" if I'm not awake when he is OR he's prevented from being near me.

Ari will be 4 in March and I often find myself channeling my Mom when I scold him for his antics.

In fact, Mom always said that having cats is like having toddlers.

That picture, oh my! He sure is active.I'm sure he'll calm down as he gets older, hopefully sooner than later for your partner's sake.

Thank you for all your advice its good to know he's not the only crazy cat lol, we even have a water squirter but that doesn't work either, he'll just come back later on to finish what ever he was wrecking......

i wouldn't use the water squirter. if you get any in his ears he could get an infection.

i have 3 cats under 2 years old with the youngest being 6 months. she is part cat part tasmanian devil! she thinks everything is her toy and has caused quite a lot of damage in the short time we have had her!

i think you just have to accept that they do have a lot of energy and need to 'run' it off. i either clap my hands or make a hissing noise to try and stop unwanted behaviour.

he is gorgeous though and i love that photo!

Hi im a newbie,please excuse any mistakes! Im glad im not the only one who feels like they have a couple of trouble makers ! Tabitha and Daisy are sisters and are 18months old. It is a nightmare when they start to play.It all starts with Daisy wahsing Tabitha's ears then it turns into a full blown fight wich lasts for 4hrs! Knocking thigs over or off,playing in the bath (empty!) or sink.Im forever having to get up to see whats been knocked over/off or broken Tabitha has an awful habbit of taking thngs like my tea lights or anything she can carry and hiding them under my husbands pillow! This also includes my scarf. I say to her ' i dont play with your toys!" Nothing of mine is safe! Give me 2 kids any day!

Oh yeah my 22 month old is sitting next to me right now trying to sit her furry butt on my laptop, she's crazy and is a "moth catcher" anything that even remotely looks like a moth or fly gets killed by her which means anything on my wall with push pins she'll pull it out!

That picture is fantastic!

Originally Posted by caitsith

Hi im a newbie,please excuse any mistakes! Im glad im not the only one who feels like they have a couple of trouble makers ! Tabitha and Daisy are sisters and are 18months old. It is a nightmare when they start to play.It all starts with Daisy wahsing Tabitha's ears then it turns into a full blown fight wich lasts for 4hrs! Knocking thigs over or off,playing in the bath (empty!) or sink.Im forever having to get up to see whats been knocked over/off or broken Tabitha has an awful habbit of taking thngs like my tea lights or anything she can carry and hiding them under my husbands pillow! This also includes my scarf. I say to her ' i dont play with your toys!" Nothing of mine is safe! Give me 2 kids any day!

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I know exactly what you mean, Alfie LOVES to play in the bath, he runs up the shower door and sits on the top too!

Usually all we have to do is shake the water squirter and it scares him off, and then he will come back

Here's a thought my husband and I have noticed over the years....

Dogs are like children......... they have to have supervision all the time.

Cats are like teenagers.....you can leave them for short periods and they are fine.... to a point. Like a teen they are trying their independence, but still needs us.

think of your cat like a teenager......and put your foot down by saying NO and meaning it. Gray is our talker, but even he knows when "dad" says enough is enough.

Good luck