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Do cats have a "teenage" phase?

post #1 of 29
11/29/09 at 7:21pm
Thread Starter 
Kizzy didn't....but Kitchi, ohmygoodness..... he's become a terror. Meaning getting into things he shouldn't, and being naughty.... all while looking us straight in the eyes as he defies us.

He's 8mos old now.... and I swear, he's acting like a teenager

Anyone else seen this?
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post #2 of 29
11/29/09 at 7:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Kizzy didn't....but Kitchi, ohmygoodness..... he's become a terror. Meaning getting into things he shouldn't, and being naughty.... all while looking us straight in the eyes as he defies us.

He's 8mos old now.... and I swear, he's acting like a teenager

Anyone else seen this?
My vet calls is the juvenille delinquent phase. With Merlin, it lasted two years, but he was a feral kitten. I never thought he'd be a lap cat, but finally at the age of FOUR, he is the sweetest, lap cat you could ask for. He is, however, still an imp!
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post #3 of 29
11/29/09 at 7:30pm
Yes. I've had several foster kittens go through that - PJ & Punky hit the "teenage" phase from about 6 months to 1.5 years!
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post #4 of 29
11/29/09 at 7:34pm
Pardon but PJ and Punky are still in the teenage years.. Zoey their big sister... Of course Mom says I was in mine till age 4.5
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post #5 of 29
11/29/09 at 7:35pm
Mine started anywhere from 6-9 months and lasted until about 18 months. I actually called them teenagers at that time of their lives.

Stumpy was the worst. Add stubborn to teenager and OMG what a monster he was!
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post #6 of 29
11/29/09 at 7:46pm
Ditto Aya, she turned into 'crazy kitty' around 4 mos old and still acts wild at one year. She was also a feral kitten. The only thing that's gotten better is that she now naps a bit more than when she was a kitten so I get breaks now and again from the insane adolescent cat behavior. She's slowly learning how to be petted and be a lap kitty.

She's always looking for something to get into and if you tell her no she stops and looks at you for just a second then does it anyways, all the while watching to see your reaction. She also has what I call 'spaz attacks' where she runs around the apartment jumping and attacking everything she can.
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post #7 of 29
11/29/09 at 7:54pm
Definitely, I have one at home at the moment too, 7 months old and thinks he can do whatever he pleases, he is messy, annoying but darn cute too

The worst is when they are in the shelter at that age, they trash their cages is in them and pick on the other cats if out of them, pure terrors
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post #8 of 29
11/29/09 at 9:09pm
Jake still does this, at a year and 1 month old ...I find it cute that he always thinks he is boss and everything in the house is his property to play with
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post #9 of 29
11/29/09 at 11:37pm
My Luke is 1 and we say he sometimes is "in a mood"..lol

He'll stand in a doorway and wait for me to walk by and jump out and grab me and then run away...lol
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post #10 of 29
11/30/09 at 1:04am
Yes, definitely! Molly and Polly were a bit. . .weird and crazy for a while once they hit 7 months it was a totally different definition of "kitten!" Now that they're four years old they're both a lot calmer! The crazy thing is, coming out of that "adolescent" phase and saying "Thank goodness!" gave me kitten fever again! My mom didn't take to the idea well after I had to break it to her that one of the cats ripped up the shade of her best, most expensive lamp. Oops!
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post #11 of 29
11/30/09 at 2:02am
That's precisely what I am going through with Sugar right now. (See hard headed cat post).
Its times like these that mothers of teenagers understand why some animals eat their young. LOL
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post #12 of 29
11/30/09 at 2:36am
yeah flash still has her moments sooty is quite placid but smooch is a horror at times he deffinatly has the terrible two's haha
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post #13 of 29
11/30/09 at 9:23am
From 6wks to 14wks they always seem to act like young children, after that somewhere in between. Then like others have said, 6-7months to about a year and a half you get teenage kitties.

I swear that Tomas, at 3 years now, acts like a guy in his early 20s.
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post #14 of 29
11/30/09 at 9:47am
Harley was my worst so after him everything else is a cake walk! I swear from age 4-5 months he was into EVERYTHING (and I mean everything....we found him one night in the drop ceiling of the kitchen tearing back and forth!). He stayed like that until about 2 yrs old when he finally started calming down and sleeping the 16-20 hrs everyone says cats sleep. They all go through it but he was my worst.
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post #15 of 29
11/30/09 at 10:45am
Yep. Generally sets in somewhere between 4 and 6 months, and lasts for varying lengths depending on the cat in question. My worst teenager was Samantha, who regularly gave me the "Yeah, you and what army, Mum? " -- but she was at the same time the sweetest little luvbug.
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post #16 of 29
11/30/09 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rapunzel47 View Post
"Yeah, you and what army, Mum? "
Now that's a very good way to put it!!
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post #17 of 29
11/30/09 at 11:17am
All of our kitties always have been and are perfect angels.

YEAH RIGHT!
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post #18 of 29
12/1/09 at 12:42am
Blossom certainly did it lasted until after she turned 1.
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post #19 of 29
12/1/09 at 1:32am
Yes they sure do!! I think it helps if you have more than one kitten though. At least, Church and Roxy (who are less than a month apart in age) did not have as much of an obnoxious "teenager" phase as other "single" kittens I've known, and my four 1-year-old littermates have been really good, I think partially because they were able to get their energy out on each other.
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post #20 of 29
12/1/09 at 5:35am
Thread Starter 
Well tis good to know that others have suffered before me

I swear, Kitchi is going to be the end of me. He'll go places where he knows he's not supposed to, right when I'm standing there Nothing seems to work with him....so I am really really HOPING that he gets out of it soon OR that having him neutered will help some of it.
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post #21 of 29
12/1/09 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by icklemiss21 View Post
Definitely, I have one at home at the moment too, 7 months old and thinks he can do whatever he pleases, he is messy, annoying but darn cute too

The worst is when they are in the shelter at that age, they trash their cages is in them and pick on the other cats if out of them, pure terrors
I have a 7 mo. old and she terrorizes her 7 yr. old big sister. I'm hoping that once Squeak matures, they will get along better.
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post #22 of 29
12/1/09 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Kizzy didn't....but Kitchi, ohmygoodness..... he's become a terror. Meaning getting into things he shouldn't, and being naughty.... all while looking us straight in the eyes as he defies us.

He's 8mos old now.... and I swear, he's acting like a teenager

Anyone else seen this?

Yes indeed! some worse than others, just like human teenagers! <ggg>
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post #23 of 29
12/1/09 at 9:50am
YES - my two Ocicats have gone thru that stage where they defy you and are being a brat - usually happens about 6-12 months - after that they tend to be a little better behaved for the most part.

Jack's "bad" behaviors were around that time - when he got in the most trouble. We thought he would really be bad with the Christmas tree. He was only 2 months old last Christmas, so this is his first tree. Its not decorated yet, but he's been squirted with water 3 times and has decided that was not cool and now ignores the tree!
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post #24 of 29
12/1/09 at 10:05am
I've had my share of teen-age rebellion too Although Hades, who at best guess is going on 3 years old is still a defiant little beast How do I always manage to pick the perfect names for these cats?
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post #25 of 29
12/1/09 at 3:07pm
Quote:
"Yeah, you and what army, Mum? "
Precisely!
I know it sounds horrible, but before my girls got spayed they were probably at the height of their mischief, so I was actually grateful for the anesthesia lingering for a day or two after their spay!-
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post #26 of 29
12/1/09 at 3:19pm
I will definitely agree that my kittens have definitely gone through puberty. My sister has one of my kittens as well and she is just the same. Little terrors, and they know it! They tease the other cats and run like mad things when you try to break up the scraps. Usually they use their racing ears, and make growling sounds as they run.
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post #27 of 29
12/1/09 at 7:43pm
Milo is 8 months old. At around the 6 month mark, he started to become incredibly mischevious--getting into things, knocking stuff off the desks when we aren't there, climbing, and being indignant when we correct bad behavior. Such a teenage male...
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post #28 of 29
12/1/09 at 7:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mollysmom View Post
Precisely!
I know it sounds horrible, but before my girls got spayed they were probably at the height of their mischief, so I was actually grateful for the anesthesia lingering for a day or two after their spay!-
Aya too... But by the time she came home she was wide awake and ready to set to work riping out her sutures and popping the cone off her neck in 10minutes flat! Crazy kitty!
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post #29 of 29
12/2/09 at 7:11am
Moose will be 10 in February and still acts like an adolescent. I figure he feels good, is happy and wants to play!
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