How to Resolve a Sleep Time Issue

lavenderswan

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
2
Purraise
1
This is a long story, but I'll try to make it concise. I have several chronic illnesses, am in my retirement years, and after losing my cat of 13 years to illness, I finally became ready to adopt again. I've had cats all my life, and cats who've had kittens in my home, so am not new to this. I've been looking for 2 months for a certain particular cat who would meet my needs, and I'm also of the belief that the cat chooses us as much as we choose it. I decided on a 6-month-old kitten because I read on several websites that they sleep a lot, so I figured this would give me the ability to get the 9 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep I need at night.

She was scheduled to be spayed at the shelter but came down with a fever, so the spay was postponed. The next day her fever was gone, so they rescheduled the spay for the next day, but by then the fever had returned, and she had symptoms of a cold. They proceeded to put her in cat isolation and get her on antibiotics. I was visiting her there, and asked if I could bring her home to foster her while she was recuperating. They said yes, that this would actually help her recover quicker. She didn't act like a sick kitten at all, was not the least bit shy or fearful of the new environment, moved right in and felt right at home. I quickly discovered that she is all play and needs very little sleep or rest, which was quite detrimental to my situation, as I was only getting about 5 hours per night, then she was very demanding that I play constantly with her for hours, or she would cry and meow all the time. I also quickly discovered she wasn't housetrained, but I've helped her learn to use the litter box, and she began to do very well that way.

Her symptoms got worse, and she developed new ones as well, so I called the shelter, and they said to bring her back for observation and another exam, and now a different person says the change in environment from the shelter to my house affected her immune system and made her symptoms worse; the exact opposite of what the first person had told me. In the meantime, I still have her on hold for adoption, but am wondering if there will be a way to get my uninterrupted 9 1/2 hours each night, if spaying doesn't calm her down a lot. She wasn't crying and meowing at the shelter, so I can't see that it was because she's in season that's she's so vocal all the time here. I wouldn't mind if she wasn't also sleeping when I do. She could be up playing by herself, or sitting in the window, or just lying around awake, and if she needed something, I could get up and get it for her, as long as I don't have to stay up and start playing if it's too early for me, and only if she wouldn't object to my going back to bed to get my needed rest.

Does anyone know how I can work this out, or do we have an irreconcilable difference? I hope it can be resolved because I really love her, and I know she was happy here, and didn't want to leave when I had to take her back. We were really bonding well, and I already feel she is one of my children. I know in due time it would work out, but what about in the meanwhile?
 

shadowsrescue

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Messages
7,023
Purraise
5,084
Location
Ohio
Kittens and young cats have boundless energy.  If you truly need lots of rest, a kitten may not be your best choice.  You might look for a more mature cat that needs a loving home and is content to sleep alot.  Kittens have so much energy and often they do not understand day and night.  Talk with someone at the shelter about your situation. 
 
Top