Hyper Kitten

Hello, I have a kitten of over 8 weeks and her name is Nabila, she is usually quiet and although she plays a lot she is mostly a lap cat, my question is, is it normal for her to run around, cry a lot and scratch and bite aggressively during those hyper moments?  It is wracking my brain, please respond. Thank You for reading.

It's perfectly normal for cats to become vocal when they're playing - not all cats do it, but for some its just another way of expressing excitement.

Whilst it's not uncommon for kittens to bite and scratch in play, it's certainly not desirable. The best thing to do is redirect her attention onto wand style toys that can mimic prey (with a little help from you, of course  ). DO NOT  use hands, feet or any other body parts in play - what's cute at 8 weeks is a painful liability in an adult cat. Also, make sure that you have kitten safe toys she can play with by herself - cats and kittens alike take great pleasure in bunny kicking a toy - just as they would do to kill their prey when hunting.
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Senor Sifuentes said:

Hello, I have a kitten of over 8 weeks and her name is Nabila, she is usually quiet and although she plays a lot she is mostly a lap cat, my question is, is it normal for her to run around, cry a lot and scratch and bite aggressively during those hyper moments? 

It is wracking my brain, please respond. Thank You for reading.

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Thanks a lot

You may want to consider getting another cat her age so she has a playmate.

There are different kinds of play, and a good thing to remember is that kittens want to play nearly all of the different kinds of play which might exist! This not only includes the interactive "safer-for-humans" kind of play that you'll want to encourage at the right times, but also, a kitten wants to play more aggressive type of play (which they would play with one of their kitten siblings if they were still around). An 8-wk-old kitten is fully into playing aggressively, practicing fighting and hunting and "conquering"! Kittens are sources of abundant energy; they need to vent in various ways. And some of their venting is not really meant for humans, but for other kitties... or for "prey". Unfortunately, sometimes a household can only have one kitten or cat, where getting a second kitten or young cat for a rambunctious kitten is not feasible. This is when you need to try to introduce a type of toy that could somewhat take the place of a 2nd kitten, for those bursts of energy that go above and beyond your liking or comfort level. Most kittens are not "hellions" 100% of the time, but just in short bursts of energy. It is for those bursts of energy that a good "punching bag" type of toy is ideal.

Columbine wrote:

Columbine said:

... ... - cats and kittens alike take great pleasure in bunny kicking a toy - just as they would do to kill their prey when hunting.

Click to expand...

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I took this one step farther when I got my current kitten. I got an actual Bunny Toy, for her to beat up and kick around and bite whenever she was feeling playfully aggressive. Better the Bunny than my hand or foot!

This worked 15 years ago when my last cat was a kitten, and thank goodness they still made the very same tough, natural, cotton (no plastic eyes) bunny rabbit toy for me to purchase for my new kitten (it's really meant for human children, lol).

We call him "Mr. Bun".

Cats have nine lives but Mr. Bun has a million lives, and, quite often, daily.

Any biting and scratching during play with me, and suddenly my kitten discovers that, like magic - there is Mr. Bun! pushed, wiggling, into her arms! what joy! The biting and scratching is then transferred over to the poor Mr. Bun, and eventually, it is Mr. Bun that is sought out when she feels a wild hair coming on. This type of bunny toy is just the size of (1) a litter mate, (2) prey-with-teasing-eyeballs & flappy ears, and (3) a cuddly friend, all rolled into one. He's even compact and lightweight enough to be flung into the air from the tips of her claws. Joy!


(pix are just quick snapshots from a movie so they are not good resolution, but here is a sample of Mr. Bun getting the snot kicked out of him and his neck strangled)

your kitten needs another kitten friend very close in age. that way they will both burn off that excess energy and you get to watch their fun antics. 2 kittens are really easier than 1 imo! and if you have the space I highly recommend getting a cat tree. they love climbing them and looking out windows and all of them come with built in scratching posts..

Thank You all I got a new kitten her age who is male but they fight a lot.

How have you introduced them? Slow introductions are the best way to go. I'd suggest you keep them separate for now, and follow the introduction steps outlined in these articles:-[article="32680"][/article][article="29726"][/article][article="29658"][/article][article="0"][/article]

Are they fighting or playing?  Kittens will wrestle and play 'tag'.  If you hear hissing and see ears back and tails fluffed they are going too far.