Kitten Jumping at face

esl12 · Sep 29, 2005

Hi all

Just got a kitten 2 weeks ago, she is great... very cute.. and playfull, but at night when laying in bed... She will jump at my face.. probably a playful thing, but its kinda scary... Id never hit her, but im almost ready to beat her, I don't want her scratching my face, or anyone esle for that matter.. How do I stop this??

purity · Sep 29, 2005

Almost ready to beat her?? I hope that was a joke

I think you need to tire her out before bedtime, she may sleep better then and not be so eager to play. Or how about a playmate for her? Two kittens are better than one in my opinion!

babyharley · Sep 29, 2005

Originally Posted by Purity

Almost ready to beat her?? I hope that was a joke

I think you need to tire her out before bedtime, she may sleep better then and not be so eager to play. Or how about a playmate for her? Two kittens are better than one in my opinion!

We had the same problem with Harley when we first got him. We ultimately had to play with him for a good hour or so before we went to bed until he learned that when we were in bed, it was bedtime and not playtime! After about a week he was really good at coming to bed with us and sleeping when we do! Now he's a pro at coming to bed with us when we do, and no more playtime at bedtime!

Good Luck!

blue_monday_88 · Sep 29, 2005

^yeah, that!

Napoleon had a habit of wanting to play at night, jumping onto the bed (I mean LAUNCHING off the bed) onto either my BF, me or Cassie the cat LOL (she was none too happy). After making playtime *mandatory* with both cats (to not only socialize them but to destress them), I am happy to report that even though Napoleon doesn't sleep through the night like Cassie mostly does, he has learned to just chill and occupy himself while we are in bed :-)

She's a baby, she will learn in due time with some *training* for lack of a better term.

esl12 · Sep 29, 2005

I was completely kidding.. id never hit the cat... We have tried to tire her out.. she will sleep with us, but the real problem is.. she will wake up before us.. and thats when she will jump at face, or hands...

blue_monday_88 · Sep 29, 2005

ESL, I think with time it will pass and she will mellow out. Cassie used to attack our feet when she was a baby...it made me start wearing socks to bed! Now, she could care less!! She's just kind of like...get out of *my* bed LOL

Napoleon on the other hand starts to talk to me when I'm sleeping if he's hungry...yet he knows when it's breakfast time. She'll grow out of it, and even though you are already playing with her, make playtime a more regular thing, like in the morning (kind of tough I know, but I do it and I think it makes my kits more pleasant between each other) and at night. Good luck

lizk729 · Sep 29, 2005

Stormys "wild" time seems to be right before bedtime.

Mind you we have only had her for 6 days but we have been showing her that we will play with her before bed and then once we are in bed and she jumps up we play with her briefly and then we lay down......and over the past few days she has calmed down much faster each time.

I just lay down and ignore any jumping/biting/climbing that she does and then she comes over and lays down beside me and I love on her.

Stormy does wake up before we do and all throughout the night but shes soooo good. She may wake me from time to time by climbing over me but so far she just plays by herself and then goes back to sleep.........
I would LOVE to have two kittens.

But right now we are only financially able to take on one with shots and fixing her but I hope down the road "soon" we can bring in a buddy for her.
As crazy as it sounds Im going to be sad when shes older and mellow.

Although Im sure we''ll love her even more.

rosiemac · Sep 29, 2005

Ack my two did that all the time with me as kittens, and Sophie still walks over my face and head even now and she's over a year old!!.

Enjoy it!

decadenz · Sep 29, 2005

I think the trick is to just ignore her as she may be asking for attention. She'll quickly learn that jumping on her humans isn't going to get them to talk to her or anything, and she'll get bored of it. Perhaps you may try bringing in some silent (so you won't get woken up) toys into the room for her to play with on the floor if she wakes up in the middle of the night...

gareth · Sep 30, 2005

All of the above will help, but at the end of the day a kitten is a kitten, and can be hard work at times, like most baby creatures

StefanZ · Sep 30, 2005

Now, is she "attacking" with claws out? Then you must growl and hiss to learn her to keep claws in when playattacking.

If she playattacks with claws in = soft paws it isnt dangerous at all. I did often played with Muskis "Dangerous Monster Chasing Muskis". He fled playfully, but after a while he used to turn around and make his last stand. He usually jumped up somewhere and attacked my face - with soft paws, I NEVER get scratched althought our play was pretty rough.

It was i a way amusing to see he knew that if he must fight against a much bigger oppontent it isnt enought to go in for the nearest - hands/paws; you must attack the face.

ginger's mum · Sep 30, 2005

StefanZ said:
If she playattacks with claws in = soft paws it isnt dangerous at all. I did often played with Muskis "Dangerous Monster Chasing Muskis". He fled playfully, but after a while he used to turn around and make his last stand. He usually jumped up somewhere and attacked my face - with soft paws, I NEVER get scratched althought our play was pretty rough.
QUOTE]

They are CRAZY when they're little huh!

Sounds like my son and our kitten, they chase each other around the house, it can get a little rough but she has never scratched intentionally. She like to try to scare you by launching herself towards your face but only if our eyes are open and her claws are always in.
She used to attack our toes to but a few cases of getting flung off the bed by a reflexive foot boost and wearing socks and she got the message. Occasionally she got locked out which upset her more I think.

Patience, this too shall pass

captiva · Sep 30, 2005

Normal. Keep a little soft toy near your bed so she can play with it (a rolloed up sock is good) . If you really need your sleep, you might have to shut your door until

until she grows out of this stage.

serenasmommy · Sep 30, 2005

Serena does the same thing, and has ever since I got her at 8 weeks. She doesn't really scratch, but she does jump at my face when I'm sleeping, and she'll lick my nose until I wake up. Most of the time, kittens will grow out of this phase, but mine never did. She's over 1 yr. old now, so I think this is a permanent behavior. I've learned to get used to it. Maybe you can, too?

Kitten Jumping at face

esl12

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purity

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babyharley

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blue_monday_88

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esl12

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blue_monday_88

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lizk729

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rosiemac

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decadenz

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gareth

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StefanZ

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ginger's mum

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captiva

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serenasmommy

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