Crazy Kitten Advice

[ferneden]

Hi everyone,

I've recently adopted a 10 week old kitten from an unwanted litter from a customer who just happened to walk in my store. She is mad! I've always adopted senior cats so this is a massive change, now I know part of being a kitten is wanting to play as much as possible and I understand I've got to train her out of grabbing onto my arm but I just need a bit of advice, I'll give you a bit of background on her.

She was the only surviving kitten in her litter, for unknown reasons the rest passed away. She came from a house with 6 adult cats and her mum didn't want much to do with her after she was weaned.
So the advice I need is for this:
We let her have free roam of the house and she usually comes and sleeps nicely on our bed with us but every night at about 1am, she goes on a mad play. I get that this is probably a normal time for her to be up and she has plenty of interactive toys that she can play with by herself but she insists on pouncing on my feet or attacking my arms, this commences a 2 hour long "No, leave it" stint of her attacking me, me saying no and then putting her on the floor trying to teach her that bed isn't for playing.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? I play with her as much as I can, we even chase around the house together and then I have to find her in the room she's run into before we chase again which is adorable and tires us both out but I can't keep waking up for 3 hours in the early morning. Should I put her in her own bedroom at night with everything she needs like when she first arrived? Is this just because she had no siblings to learn off and mum wasn't fussed? I'm so tired, I just need something other than a spray bottle to try!

 

[danteshuman]

First I would lock her in one room (your bedroom?) that you have kitten proofed as much as possible. If you are not home or awake, she is in her room. Why? Kittens are trouble magnets at that age and they get into/chew/climb/squeeze into every thing! Really, kittens are mayhem makers!

If you can I would adopt another older kitten because she needs to learn play limits that she missed out on from her siblings that died. If that is not possible you need to teach her cat manners. If she uses her claws or teeth on you calmly say no and tap the side of her face with 2 fingers. Then ignore her for 5-15 minutes. Repeat 100 times
Today start training her that all play is done with toys not people. I would buy her a kickeroo or two (the big kind) so she can jump/bite/bunnykick a stuffed victim. I would tie a yard long ribbon or leather cord around the kickeroo's tail securely .. then drag her stuffed prey around so she can really hunt it. (You can leave her with the ribbon-less one when you are not supervising.) Also small toys in your pockets that you can toss away from you when she is hunting you will help re-direct her.

You can not possibly play to much with her. Kittens need/love play. The good news is by 4 months some sanity will start showing. 4-8 months old you get the more aloof teen years. Then they thankfully start to settle down into happy young adult cats at 9-18 months old. *Buy kitten chew toys now they teeth from 3.5 -6 months old. I had one cat that thought he was a beaver

Take lots of pictures, they grow up so fast!

 

[rubysmama]

Congrats on the new kitten. Can you post pics of her?

About her never-ending energy, I'm sure some of that is just because she's a kitten.

Her pouncing and attacking your arms could be because she didn't learn cat manners from her mom and siblings. If that's the case, you can take over that job now. Here's an article with more info: Teach Your Kitten How to Play Nice : The Humane Society of the United States

About her waking you at night, you have to do something as eventually you will become sleep deprived, and that is not fun. So when she wakes you, I'd put her in her kitten proofed room. As long as she has food, water, litter box and toys, she'll be fine. Maybe leave a nightlight on so she's not in the dark. And hopefully eventually she'll let you sleep through the night.

Here's some TCS articles with more info:

How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night (step-by-step Plan)
Kitten Proofing Your Home: 13 Practical Tips

And one on How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats

 

[Elfilou]

Best advice I wish I had taken when Elf was a kitten; get a second kitten. I was barely able to enjoy Elfie's kitten phase because I was so busy entertaining her all day - and night.

 

[ferneden]

Thank you for all the advice. Last night I played with her right before bed and then gave her one of her chews as well as ignoring her when she was jumping around at 2am and luckily she just entertained herself (I found her toys all over the place) and then went to sleep. The hardest thing is that my other half stays up until around 2am playing on his playstation and stuff so she's probably wondering why she isn't getting attention if he's awake!

The arm attacking just seems to be getting worse and she only seems to do it to me, maybe she's bonded with me more and because I play with her more sees me as a playmate? I'm going to start trying the time outs and also rotating her toys because at the moment they're all out. My 17 year old never played so this is a massive learning curve! I think I'll buy some little treats to keep in my pocket too so I can reward her with her "kill".

I've attached a couple of photos of little miss Evie, the tiny warrior. She's so adorable, I wouldn't take back my decision getting her at all, I just wish I could stroke and play with her without being attacked! Unfortunately I can't convince my other half to let us get another kitten even though I would love a house full of them! Everyone just pray for my right arm and hope it doesn't get eaten by her in my sleep haha, hopefully with some more ignoring the bad and distracting with toys and rewarding for playing with them she'll learn that my arm is boring!

 

[Pixie_kitttie]

Omg she is so so cute!!! I love her white eyeliner and white socks!

When my kitten would bite me I would redirect her mouthiness to a rubber toy. I don't think she understood no and when we would try to ignore her it frustrated her more and made her more bitey.

So, she would bite, I would push my arm into her mouth because that's uncomfortable for her and makes her let go, then I'd grab the rubber toy and put it in her mouth and play with her that way. She's 2 years old now and doesn't bite me anymore (although she will give me warning bites, which is her placing her teeth gently on my skin). I hope this helps!

 

[danteshuman]

She is beautiful! I have never seen eye liner markings before.

I did the bite gag thing with my kittens at her age to. If they bit my hands or fingers I pushed my hand or fingers a little bit deeper until they let go, then I would ignore them for a few minutes (and sometimes place them on the ground.) I also never played with them using my body parts. If a wee kitten woke me up attacking me(at her age) I would grab them and hold them to my chest until I started to doze off again (and then they could escape.) If they nipped at my nose or ears I would pretend to sleep and then blow in their face when they went for my head again. At 4 or 5 months I would kick them out of my room if they woke me up. However the baby cats I did the snuggle torture with, worked. If at 4 months she is still choppy I would do the loud ow then ignore. 5-6 months? Penny can a few times then ignore.

Since she is so small I might also try a VERY smelly (?peppermint? Vanilla? Perfume?) lotion on my arms, every night before bed. If that and long sleeves still failed I might step up my game to bitter apple arm flavor. I wouldn't try citrus oil on my arms because the smell is so strong and they need the comfort of co-sleeping I think.

I would also buy ?3? Or ?4? Different interactive toys. Rotate them so it is a new toy every other night or so. The toy and some homemade puzzle feeders in the living room should keep her entertained. (Pet link motion activated cat toy, the figure 8 track ball toy and another interactive toy should help start you off.) I think keeping all play time out of the bedroom should help her learn eventually that nighttime is for cuddles with you while you sleep. I know it is hard but hang in there. In 3 months she will know your weird non-cat schedule.

I'm not a morning person I never feed them in the morning. If you do feed in the morning, make it a breakfast ritual.

If it makes you feel any better I don't get all strict until 4-5!months old. My hands got shredded by razor claws when I was feeding my bottle babies. I'm trained to not move in my sleep by previous kittens. If my lightweight blanket gets folded and I feel the slightest pressure I will not turn or kick or move because subconsciously I'm worried about accidentally hurting my adult cats. I spoil my boys rotten. When they are at your baby girl's age all I see is a toddler in fur. So though their ninja kitten antics drive you crazy, you put up with it because they are so little.

 

[rubysmama]

Awwww... she's so adorable. Love her markings.

 

[Hellenww]

She is just adorable!

I would grab them and hold them to my chest until I started to doze off again (and then they could escape.)

This what I'd do also.

 

[ferneden]

She is beautiful! I have never seen eye liner markings before.

I did the bite gag thing with my kittens at her age to. If they bit my hands or fingers I pushed my hand or fingers a little bit deeper until they let go, then I would ignore them for a few minutes (and sometimes place them on the ground.) I also never played with them using my body parts. If a wee kitten woke me up attacking me(at her age) I would grab them and hold them to my chest until I started to doze off again (and then they could escape.) If they nipped at my nose or ears I would pretend to sleep and then blow in their face when they went for my head again. At 4 or 5 months I would kick them out of my room if they woke me up. However the baby cats I did the snuggle torture with, worked. If at 4 months she is still choppy I would do the loud ow then ignore. 5-6 months? Penny can a few times then ignore.

Since she is so small I might also try a VERY smelly (?peppermint? Vanilla? Perfume?) lotion on my arms, every night before bed. If that and long sleeves still failed I might step up my game to bitter apple arm flavor. I wouldn't try citrus oil on my arms because the smell is so strong and they need the comfort of co-sleeping I think.

I would also buy ?3? Or ?4? Different interactive toys. Rotate them so it is a new toy every other night or so. The toy and some homemade puzzle feeders in the living room should keep her entertained. (Pet link motion activated cat toy, the figure 8 track ball toy and another interactive toy should help start you off.) I think keeping all play time out of the bedroom should help her learn eventually that nighttime is for cuddles with you while you sleep. I know it is hard but hang in there. In 3 months she will know your weird non-cat schedule.

I'm not a morning person I never feed them in the morning. If you do feed in the morning, make it a breakfast ritual.

If it makes you feel any better I don't get all strict until 4-5!months old. My hands got shredded by razor claws when I was feeding my bottle babies. I'm trained to not move in my sleep by previous kittens. If my lightweight blanket gets folded and I feel the slightest pressure I will not turn or kick or move because subconsciously I'm worried about accidentally hurting my adult cats. I spoil my boys rotten. When they are at your baby girl's age all I see is a toddler in fur. So though their ninja kitten antics drive you crazy, you put up with it because they are so little.

I'm going to try the cuddle torture technique haha, maybe that'll calm her down. I don't want her to stop being a bundle of playfulness because I want her to have the best childhood, I just can't deal with a tiny warrior trying to eat me in my sleep! I've just grabbed another interactive toy from work (perks of working in a pet shop!) which I'm going to alternate with the one she has now, fingers crossed I can crack the playing aspect for her and then we can all have a nice sleep together haha

 

[wealthy1]

Best advice I wish I had taken when Elf was a kitten; get a second kitten. I was barely able to enjoy Elfie's kitten phase because I was so busy entertaining her all day - and night.

I agree about getting another cat. I regretted that with my first cat, Tiger. Animals need a playmate, a social buddy, etc. It does wonders for their psyche.