Training a deaf kitten

[soymylk]

So I have owned my little boy for 5 days now, and I am almost completely certain he is deaf. I have never once seen him react to any kind of sound both consciously (moving head to look, running over to investigate) and unconsciously (ear twitching, waking up). I speak to him, I call him, I snap my fingers or clap (even when he's asleep) and nothing. Not even once. If he can't see me he panics even when I am just around the corner. Can someone please confirm my suspicions from the information I have provided?

Anyhow, I love him regardless of whether he is deaf or not, and contrary to my boyfriend's rather heartless suggestion, I have no intention of trading him in for a 'less defective model', especially as I have had issues with hearing all my life too. But I am a little concerned about how this will effect the process of 'training him'.

There are two main issues I want to curb before they become habits for him.

1. Play fighting (scratching, biting), which is cute now, but really not something I want to experience when he is fully grown because at 11 weeks he is already rather big.

2. Him joining me on my bed at all times. Fine if he wants a cuddle or a nap next to me. Not fine if he is going to run around all over me and scratch me at 4am when I am desperately trying to sleep. I live in a studio apartment and I don't really have the option of shutting him away since my only options are my tiny balcony or my bathroom/laundry room (my washing machine drains directly onto my bathroom floor, as does my shower. Unique quirk of living in Korea I guess). This is especially urgent at the moment as he has had some 'tummy issues' adjusting to new food and surroundings and hasn't quite learned to clean himself properly yet... There aren't enough wet wipes in the world...

For the play fighting problem I have looked at quite a few sources on here and of course the most frequently recommended and successful way of curbing this is by pulling away and saying 'NO!' firmly, meaning that in the future all that should be needed is this verbal reinforcement. Obviously not an option.

For the bed thing, I have no idea what to do about this really. He is welcome to join me on here but I really won't make it through the next 20-odd years if he is going to be running all over me and playing with my hair when I'm trying to catch up on sleep aha. Once again, verbal cues seem to be the most obvious way (after initial training and deterring) to reinforce his learned behavior over time but this isn't doable.

So please, wise ladies and gentlemen of the forum, how do I help my wonderful kitten live a comfortable life without hearing, and how do I prevent him from inadvertently learning negative behaviors without being able to use verbal cues?

 

[yayi]

Whether your kitten is deaf or not, his behavior is quite normal. Cats are more active at night so his playfulness at 2 or 4 a.m. is not surprising. Here is a link that explains cat night time behavior and some suggestions to help you. http://www.perfectpaws.com/noct.html#.U4Bp7PmSxyw  . In the matter of his "scratching and biting during play" do not use your hands or feet as toys. Stop playing when he starts going after you and ignore him. Provide him with toys like Da Bird or crinkly balls/mice he can kick around and chase. 

 

[soymylk]

Thank you for the reply, yayi! Fantastic, helpful link. Also, my apologies because it would seem I managed to ramble on a great deal without actually managing to clearly express the relevant information haha. I know that my kitten's behavior at night is normal and of course I have no problem with him doing his thing at any time of day or night, but my main issue was him pouncing on me in bed at night, but your link addressed that well

As for play fighting, again, I wasn't clear - I have no choice in the matter! I will be sitting minding my own business when he will suddenly go into crazy play mode, and anything and everything becomes a toy. It's just a matter of what is in his way at the time! Sometimes this will happen to be my fingers or arms if I am sitting nearby or if I am just trying to move him or pet him, after incorrectly assuming he might have calmed down. I have no intention of reinforcing his behavior by playing along, I just wanted to make sure that I could effectively teach him that it wasn't okay in the long term I have provided him with plenty of toys so as per your advice I will try to redirect his attention to these. 

Many thanks for the wonderful advice!

 

[plan]

Yep, normal behavior.

As far as biting, I was able to curb that by following the traditional advice -- every time he bites, I tell him "No!" and ignore him or leave the room. Sometimes I also put him in his carrier for a "time out," but only immediately after he bites, so he associates biting with the time out.

Bottom line, after a few weeks of consistently ending play time and ignoring him when he bites, he knows not to do it anymore. Mostly. And if he does, I just ignore him again for 20 minutes or so. Also, it helps to always have a toy nearby to redirect him and to play with him.

 

[abby2932]

When I got my second cat (she was 4 weeks old) I thought she would NEVER stop with the relentless play fighting, attacking and running around like crazy at all hours of the night. Jumping up on the bed, biting my hair, jumping off the bed, running in the other room and back again. My other cat (5 years old at the time) and I were not getting much sleep for a WHILE 

I had to make it a point to play with her with toys, never my hand and I just ignored her while I was sleeping when she acted all crazy. I would say about 6 months later she finally calmed down and laid down to sleep with us. She does still play fight and try to get my hand a bit but once I bring out a toy she'll leave my hand alone. 

oh kittens....

 

[malt]

Certainly I think pulling your hand away if he bites is a good start to training him. Tiring him out during the day will lead to him sleeping better at night, but kittens seem to have limitless energy. I still haven't figured out how to get mine to stop being so hyper and loud at night - they either ignore my voice or it spurs them on! Tell me if you ever figure out a solution other than 'wait for them to grow out of it'  

As for your boyfriend - I would trade him in for a less heartless model.