Young Cat, Exponential Energy

Hi! I just adopted an 8-month old kitty from a local shelter and he is a great, healthy black cat. His name is Bernie. I am a college athlete at a division 1 school, so my schedule is always quite hectic, and whenever I'm home I'm very tired.

I've only had my cat for 5 days and he has so much energy I don't know where it comes from. I've been taking very good care of him, grooming, playtime, cuddles, proper food/water/litter box access, but he continues to insist on running around my room, up and down the stairs, sinking his little kitty claws into everything throughout the hours of the night. I've been becoming sleep deprived, and when I'm sleep deprived, i get quite emotional. My local vet told me to keep him in his own separate room at night with all of his necessities, but he is still running around tearing everything up.

I feel like I'm failing as a cat parent, and I've been running out of options. I do not want to take him back to the shelter, but after moments of crying because I'm exhausted and sleep deprived, its the only option I can think of.

Is there any tips out there to help me in my situation? I want to build a connection with my cat and enjoy having him here, instead of feeling like he is giving me anxiety.. any thing is appreciated.

First off you need to train your cat what your schedule. I wish there was an easy way, but there isn't. Just remember above all else do NOT reward him with attention, food or playing if he wakes you up before your alarm goes off. If you can calmly kick him out of your room (preferably into a cat room with a door) or play dead. Either way do not reward the behavior even once!

Next play sessions can help (I suggest fetch while you are studying) and wand toys you rotate weekly in the morning and before bed. Interactive toys you rotate weekly if you can find quiet ones or put them in another room.

A meal after playtime before bed can help.

He is a teen right now so hopefully he will calm down within 6 months (though my one crazy hyperactive cat didn't calm down until his 7th year.... mind you he was unusually hyper.)

That said pets take work. Cats are a 10-18 year commitment. If you are not ready for that or if he is to hyper for you ..... there are many middle age or senior cats that lost their owners though no fault of their own who would appreciate a nice loving home ..... and would take less energy.

Trust me I feel your pain. I have a 3.5 month old kitten I play dead with every morning and run a fan to drown out his nighttime playing.

It is very common for a cat to get up at 3 or 4 am and run around like a terror, and not the easiest thing to fix. However, you are describing action all night long. So I think danteshuman is totally correct to talk about trying to sync up your schedules better. It should definitely be possible to *improve* by synchronizing better so keep your chin up! Eliminating it entirely? Well unfortunately I agree with danteshuman on that too -- cats are cats, and this is a thing that cats often do for a stage.

As far as how to synchronize, normally it would be pretty easy for a college kid because the room is often the home base visited at multiple points throughout the day. I'm guessing you live off campus, and with sports, part time job or whatever else, your more like the average working person hours wise, which makes it trickier. Certainly at least briefly check in with the cat, wake it and try to play for a couple minutes at every point in the day you can. Do not think "oh my kitty needs its sleep"! Catnaps are a thing for a reason -- the kitty will get back to sleep easy enough -- too easy actually -- so don't feel guilty about waking it for a play session!

I'm sure there are some clever things you can do to help with sync as well. Stuff like setting a roomba to go as your leaving, or putting on cat tv. Anything to keep your cat from going right back to sleep during the day when you leave.

You got excellent answers above.
My comments are. Short version; he is quite normal. Merry gallopades are a big part of the joy of being an owner of young cats!
I mean, knowing its normal, you arent doing anything wrong and he is OK, is part of the solution. You can sleep on, resting in knowledge he isnt sick nor dying. Just having a merry time.

He will prob be calmer as little older, but he is young now. Yet, even older cats are known to have sometimes fits of such "cat madness"


OK, the quick fix is to have a companion cat to him, if the other cats is friends with him. He perhaps had a preferred pal in the shelter?
Whom he will wrestle with, play hunt on each other, chase each other.
It will not necessarily help you sleep, as now they will be two to have merry galloppades and wrestling matches perhaps on your bed... And meow aloud to beg for a night snack, or tell you they had done their business in the litter box. But you will not be forced to have very long play sessions. And you will have calmer conscience leaving them alone long in study and training days...
So this is a standard advice, sort off. Works out almost every time, with the note they should be friends, or at very least, coexist peacefully.
That is the usual; most cats prefer to live with a friendly companion, but no quaranties given. Some cats prefer to be alone. Or perhaps their chemistry isnt agreeing.

Having him in his own room at night helps you sleep, if you have touchy sleep.
The big drawback is, having the cat sleeping with you is another big part of the pleasure to live with a cat... Its also a good way to become deeper friends with your cat. But if allergic cat owners can abstain from this pleasure, so can surely you too...

IF you dont manage, although armed now with your new knowledge, you DO have an OK option. As the shelter is ready to take back the cat, it wont be a total mess.

And instead you can take in an older, calmer cat. Perhaps even a senior.
A cat whom is happy to have a kind owner and live a calm life of inside only cat, and be happy to sleep with you in your bed almost a whole night.

When I first adopted my cat Luna(6 months old), she was so just so full of energy. I'm talking about biting wires, scratching furniture, jumping on the ceiling fan, constant meowing at 3~5 AM, darting across the apartment and into the blinds... It was a nightmare!

Believe me, I know what you're going through. I play with Luna before I went to work and quite a bit after I'm off as well. She just always had more energy and I was getting more and more fatigued as the weeks went by. I was really close to taking her back to the shelter simply because this was my first time being a pet guardian and it was just so overwhelming!

Eventually though, one day I noticed she started to get tired roughly around the time I got tired. She started waking me up less and less as time went on. She still wakes me up but not at unreasonable hours, we're talking about 10 AM usually and I sleep at 2 AM. At this point she's pretty much synced up with me and she spends her nights gazing at me before falling asleep.

I hate to say it but it's mostly an endurance thing, you will have to persevere. During that time, your cat will get to know who you are and you will get to know who he is and eventually a bond will form and it'll be hard to imagine life without your cat. Once you get to understand each other, things will eventually smooth out. It's no easy task but you'll just have to have faith in your cat that he'll one day be your best buddy.

A random tip - Teach good habits early while you still can, it'll be much easier now than later on. I taught Luna to get in her spot to get her teeth brushed which took almost 2 months of struggling but now she reminds me to do it if I were to ever forget.

This is Luna just gazing down at me on her bed which is right next to mines.


And this is her getting her teeth brushed. She knows where to go

dazed&confused said:

Hi! I just adopted an 8-month old kitty from a local shelter and he is a great, healthy black cat. His name is Bernie. I am a college athlete at a division 1 school, so my schedule is always quite hectic, and whenever I'm home I'm very tired.
.

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With such a busy college life, having a cat may not be ideal. Some cats are super energetic and needy. Some grow out of it, others never do.

If the cat just does't work out, don't feel guilty for taking him back to the shelter. Perhaps a different pet might be better suited to a college life, such as a small critter. You still need to spend a bit of time with the critter and clean the cage / tank out weekly but most critters are happy on their own with some interaction from you.

He is just being a normal kitty. I have one right now and his energy is unbelievable! What I do to get my sleep is put him on a separate room at night, with one of my much older cat, Barley, who seems to be fond of the kitty. Otherwise if left alone she will cry and call out.

Try also to play with him longer before bedtime. As what is suggested, you can also feed him before bedtime so not much reason for him to wake up at night as he is full and tired. Keep all the wirings and all out of the way. Just make sure he has an accessible water and litterbox.

Pls do not give up on him. His energy will soon pass, and you will find yourself with a cat who only likes to sleep and watch the cars go by.

^
Adding to the last part, you'll find a cat that'll have so much love for you.
Just hang in there, give it a month or two if you can and see where it goes from there.

One day...
Your cat will be a big part of your life and from your cat's perspective...
You are their life.

LOL, I feel for you. BUT...your cat is about the equivalent of a 13-14 year old boy, with all of that mega-energy. So, you are a college athlete, and he's a jr. high school athlete! What kind of play are you doing with him? I'd suggest, if you aren't doing this now, getting a good wand toy, such as Da Bird, and really wear him out with it several times a day. Get him to the point of just lying on the floor panting for a few minutes, rinse and repeat at least three times per session. Now, to do this, you're going to have to put your imagination at work. BE THE BIRD! Make that bundle of feathers swoop and soar, and land, flutter on the ground, then SWOOP some more! Make it real for him. Do this at least 3 times a day, with the FINAL session being just before bedtime. Wear him out, feed him, and head to bed. This one is the critical one. A cat's natural rythm is to hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom and sleep. You're always going to get better results when you play into that natural cycle.

A LOT of this will settle down with time. Once he's past the 18 month old mark, he will start to mature mentally and emotionally, and things won't be quite so frantic. By the time he's six or seven years old, you'll look back on this madness with a bit of nostalgia and longing.