6 month crazies

[Val622]

Do kittens turn crazy at 6 months or is just mine. She all of sudden is climbing up curtains( took them down) jumping
Up On high dressers and on top of curtain rods. I’m afraid she’s going to try to jump to the ceiling fan!! She has lots of toys and towers. Hope it’s a phase.

 

[susanm9006]

What happens when kittens get older is that they go from mindless play to more thought out play and purposeful activity. They are able to observe, play and act to so you see them doing more exploration and repetition of activities that they found fun or exciting. They also get bolder and more confident in their ability to jump and climb. Unfortunately this leads to things like climbing the curtains, learning to knock things off of surfaces or learning how much fun it is to unroll the toilet paper.

She will eventually settle down some but it could be six months or a couple years depending on the cat. She needs a few heavy play sessions a day to wear off some energy and plenty of toys that she can bounce and chase.

 

[lollie]

It’s called being a teenager. Yes, she will probably try to jump to the ceiling fan. Don’t worry, you only have about a year and a half to go. In the meantime, like susanm9006 said- play, play, play. Having toys laying there isn’t enough, you have to play with her to wear her little kitty butt out. Wand toys are good. I remember my cat liked to play tennis. As in - I would throw/bounce the ball and she would smack it with her paw. She was incredible. If she had been a human child, she would have won Wimbledon. This is why they recommend, when adopting kittens, to get two. Unfortunately, I did not listen to this, and I could barely sit down to eat the first year.

 

[Val622]

Lol. Thanks. I dread when friends want us to go out at night because I know I will be ready for bed when I get home but my cat won’t!! She loves playing fetch with springs. And of course it takes a lot more to wear her out now that she’s older. Unfortunately my husband is allergic to more than one cat or I would have loved two! I also wonder if she would have been so close to me if we had two. She is literally attached to me.

 

[lollie]

Nope, that’s a personality thing. Mine is an Independent little miss.

 

[Furballsmom]

And of course it takes a lot more to wear her out now that she’s older.

Would a cat wheel work for her? Or clicker training?

 

[Alldara]

Any food enrichment you can provide will help too. It keeps them busy. There's lots of DIYs on YouTube.

I'll also recommend you get a couple of electronic toys to be able to rotate out! They are lifesavers with our boys when we must go off-schedule.

 

[mxphs]

Humphrey used to need 1 hour play sessions when he was around 6 months old. It's hard work raising a kitten, especially if you are the sole parent! Toys aren't enough I found for humphrey, he has SO many but he wants me to be involved with his playtime all the time.It was really hard on me as a first time cat owner, but the time really does fly, even if it feels like it's dragging right now for you.