Can you "overwork" kittens?

[Falena]

Hi all,

First time kitten parent here.
My little girl Akila has just turned 12 weeks old and is absolutely bonkers (as she should be) I love it, she's amazingly fun, silly and absolutely hilarious.
But my question is, can you play with them too much? She never wants to stop! I mean, she can play with a wand up and down her furniture (and mine) for hours without tiring! I work from home so I play with her an awful lot but as someone who's only ever had puppies as far as baby animals go, with puppies you have to take care with certain play activities and duration as to not stress their growing joints.
Does the same apply to kittens? or should I just continue to play with her as long as she'd like?

Thank you in advance (:

 

[Mr. Meow]

In terms of energy, when they stop, you stop. Energy expenditure is always a good thing. It's essentially exercise, anxiety/stress relief and enrichment.

However, to answer the question as seen in the title, yes. If you are trying to force a kitten to play, learn or become comfortable with something, you can push it past the idea of learning into anxiety and stress. Teaching your cat or kitten to learn is great, but just like humans, cats can become stressed if there's too much stimulation.

 

[LTS3]

Some kittens are just super active. It really helps if they have another friend to play with. That gives you a break from constantly playing with the kitten. Do you have toys the kitten can play with alone? Balls, things to bat around, etc?

 

[Falena]

In terms of energy, when they stop, you stop. Energy expenditure is always a good thing. It's essentially exercise, anxiety/stress relief and enrichment.

However, to answer the question as seen in the title, yes. If you are trying to force a kitten to play, learn or become comfortable with something, you can push it past the idea of learning into anxiety and stress. Teaching your cat or kitten to learn is great, but just like humans, cats can become stressed if there's too much stimulation.

First of all, thank you for the answer. Much appreciated (:
Don't worry. I definitely understand to stop when she does, I wouldn't force anything upon her or try to get her to engage while she was relaxing.
I guess I meant more when she's bounding around and leaping for long periods of time ( which she definitely chooses to do haha) could this affect her joints or harm her if I do join in with the wand to stimulate her? Or do kittens know their limits better than puppies do? She won't jump if she (or I) feels it's too high or anything like that. She's just a very active kitten that seems to enjoy jumping and climbing to chase something the most out of all the games we play and I was concerned that too much of that game could be harmful to her?

Some kittens are just super active. It really helps if they have another friend to play with. That gives you a break from constantly playing with the kitten. Do you have toys the kitten can play with alone? Balls, things to bat around, etc?

Oh She's definitely one of those! Haha, super active little thing. And I have definitely considered getting a brother or sister to play with (I'm moving to a larger home soon where it'd be more spacious for 2 cats, I'd like to have 2 eventually anyway).
And yes, she has lots of toys such as balls, kickers and little mice etc. I do have fish tanks also that keep her pretty amused for a while . But she definitely is a climber, absolutely loves bolting up the cat trees and making a fuss. I've been wondering about interactive toys like those little puzzles with the ball that spins around the ring and the electric butterflies etc thinking those could help, if you have any recommendations?

 

[LTS3]

I've been wondering about interactive toys like those little puzzles with the ball that spins around the ring and the electric butterflies etc thinking those could help, if you have any recommendations?

Some cats really like those. My cats didn't really care much for those types of toys but they're oddballs.

Another cat was the only thing that would help my cat when he was a kitten. He's a super active breed and no amount of playing would satisfy him. I adopted a similar aged cat and that really helped get the zoomies out.

 

[di and bob]

A brother would be nice, most females are such little divas they do not like to share with another female. The problem is, once she gets a little older she will not want to play like him, so then HE needs a wrestling partner. I have always said the perfect cat family is two brothers to play and wrestle, and a sister to teach them manners and watch over them!
I don't think you can really play too much, if it gets to the point where she is panting hard, that may be a place to stop.

 

[Falena]

Some cats really like those. My cats didn't really care much for those types of toys but they're oddballs.

Another cat was the only thing that would help my cat when he was a kitten. He's a super active breed and no amount of playing would satisfy him. I adopted a similar aged cat and that really helped get the zoomies out.

I suppose I could give them a try and see if she's one to enjoy them!

Another cat is definitely something I'd like as well as her benefitting, so that's also an option! We don't have many for adoption in my area (which I guess is a good thing) so I'll likely have to look into reputable breeders if no one shows up at the shelter when we make the commitment.

A brother would be nice, most females are such little divas they do not like to share with another female. The problem is, once she gets a little older she will not want to play like him, so then HE needs a wrestling partner. I have always said the perfect cat family is two brothers to play and wrestle, and a sister to teach them manners and watch over them!
I don't think you can really play too much, if it gets to the point where she is panting hard, that may be a place to stop.

Haha! Everyone I know that has cats has been telling me that they are addictive. I guess that's looks to be quite true. That's a really good observation I'll definitely keep in mind when looking for a sibling (or 2 )
And thank you for clarifying! She does break out into a mild pant eventually, but that's usually when she decides she's done. So I'm going to assume she knows her own limits better than I do