Energetic Cat

[nourya]

Hey guys, I wish you all a wonderful week! I moved into a new apartment almost 5 months ago, ever since then my cat has been acting crazy. Everything starts around 8 pm. He tries to climb up to the wall and doors, I play with him like half an hour, then take him out for a walk almost every single night! But when we come back and I go for my bed, he jumps and even climb the curtains! What should I do? I wake him up whenever I see him sleep during the day. Sometimes it works sometimes not.

 

[Kennajustkenna]

Have you ever heard of feliwayspray? My friend who’s a vet tech recommended this for me because my cat can get a little crazy sometimes but I use it mostly for scratching furniture. It’s supposed to calm them down and make them feel like they are in a safe environment. I would look in to it!

 

[nourya]

Thank you so much for the suggestion!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Do you feed him after play time/walking but before you go to bed? If not, you might want to delay his feeding until then and see if that calms him down.

Is he in a different room after 8pm than where he normally hangs out? It could be smells from a previous cat that was in that room and perhaps peed/pooped in there.

If Feliway doesn't work, you could try another calming product called Bach Rescue Remedy, it is drops you can rub on his ear. Both of these work on some cats and not on others.

 

[ArtNJ]

If you google the science of Feliway, you'll find that there is no scientific evidence that it does anything at all. Might, might not. Young cats are often a huge PITA at times, and I don't know that any product which doesn't actually sedate the cat is going to change that.

I would therefore suggest that you: (1) continue to look at alternative ways to get energy out -- maybe he will chase a battery powered toy for example. You could also look at food toys, where the cat has to work at getting food -- apparently some of those really occupy some cats for quite a bit. Another idea would be a laser pointer ... playing actively with a cat is tiring, but you can use a laser pointer from a chair, potentially while doing other stuff, maybe allowing you to do more than 30 minutes; (2) curb the most problematic behaviors like climbing the curtains by loudly saying "No!" and, if necessary shooing him away; (3) allow him his time to bounce off the walls if he is not damaging anything.

This phase doesn't usually last very long. I know that is no help if the cat is damaging stuff, but at least you know that if you can get through it, things will improve. How old is the cat?

 

[susanm9006]

If he doesn’t have a tall cat tree he really needs one. Better he be climbing and jumping on that than your curtains. Then he needs running and chasing games in the evening. Laser, wand toys or playing fetch until he is exhausted and won’t play any more.

 

[danteshuman]

Besides all that why not try double sided sticky tape on the curtains and a fan/sound machine at night?

I assume he is not a wee kitten. Most kittens outgrow the curtain climbing phase by 4-5 months.