Kitten Behavior—help!

[Smashingpotatoes]

Hi everyone! Please help!

I got my new kitten about a month ago and she recently (about a week ago) started acting very mischievous around the apartment. It mostly happens at night, when I’m asleep. I teach college and I’m a PhD student, so I spend sporadic hours outside the house. (Disclaimer: my first cat was an angel as a kitten—no trouble, slept through the night, not messy, not too hyper.)

My main problem here is that I don’t know how to teach her not to do things anymore. I have lizards and recently had to replace the top of their tank because she would go on top of it all the time. She goes into the kitchen sink and scratches at my suitcases. She has started climbing up my bookcases and yesterday morning I woke up and found things knocked over in the kitchen and my clothes strewn about the apartment. Thankfully she relieves herself only in the litter box, but she tries to eat human food (another thing my first cat doesn’t do because he’s so awesome).

I tried following the vet’s advice and spraying her with water but it’s done nothing and realistically I don’t want her to be afraid of me. I hold her every day and play with her and feed her her big meal at night. I’ve bought her interactive toys and she has two beds (and my bed and two couches) to sleep on. I just have NO IDEA anymore what to do to get her to sleep or teach her not to do something. I know ignoring is a good way to go but how do I ignore her on top of the lizard tank or in the kitchen sink?

She’s seven months old and the vet seems to think she’s part Siamese. She’s definitely going to be big by the way. My first cat lives with my mom (he’s 12, we got him when I was in high school so he’s like the family cat) and it’s out of the question for me to get another kitten or cat or furry thing for her to play with. Please help! Thank you!

 

[tinydestroyer]

My kitten definitely went through a mischievous phase. She's calmed down some, for sure. Since you say you're playing with her and feeding before bed, I'd say the more important thing is to find a way to keep her out of the things like the lizard tanks. I've had some luck with my cats using a pheromone spray called "Stop That!" You don't actually spray the cat, but spray in their direction. It makes a hissing noise, and mists a pheromone towards the cat, both of which register your displeasure. You have to catch them in the act for it to work. It kept my kittens out of the Christmas tree, kitchen counters, and attic with just one spray each.
As for calming her down, a pheromone diffuser like feliway might work. Or more rigorous / lengthy play sessions before bed. Maybe she just needs to get out of the hyper phase, though, which won't be so bad (temporarily,) if you can keep her out of things that are important to you or unsafe for her. Good luck!

 

[danteshuman]

Oh my dear god she is part siamese!!!! Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnn! Just joking

So question #1 can you lock her out or in the bathroom (worst case scenario) if she wakes you up? If so quick her out EVERY time she wakes you, eventually she will learn. It may take a couple of months. Just keep repeating 15-20 years of this or 1-3 months of training?

#2 Can you put large plastic storage containers on top of your lizard cage so she can't jump on top? Or if she has to jump onto something to make it to your lizard case , can you block that spot?

#3 It sounds like she likes to climb, like my part siamese little terrorist of doom as I called him for the first 8 years of his life So can you give her lots of cat shelves and a couple cat trees so she can get up high (away from your lizard.) My bud's/terrorist's favorite hiding spot is on top of my TV amour. He climbs up his cat tree and hides behind my plant. Can you give her something like that?



#4 Can you give her a bird watching window where you hang a bird feeder outside? If not can you start harness training her and give her a walk every evening? (Trust me outside time/bird hunting is a life saver!)

#5 Can you start feeding her via puzzle feeders so you challenge her daily? (Like when you are sleeping?) They need to tire out their minds & bodies.

*I survived my punk's first hyper 7.5 years ... he is now a chill almost 11 year old cat (he even got downgraded from terrorist to punk ) So how did I survive without shaving him? 2 daily play sessions 20 minutes long... or more. Now he just needs it before bedtime. He also gets an hour or more in the backyard 'hunting' birds. It took years to train him to stay in the backyard so again I recommend harness training her. Please be patient with her, she is a teenager. I love my bud. He follows me around the house everywhere I go, like a shadow. I love him to pieces. The part siamese/pure siamese are worth it I swear! Dante's hunting spot... note the high hanging bird feeders:

 

[Midnight_Echo]

I have a 13 year old cat (Midnight) but also have a kitten (Echo) who is 7 months old. She’s quite the little hell raiser (among other things). Midnight has always been laid back and tends to go with the flow. Definitely not a leader...but more of a follower. Echo on the other hand...yikes. For starters, Echo wants to be the dominant cat of the household. Poor Midnight, Echo tackles her to the ground, insisting on grooming her. Vet told me that I pretty much had to let them figure out the hierarchy. As long as neither is growling, upset ~ just let them sort it out. But if there are growling, hissing noises...need to step in and break things up. Vet suggested a spray bottle (lol - not happening. Echo loves getting wet). The next option was a coffee can with some coins in it ~ told to shake it when she’s being naughty. Seems to help somewhat. I do raise my voice, if needed to get her attention (only if the coffee can doesn’t work).

The one thing that’s kinda helped me ~ getting Echo into a routine. Play time along with treats. When it’s time for bed, I go upstairs to her room - and put out wet food. Without fail, Echo comes up on her own to eat the food, then goes to sleep. Once she’s in her room, I say goodnight and shut the door. She’s got a bunch of toys in her room as well as a scratching post and food. Nine times out of ten she’ll go straight to sleep. But come 6:00am, she’s ready to start the day. Me though...not so much. Usually I’ll knock on the door to get her attention and say - not yet, go back to sleep (she’s catching on, finally). I’ve been sleeping on the couch for the past few weeks (my bed broke and I’m a caregiver for my grandmom, gotta make sure she’s safe if she gets up) ~ but I do have an extra cat carrier. Since sleeping on the couch, I’ve had Echo in the carrier beside me (carrier covered with a throw blanket to keep things dark). Usually she grumbles for a bit but eventually settles down. Would your kitten sleep in a carrier at night? Maybe she’s lonely and would settle down more if she knew you were right beside her? Or even invest in a small dog crate for her to sleep in?

Regarding the other behavior... I’ve had similar issues. Echo would knock everything off of grandmom’s table. Ended up cleaning up the excess clutter on the table to see if that makes a difference (sorta worked - now she just picks up random items from the table to play with). Can the lizard tank be moved to a different area of the apartment? Maybe the doors don’t shut properly (especially if a cat can easily get in)? One of the doors in my home doesn’t shut properly, so I have items moved up against it so the cats can’t get at it. Horrible as it may sound, but maybe turn on the kitchen sink when she gets in (eventually associating the sink with bad outcome = getting wet). I do that with Midnight more times than I can count thru the years ~ she didn’t like it, but doesn’t hate me. I do think a lot of the bad behavior may stop when she’s older (...kittens tend to be curious; not naughty on purpose). Only other thing I can think of...is she spayed? That may play into why she’s being naughty/tooo much energy.

 

[danteshuman]

Routine does help. A bored cat is a destructive cat. And when my punk was little I used squirt bottles, clapping and a empty soda can with pennies in it & duct tape on top. Now I just give them a warning shake of the bottle and they get the idea.