Kitten playing in my bed at night

[P-chan96]

Hello!

So I have this kitten, he's about 8 months, and he has this habit of playing with a water bottle cap in my bed at night. My bed is basically a futon mattress on the floor because its easier for my toddler to get on and off so its like i dont expect him not to play but he gets too aggressive and tends to zoom over our toes and such which causes him to scratch me and my toddler. And it wouldnt be a problem if it was during the day when we are up cuz we can anticipate him, but he only does it at night when we are trying to sleep. When he does it, I kick him out of the room, because I just get anxiety that he's gonna scratch me.

I know this is probably the only solution, but I guess I kinda want to see your guys insight on whether it's just like an attention thing, something he might grow out of, etc and to like just to better understand his behavior. This past year has been my first year with cats so I don't understand them much and am learning new things every day. My slight older 2 cats don't do this at all. So he's my first with this play behavior. He's also very clingy so I feel kinda bad kicking him out the room. I actually just kicked him out as I write this and hear him playing with the bottle cap right in front of my door lol.

If you guys have seen my older threads, this kitty is from the 2nd litter I fostered, so I got him at 5 weeks and he is more "cat" like than the other 2 I have that I fostered from 2 days old.

Pic is just to show him off because I love his colors

 

[D_H]

There was a time when one of our cats would play aggressively in bed, when we were sleeping, and sometimes she'd attack our legs (maybe by accident, maybe not).

We bought a kicker, and throw it at her whenever she started playing rough and she'd attack it instead.

Maybe it's hard when you have kids, but a good 15-20 minutes playing before (her) dinner might help as well

 

[LTS3]

Can you just remove the bottle cap(s) so your cat doesn't play with them at night? Do you play with the cat before bedtime? Don't feel bad if you need to keep all the cats out of the bedroom at night. They won't like it at first so you'll have to deal with some meowing and door scratching until they learn. Wear ear plugs to get some sleep.

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[ArtNJ]

I've not let cats in my bedroom at night for 20+ years now. Sure, they *eventually* get it, but cats can take a long time to train, and youngins are a PITA. With your bed being on the floor, and a toddler sleeping with you, just kick him out. Zoomies over your bed can really hurt.

Cats dont like to be excluded from rooms, but once they get used to it, do they really benefit from being in the room with you? Personally, I don't think it matters a whit.

 

[P-chan96]

Thanks for the reassurance. I guess the main thing I'm learning from cats is that they are very persistent.

He is the youngest one and is the biggest PITA, but you live and you learn.

I've also bought kicker toys, but my cats don't seem to care for them. They mostly like those little toys that they can carry around and chase, which is what he does with the bottle cap. And I constantly throw them away, but they like grow in my carpet or something because I swear he always finds more.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

...

So I have this kitten, he's about 8 months, and he has this habit of playing with a water bottle cap in my bed at night. My bed is basically a futon mattress on the floor because its easier for my toddler to get on and off so its like i dont expect him not to play but he gets too aggressive and tends to zoom over our toes and such which causes him to scratch me and my toddler. And it wouldnt be a problem if it was during the day when we are up cuz we can anticipate him, but he only does it at night when we are trying to sleep. ...

Pic is just to show him off because I love his colors

He sure is handsome!

He's going to want to play, being 8 months old and interested in funtimes! What I would do, if it were me, would be to keep him out of your bedroom at night but to also set up another fun play area for his bottle caps. Like, set up an area (in another room?) with another type of flat cushion or pillow (to replicate the fun he has had with your futon-on-the-floor), or with some crinkle paper, or a large, open cardboard box that he can zoom into and play in with his bottle caps. In my opinion, you don't want to discourage the intellectual benefit of concerted play for a smart cat who's 8 months old. (You are going to get a lot of redirected anger if he feels squelched in venting his play behavior.)

 

[danteshuman]

Besides kicking kitty out at bed time maybe soft paws/nail caps would help? The vet could glue them onto your kitty’s claws. The bottle caps? Give up & give them to him! He would be running over you with or without the bottle caps.

The good news is that in about a year he should start calming down. Though my guy is 3 years old and still will run over me in my sleep if there are flies buzzing around! Though he is a hyper kitty.