Maine Coon Kittens- Some Questions For The Experts

[Breezy0815]

Hello!

I just got two Maine coon kittens, they are 2 weeks apart (12 wks old and 14wks old).

We got Tyrion at 12 weeks and bonded with him pretty well. He's not incredibly affectionate, but does purr when we pick him up and sleeps with us every night. Then, two weeks later we got his brother (from another mother, literally). Initially they didn't get along but now after a few days they play and sleep and are fast friends.

My question: the new little guy, Oberyn, is soooo affectionate, he crys unless you pick him up and wants to be in your lap he's truly a little baby. So much so that I feel like Tyrion doesn't want to be with us anymore. Since we've gotten Oberyn Tyrion has stopped sleeping with us. We try and give them both the same amount of attention, but when we're playing Oberyn steals the spotlight, he's so fast he always gets the toy first and Tyrion ends up just sitting back and watching. Is there anything I should be doing?

Second question: Oberyn kneads a lot when he's being affectionate and does not know how to retract his claws. I'm covered in scratches, on my face, neck and chest. I don't want to push him away because I love him, but it hurts ! I usually get woken up in the middle of the night by a bite on my nose while he's doing it, and last night it was so hard I was bleeding. He only does this with me, not my fiancé. What can I do?

Third question: they've somewhat adjusted to our sleep schedule but wake up around 5am and go crazy. We have downstairs neighbors so I want to try and keep it down till 7am. Around 5:30am I get the little guy and put him in the carrying case we have, just to separate them. Tyrion goes crazy searching for him and Oberyn cries for a good ten minutes before settling down (he obviously wants to be out of the carrier). I put the carrier in my bed with me so he knows I'm right there, but I feel so sad doing it. Is it wrong?? Is there a better way??

(For reference I live in an apartment so I can't really lock one of them in a different room.)

Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read and answer!

Bree

 

[margd]

Congratulations on your new family members! And welcome to TCS! We have a lot of members with special soft spots for Maine Coon kittens (and adults) and you will fit right in!

I'm sorry Tyrion and Oberyn are giving you problems at the moment. I've never had a Maine Coon kitty before, much less two, but a lot of what you describe sounds like behavior that can pop up with any pair of kittens, so I'll see what I can do. To start with, here are a couple of articles that will give you some general information on behavior modification.

How To Set Healthy Boundaries For Your Cat
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification

Starting with the third question first: The solution to this behavior begins the night before. Try giving the boys a big play time at night, one that wears them out, if possible. One of the best ways to do this is with a wand toy, such as Da Bird. Many cats can't resist this toy and it's perfect for kittens the age of Tyrion and Oberyn. Not only will they chase you as you wave it around, they will get a good work-out by jumping and leaping around. It will help to eventually get several wand toys to rotate so they don't get bored.

Start feeding them one of their meals towards the end of the evening so as to lessen the chances of them waking up hungry. To deal with midnight cravings, try giving them some kibble in a food maze. This is the one that I have for my cats' middle of the night munchies:



There are many different products on the market for this purpose, here's a search on Amazon to give you an idea of what's available.

For more ideas, check out this article: How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night?

Moving up to your second question about kneading - my cat Paul does the same thing and I can sympathize with you not wanting to be subjected to those claws! I'm not sure how you can teach Oberyn to retract his, I think the better approach is to make sure they are kept clipped and blunt. Also, don't be too worried about him becoming less affectionate if you push him away. I let Paul knead for awhile and when it starts to get uncomfortable, I push him away with a kiss on his head and say "no more" or "that's enough" in a friendly but firm tone of voice. In the beginning, I had to enforce that by putting him on the floor. The trick is to avoid turning it into a game so keep your voice firm. It took a while but he did eventually get the message and Oberyn should as well.

If you've not started clipping their claws yet, this is a good time to do so. The younger they are, the easier it is to get them to accept claw clipping as a normal part of their routine. These articles will give you more information on the importance of grooming: 7 Reasons Why You Really Should Groom Your Cat Regularly and describe the best ways to clip their claws: How To Best Take Care Of Cat Claws . YouTube also has many videos demonstrating how to clip claws.

I've saved your first question until last because I'm not quite sure how to answer. Normally I'd suggest spending alone time with Tyrion to reassure him that he is still important to you but it sounds like that may not be possible in your case. If there is any way at all to separate them so Tyrion has time with you without Oberyn butting in, it would really help, though. You need to reach out to Tyrion since he's not reaching out on his own behalf. As far as the toy situation goes, if you're tossing a toy for them to chase or play with, you might try tossing two toys at once, in different directions. Send Oberyn off chasing his and give Tyrion the chance to recognize that the toy coming towards him is meant for him.

Hopefully, other members have some ideas to share about bringing Tyrion out of his shell. Please let us know how it goes. And post photos. We love photos and can never have too many!

 

[danteshuman]

About kneading, I just put a nice thick blanket between me & their claws. When you are asleep, my mean advice is if he wakes you, calmly kick him out for the night. He will learn soon enough that biting you on your nose wakes you up.; and gets him kicked out. These don't sound like breed specific problems, just normal new kitten issues. From what I have heard Maine Coon cats are laid back, active, water loving cats. Welcome to the cat site