I have two kittens, a brother and sister (Milo and Simone) both 5 1/2 months old, both from the same litter and they have been neutered/spayed a few weeks ago. Simone is a sweetheart and has exhibited what I've come to know as "normal kitten rambunctiousness". Milo is another story. They will play together but Milo is clearly the alpha cat. He asserts himself everywhere, and I have let the two of them sort themselves out regarding the pecking order, but I won't lie, Milo is starting to drive me crazy. I just want to know if this is all normal for him or if he's a special kind of insanely hyperactive kitten. I also want to know if there's any possibility that he will grow out of this kind of behavior because if he continues to be like this as an adult, I'm not sure that I can keep him.
For one thing, he is a boundless fountain of hyper. There is almost never a moment in the day when I don't see him rocketing through the house like a cat-shaped bullet. I don't think this kitten has the ability to walk--only run, because that's all I've seen him do. He's also a big jumper, leaper, food hog and gets into absolutely everything. I'm really at my wit's end with him because it seems like every day he discovers a new way to get into something I thought he couldn't get into and try my patience. I know a certain level of annoying behavior is normal for a kitten, but here are some of the issues I have with him and what I've tried to do about it:
He will steal food. Not just from Simone, but from me as well. I have three different feeding stations set up for them. If he bothers Simone at one, I move her to another. He'll follow and try to eat her food and not bother to touch his until he's done with hers. By the time he's eaten hers, he doesn't really care to eat his because he's full. I've resorted to just feeding Simone in a room on her own. He loves stealing food from me, which is much more dangerous for him. The other day I was eating my dinner and my phone rang. I have learned to put a pot cover on my plate when I have to step away because every time I left any food out, Milo would try to eat it and not everything I eat is safe for him. I literally left my plate for about 15 seconds while I walked five steps to pick up the phone and when I turned around, Milo was in the process of lifting the pot cover off my plate to get at my food. I picked him up, put him on the ground, threw his favorite toy in the direction of my living room and watched as he ignored it, jumped back onto my table and tried to get to my food again. I pick him up again, walk him to his favorite cat tree and put him on it. Minutes later, he is trying to get at my food for a third time. I ended up just putting it in the fridge (turns out that doesn't work either, see below).
He has worked out a way to get into my fridge. It's an older fridge so the door is really easy to open. I can't afford to buy a new fridge, but about a week ago, Milo found out he was strong enough to open the door. When I discovered him meowing to be let out of the fridge the first time, I flipped out because he could get into all kinds of trouble in there. I tied the handle of the fridge to the handle of the freezer. Just yesterday, Milo chewed through the string I used to tie the handles together and got into the fridge again. I now have a chain and padlock on my fridge/freezer handles. This, I have discovered, is a really good way to lose weight.
He will chase Simone out of the litter box. I have four litter boxes in my house. Simone will try to use them all but Milo will chase her out of each and every one of them. She has had a couple of accidents because of his behavior. What usually happens is she'll go into a litter box to do her business. He will hear her digging around and run over to her, jump into the litter box and start pawing at her face and biting at her until she runs out of it. She'll usually try another litter box and he'll continue to do the same. It's gotten to the point where whenever I notice she has to go, I escort her, close the door to the room and make sure she can go in peace. I work 8-10 hour days, and live alone so I can't always be there to make sure she can use the bathroom in peace. I don't like separating them when I'm not around because despite how much he annoys her, Simone adores Milo. For now, until he's got some bathroom manners, I keep him in a big room with his toys, cat tree, scratching post and his own litter box only when I'm gone. Every time I come home to check on him in that room, I hear him and Simone meowing and pawing at each other under the door.
Milo doesn't have an off switch. Kittens are supposed to get a little more sleep than adult cats, but I've actually tracked how much Milo sleeps and he gets maybe 6 hours in per day if I'm lucky. Simone sleeps a lot more--when he isn't waking her up constantly to play. I know the first thing someone will say is to play with him and tire him out. Believe me, I've tried. There's no tiring out this kitten. I took a day off work once to try to see if it's a boredom thing with him. I, no joke, played with him for six hours. I usually get in an hour before their dinner and another hour before their last feeding for the day. Simone gave up after the second hour and went to take her cat nap. Milo was literally bouncing off my walls, leaping, jumping and playing for the whole six hours. I switched toys, I switched tactics, I did everything I could to get him to expend his energy. We obviously stopped so I could feed him and let him use the litter box, but once he was done doing that he was right back to playing. My arms were so sore and I was so tired, but when I stopped because I couldn't take it anymore, he was still hyper. I don't know how people say an hour or two of play per day is all you need. Milo apparently needs a 24/7 play service because nothing stops him. After he realized that I was down for the count, he pounced on a sleeping Simone and started play fighting with her. She responded by hissing, growling and then ran away and hid from him.
I took him to the vet for a full checkup recently and he is perfectly healthy. Even the vet commented that he is very hyperactive while we were there and recommended I try feeding a different food. I used to feed them BFF, TIki Cat and Nature's Variety Instinct. I've switched them to Ziwipeak and Weruva Cat's in the Kitchen. There was no change in his activity level.
Other things I've tried:
Getting him more cat furniture and toys. There are now three different cat trees in the house, five scratching posts and hundreds of different kinds of toys from mice, to balls to interactive toys. He plays with (and hogs) all of them. Frequently, he'll play with them for hours on end. When he's done, he'll go and do something I don't want him to do (like play in the trash, bully Simone, and so on). Nothing really depletes his energy.
Playing with him more. Outside of that six hour play session, I have taken up playing with him for three hours per day. One hour before I leave for work. One after I come home. And once again before his bed time. Simone gives up after half an hour usually and goes about her day. He doesn't understand bedtime which is another issue altogether.
Taking him out for walks. We've been on hour-long walks before where he's bounding around outside. What usually happens is I'll take them on the trail by my house. After half an hour, Simone will want me to carry her the way home. Milo will still be trying to explore every nook and cranny of the world. When they get home, he takes off like a rocket and runs around all crazy. I've watched him literally run from one end of the hallway to the other, up the stairs and down again for almost an entire hour. No toys, no purpose. He's just running.
Discouraging his bad behavior. I've tried gently asserting myself when I notice he's doing something I don't want him to do. The only time I really step in is when I notice he's blocking Simone access to the litter box. I'll step in, say no to him and move him somewhere else. He, predictably, doesn't respond to this and I've stopped trying. I know cats don't respond well to discipline, but I can't be around to escort SImone to the bathroom for the rest of her life.
Clicker training. I've tried to train him to do some tricks to engage his mind and make him work for treats. The problem is, the instant I feed him a treat for doing something good or something I want him to do, he'll go and do something bad. For example, the other day, I got him to sit on command. When he did it, I praised him and gave him a treat. When he was done gobbling it down, he took off running, and barreled into the kitchen trash. It fell over, spilled trash all over and then he actually starts playing in it. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Sticky tape. I don't want him on my counters so I put down sticky tape. What he'll do is bite and chew on it to get it out of the way, then proceed to go wherever he wants. I stopped using it when I saw he was actually chewing the stuff, I can't imagine it's healthy for him.
Bitter apple. Am I the only one with a cat who actually loves this stuff? He was chewing on my power cords. I sprayed them real good with bitter apple. Not only does he seem to be chewing on my cords more than ever, but he's actually sometimes curled up with them and licked the bitter apple spray off of them before chewing. I've since disconnected most of my electronics and keep my cords in a separate room. I rue the day Milo discovers how to open a door.
So sorry for the long post. I haven't even covered the full spectrum of the things Milo has done in the short two months that I've had him. I guess I'm looking for guidance on what to do about some of his antics because they are wearing thin and while I do love the little monster, I can't continue to live like this and I'm sad that it's gotten to the point where I might have to rehome him if he doesn't CALM DOWN. "He'll grow out of it", has been my mantra and I've tried to keep a sense of humor about all of it, but every time I turn around and see him doing something else stupid I lose a little more faith that things will ever change.
For one thing, he is a boundless fountain of hyper. There is almost never a moment in the day when I don't see him rocketing through the house like a cat-shaped bullet. I don't think this kitten has the ability to walk--only run, because that's all I've seen him do. He's also a big jumper, leaper, food hog and gets into absolutely everything. I'm really at my wit's end with him because it seems like every day he discovers a new way to get into something I thought he couldn't get into and try my patience. I know a certain level of annoying behavior is normal for a kitten, but here are some of the issues I have with him and what I've tried to do about it:
He will steal food. Not just from Simone, but from me as well. I have three different feeding stations set up for them. If he bothers Simone at one, I move her to another. He'll follow and try to eat her food and not bother to touch his until he's done with hers. By the time he's eaten hers, he doesn't really care to eat his because he's full. I've resorted to just feeding Simone in a room on her own. He loves stealing food from me, which is much more dangerous for him. The other day I was eating my dinner and my phone rang. I have learned to put a pot cover on my plate when I have to step away because every time I left any food out, Milo would try to eat it and not everything I eat is safe for him. I literally left my plate for about 15 seconds while I walked five steps to pick up the phone and when I turned around, Milo was in the process of lifting the pot cover off my plate to get at my food. I picked him up, put him on the ground, threw his favorite toy in the direction of my living room and watched as he ignored it, jumped back onto my table and tried to get to my food again. I pick him up again, walk him to his favorite cat tree and put him on it. Minutes later, he is trying to get at my food for a third time. I ended up just putting it in the fridge (turns out that doesn't work either, see below).
He has worked out a way to get into my fridge. It's an older fridge so the door is really easy to open. I can't afford to buy a new fridge, but about a week ago, Milo found out he was strong enough to open the door. When I discovered him meowing to be let out of the fridge the first time, I flipped out because he could get into all kinds of trouble in there. I tied the handle of the fridge to the handle of the freezer. Just yesterday, Milo chewed through the string I used to tie the handles together and got into the fridge again. I now have a chain and padlock on my fridge/freezer handles. This, I have discovered, is a really good way to lose weight.
He will chase Simone out of the litter box. I have four litter boxes in my house. Simone will try to use them all but Milo will chase her out of each and every one of them. She has had a couple of accidents because of his behavior. What usually happens is she'll go into a litter box to do her business. He will hear her digging around and run over to her, jump into the litter box and start pawing at her face and biting at her until she runs out of it. She'll usually try another litter box and he'll continue to do the same. It's gotten to the point where whenever I notice she has to go, I escort her, close the door to the room and make sure she can go in peace. I work 8-10 hour days, and live alone so I can't always be there to make sure she can use the bathroom in peace. I don't like separating them when I'm not around because despite how much he annoys her, Simone adores Milo. For now, until he's got some bathroom manners, I keep him in a big room with his toys, cat tree, scratching post and his own litter box only when I'm gone. Every time I come home to check on him in that room, I hear him and Simone meowing and pawing at each other under the door.
Milo doesn't have an off switch. Kittens are supposed to get a little more sleep than adult cats, but I've actually tracked how much Milo sleeps and he gets maybe 6 hours in per day if I'm lucky. Simone sleeps a lot more--when he isn't waking her up constantly to play. I know the first thing someone will say is to play with him and tire him out. Believe me, I've tried. There's no tiring out this kitten. I took a day off work once to try to see if it's a boredom thing with him. I, no joke, played with him for six hours. I usually get in an hour before their dinner and another hour before their last feeding for the day. Simone gave up after the second hour and went to take her cat nap. Milo was literally bouncing off my walls, leaping, jumping and playing for the whole six hours. I switched toys, I switched tactics, I did everything I could to get him to expend his energy. We obviously stopped so I could feed him and let him use the litter box, but once he was done doing that he was right back to playing. My arms were so sore and I was so tired, but when I stopped because I couldn't take it anymore, he was still hyper. I don't know how people say an hour or two of play per day is all you need. Milo apparently needs a 24/7 play service because nothing stops him. After he realized that I was down for the count, he pounced on a sleeping Simone and started play fighting with her. She responded by hissing, growling and then ran away and hid from him.
I took him to the vet for a full checkup recently and he is perfectly healthy. Even the vet commented that he is very hyperactive while we were there and recommended I try feeding a different food. I used to feed them BFF, TIki Cat and Nature's Variety Instinct. I've switched them to Ziwipeak and Weruva Cat's in the Kitchen. There was no change in his activity level.
Other things I've tried:
Getting him more cat furniture and toys. There are now three different cat trees in the house, five scratching posts and hundreds of different kinds of toys from mice, to balls to interactive toys. He plays with (and hogs) all of them. Frequently, he'll play with them for hours on end. When he's done, he'll go and do something I don't want him to do (like play in the trash, bully Simone, and so on). Nothing really depletes his energy.
Playing with him more. Outside of that six hour play session, I have taken up playing with him for three hours per day. One hour before I leave for work. One after I come home. And once again before his bed time. Simone gives up after half an hour usually and goes about her day. He doesn't understand bedtime which is another issue altogether.
Taking him out for walks. We've been on hour-long walks before where he's bounding around outside. What usually happens is I'll take them on the trail by my house. After half an hour, Simone will want me to carry her the way home. Milo will still be trying to explore every nook and cranny of the world. When they get home, he takes off like a rocket and runs around all crazy. I've watched him literally run from one end of the hallway to the other, up the stairs and down again for almost an entire hour. No toys, no purpose. He's just running.
Discouraging his bad behavior. I've tried gently asserting myself when I notice he's doing something I don't want him to do. The only time I really step in is when I notice he's blocking Simone access to the litter box. I'll step in, say no to him and move him somewhere else. He, predictably, doesn't respond to this and I've stopped trying. I know cats don't respond well to discipline, but I can't be around to escort SImone to the bathroom for the rest of her life.
Clicker training. I've tried to train him to do some tricks to engage his mind and make him work for treats. The problem is, the instant I feed him a treat for doing something good or something I want him to do, he'll go and do something bad. For example, the other day, I got him to sit on command. When he did it, I praised him and gave him a treat. When he was done gobbling it down, he took off running, and barreled into the kitchen trash. It fell over, spilled trash all over and then he actually starts playing in it. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Sticky tape. I don't want him on my counters so I put down sticky tape. What he'll do is bite and chew on it to get it out of the way, then proceed to go wherever he wants. I stopped using it when I saw he was actually chewing the stuff, I can't imagine it's healthy for him.
Bitter apple. Am I the only one with a cat who actually loves this stuff? He was chewing on my power cords. I sprayed them real good with bitter apple. Not only does he seem to be chewing on my cords more than ever, but he's actually sometimes curled up with them and licked the bitter apple spray off of them before chewing. I've since disconnected most of my electronics and keep my cords in a separate room. I rue the day Milo discovers how to open a door.
So sorry for the long post. I haven't even covered the full spectrum of the things Milo has done in the short two months that I've had him. I guess I'm looking for guidance on what to do about some of his antics because they are wearing thin and while I do love the little monster, I can't continue to live like this and I'm sad that it's gotten to the point where I might have to rehome him if he doesn't CALM DOWN. "He'll grow out of it", has been my mantra and I've tried to keep a sense of humor about all of it, but every time I turn around and see him doing something else stupid I lose a little more faith that things will ever change.
