New kitten craves attention when I work

[bodisha]

Hello... And thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer me about my question

I took in a kitten (Guessing she's 6 months old) about a month ago... She's a super sweet cat and adorable... But she can become a HUGE pest at times. When I'm watching TV, I don't mind and I'll wave her feather-on-a-stick toy around and let her chase it. The problem is I work from home, and the second I sit down at my desk she hit hyper-drive with her need for attention. I don't know what it is about my office/chair/desk/etc... But she refuses to let me work at all.

I spend half my day entertaining her with feather-on-a-stick toy instead of working. If I try to ignore her she starts pawing at me, and becomes more insistent I play with her.... and she can honestly become a huge pest. I hate closed doors, so I really don't want to have to shut it to keep her out. I tried it a couple of times and it drove my OCD nuts... And then she just sat at the door meowing and clawing at the door.

I'm hoping someone will tell me she'll grow out of this and it's just a "phase"... A friend suggested I spray her with a water bottle... But she's a little sweetie and that seems a bit mean, and I don't want to do that. Can someone offer me some suggestions on how to deal with this? Thanks!

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm hoping someone will tell me she'll grow out of this and it's just a "phase"

It will, at least to a degree. The water squirting will confuse her and cause her to shy away from you in general.

Can you find any interactive toys like a ripple rug et al?

 

[cataholic07]

She's a kitten, a kitten with still lots of energy and super social. Have some interactive toys out there for her to play with, burn off her energy a few times a day at least. And I mean playing with her until she is panting, then give her a meal so she should sleep. Do you have a cat tree in that room next to a window? That I think would help as she will still get to be in the room with you but have a place that's away from your worksite to sleep and look outside.

 

[bodisha]

She's a kitten, a kitten with still lots of energy and super social. Have some interactive toys out there for her to play with, burn off her energy a few times a day at least. And I mean playing with her until she is panting

Thanks for the reply! That's what I was expecting to happen when I got her the feather toy... She'll get pretty energetic and will start leaping and jumping to catch it... And will start panting heavily and she'll need a break... But only for a couple of minutes and she'll go right back to wanting to play... She doesn't seem to have that driven compulsion to play as much when I'm in my living room... It really seems to be something about my office that drives her crazy when I'm in it

 

[bodisha]

It will, at least to a degree. The water squirting will confuse her and cause her to shy away from you in general.

Can you find any interactive toys like a ripple rug et al?

Thanks for the reply & the tip! My last cat ignored the automated interactive toys... But I'll look into them

 

[Talien]

Another Kitten would help more than anything else, unless both both end up being very atypical and would rather play with you than another Kitten they will keep eachother occupied while you work.

She may grow out of it and she may not, I have 4 Cats in the 3-6 year range and all 4 of them will happily park themselves infront of my monitor when I'm using my computer.

 

[susanm9006]

The simplest thing to do when you have to work is to shut her out of your office. Yes, she will pitch a fit but if you ignore it long enough she will eventually give up. I would not feel guilty about shutting the door. If you worked somewhere else she would be home alone for 8-10 hours a day.

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things go

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

She's a kitten, a kitten with still lots of energy and super social. Have some interactive toys out there for her to play with, burn off her energy a few times a day at least. And I mean playing with her until she is panting, then give her a meal so she should sleep. Do you have a cat tree in that room next to a window? That I think would help as she will still get to be in the room with you but have a place that's away from your worksite to sleep and look outside.

I second the cat tree in the office. We have one with a hammock on top next to my husband's desk. It keeps Neko-chan from constantly parking herself on the desk and distracting him. It's also only 18 inches high so it can be moved from room to room