New kitten is way too active

[meimipop]

I'm having some issues with my new kitten, who's been here for just over a week now. One of our cats sadly passed away earlier this year and our remaining cat seemed to struggle with anxiety specially after we took a holiday and left him in the care of a cat sitter at home. We decided to get him a new friend so he wouldn't be lonely and went for a young rescue because even though our cat is senior, he is rather active and playful. He is also very patient and mild.

The new kitten is 8 months old and VERY energetic. When he arrived he just started investigating everything straight away, he is absolutely not shy or scared of anything. We are still working on introductions, with our resident cat running away from the kitten, instead of the other way around.

We have been keeping the kitten in his own room and letting him out to explore the house at least once a day. During this time he runs around at full speed and climbs furniture non stop, which I understand is a mix of the novelty of the house and his kitten energy. We thought this would wear off as he spends more time outside his room, but he just can't seem to calm down when he's outside and around us. I've tried wearing him out with toys and preparing attractive napping spots in the living room, but he just seems overexcited and will not rest as long as he's outside. As soon as we put him in his room, he'll happily go take a nap in his cat tree or his bed for a few hours. He also deals well with our working schedule and will sleep through the night in his room.

I've never experienced this with any of my cats, and just makes me wonder if this is normal and he just needs more time to adjust, or if he can have anxiety problems. Today he was outside for nearly three hours and he kept bouncing off the walls even after being worn out by playing. When we would not play more he just jumped on the sofa and launched at our hands, which he doesn't normally do.

He is an arabian mau rescued from the streets of Dubai and had been in a foster home for a few months before we adopted him, so I don't know how long he stayed with his litter or how well socialised he has been.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It's only been a week, so more time is likely needed for him to settle down. I don't know the layout of your home, but maybe he has too much space open to him to start out with? Sometimes, it is helpful to introduce a new kitten to a room at a time, before allowing them to have access to all rooms at once.

If you can, I would contact the foster home and ask about his demeanor/behavior while he was there - it could help you determine how to view his behavior should it be more than just kitty crazies!!

How is your resident cat doing?

 

[meimipop]

Thanks for the advice. Due to the house layout is hard to keep him contained to one room at a time, but it's just a two bedroom flat, so might not be too daunting for him.

I have contacted the foster home already and they said he was always playing and barely resting there too, which does seem to match what I'm seeing. They said he was always bothering their resident cat to play, but theirs is a sleep-all-day kind of cat and he wasn't interested.

It's been a ehile since I had kittens, so I can't tell if he's just more energetic and will simply grow out of it or if we need to worry.

 

[meimipop]

Forgot to add, our resident cat is cautiously curious and not showing aggression, except for a bit of hissing that has quickly taught the kitten to not get in his face. They now look at each other from a few feet and do not seem very stressed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Good about the cat interactions - and, it tells you that your new kitten will learn things fairly easily if he has already picked up on 'lessons' being taught to him by your other cat!!

I would give him more time in your home and see if he settles a bit. And, some kittens just take longer to start losing their extreme kitty crazies! You might need to wait another year or so for that to happen!!

 

[Pjg8r]

I think he may calm down when he’s been in your home longer. What time of day are you having him out of his room? Mine are crazy in the morning and early evening but will settle down much more easily after lunch.

 

[meimipop]

We usually let him out in the evenings qfter work. But today was just after lunch and if anything it was worse than usual.

 

[She's a witch]

It’s like it is with people, some simply have more energy that the others. I would never say that kitten has too much energy, kittens are very energetic, although it’s possible that he has too much energy for your needs. Sometimes it changes, but some cats may be active way longer than the others. One of mine was a very high energy kitten, and she still is at 3yo, hardly anything changed. On the other hand, the other energetic kitten we got for her when he was 6 months calmed down to the point of being lazy couch cat. So you never know what you will end up with I’m sure he’ll provide lots of entertainment for your other cat!

 

[susanm9006]

I would never worry about a kitten being too active. It means they are strong and healthy and feeling like a kitten. As other have said, maybe he will calm down as he ages, but maybe not. You just need to steer all that energy into activities that don’t hurt him or damage your things, so give him plenty of spaces to jump and climb and lots of toys like balls or cat springs that he can run and chase after. Ball tracks and ripple rugs are also great for kittens.

 

[meimipop]

Thabjs for the replies. I do appreciate your points but I am still worried it might be more than just having lots of energy.

Don't get me wrong, I love playing with him, he has a tall cat tree by a window and plenty of toys, and I do not expect him to be a couch potato. But he simply does not take a break all day unless he is in a room by himself. I've been told he was like this at his foster home too, where he stayed for three months with plenty of attention and playtime.

Maybe I'm just worrying for nothing, but it does not seem healthy. If we let him, he would go all day without a nap.

 

[susanm9006]

The only danger for a too active kitten is that they sometimes jump or run into things without looking and hurt themselves. Otherwise, when the kitten tires itself out sufficiently, he will sleep. I think the situation, one room for part of the day and then a new space to explore just winds him up. More than likely left to the whole space on a permanent basis he will quiet down a little. But if not, again, no danger in his activity.

 

[She's a witch]

Not sleeping during a day is not that rare in older kittens, My own kitten never slept during a day if there was anyone around, now she has some short naps but only if she really has completely nothing else to do. Life is simply too interesting for some of them to sleep. Does he sleep through the night? If so, it’s the perfect situation as at least he’s not keeping you awake at night as some kittens do.
However, I always encourage not to disregard any worry, if that bothers you, by all means call the vet and ask about it.

 

[Hellenww]

I think the situation, one room for part of the day and then a new space to explore just winds him up.

I had the same thought as susanm9006 . It sounds like he's respectful of your older cat so has some socialization. I'd try leaving his door open overnight. If there are no issues between the cats for a few nights it should be ok to not close his door at all.

My Yoshi was high energy until 8 yrs but at about 2 his energy became that of an average 3mt old instead of a tasmanian devil. He only slept when both humans slept. With our schedule that meant he only slept 11p to 4a. He learned to fetch so I keep toys in every room ready to be thrown. He was only 6wks when I got him and for the first few weeks I had to hold him still and make him sleep when he would get wobbly but still want to run. Your youngster is old enough that he will lay down when he gets tired.

Once he gets used to the whole house he will likely calm down some.

 

[Landon&Lucasmom]

We have 2, 7 month old bengal kittens that are extremely active. We spend a good 30 minutes before work playing with them and every night we spend at least 1.5 hours playing with them. They also get daily walks on their leashes. We just bought them a cat exercise wheel to run off some of their excess energy. Some cats are more active then others. You need to play with him before bed to get him tired, so he will sleep. Your kitten will eventually calm down, but right now he sounds like a normal healthy active baby.