Question about new kitten

[mel]

xxx
Hi
I am new to this so I don't know how to post a whole new thread, but I have a problem that is very similar to your's.
I just brought home my little bundle of joy 3 days ago

He is about 9 weeks old, and He seems to be very happy in his new home. He is playing, eating and h is a little cuddle monster , he loves to be in my boyfriends arms purring away until sleep hits him. But the problem is he wont stop meowing. He will be playing with his toy's and then all of a sudden he will let out this cry. It sounds as though we have been beating him. He also decided that we are not allowed to sleep he will whine and cry forever

. He seems to be getting a little better at night but now he has learned to climb on the bed.
I don't know what to do, it breaks my heart to hear him cry the way he does but it doesn't seem to be because anything is wrong.
Could it just be because he is in a new home or that he is missing his brother?
Can anybody help me figure out how to make my little Terry Fox a happy kitty??

 

[larke]

He's used to being part of a litter, and he's in a new place, so he's just expressing himself a bit. Now you can be nice to him and keep him company, but within reason if you know what I mean. If you say 'how high' every time he says 'jump', you'll be a slave to his noise forever. Just let him know you're around, play with him, but don't be taken by the voice... it just sounds pathetic to us, but for all you know he's saying all kinds of unmentionable stuff :-)! Oh - is he using his box properly? Have you checked and made sure there's both kinds of stuff there every day? If you're not sure, it would be a good idea to ask the vet, because if he has trouble 'going', and it hurts him at all, I guess he could be letting you know that as well.

 

[hissy]

www.snugglekittie.com

 

[coaster]

I know it sounds like crying to you, but it isn't really crying. It doesn't mean the kitten is in distress. He's just talking to you -- trying to get your attention, which apparently he's pretty good at.

Something that worked for me to teach a cat not to bother me at night was to shove her off the bed every time she disturbed me. Also, if she was in the bedroom playing with a toy and making noise I'd pick up the toy and put it away. Now she's a very quiet and well-behaved girl at night. Sometimes in the morning I find my socks have been moved into the living room during the night, but that's about it.

 

[zen_mistress]

Well kittens and cats do suffer from seperation anexity. For that the best thing to do is either find a playmate or let it gradualy get over it.

 

[mel]

Thank you all for your advice,
I do think it may just be the seperation from his old suroundings. He is getting better at night, we actually slept the whole night without one wail.

It just seems to be bad when I get home from work and he has been alone for a while and in the morning when we are getting ready for work.
He has figured out how to jump up on the bed and snuggle inbetween my boyfriend and I once we have fallen asleep

I just hope we don't roll over one night not knowing he is there.

I feel like the meowing might subside a bit as time goes on.
he is also really bad at dinner time now, putting his paws up on the table ( we eat at the coffee table) and meowing even jumping up. I read that letting him know that this wasn't right and saying it was our dinner and showing him his would make him stop but it doesn't seem to be working any suggestions?

 

[maherwoman]

It's very possible that he's voicing his annoyance at having a new environment. He could also be calling out to his brother, thinking he's hiding in the next room, and/or crying because he misses him. Kittens tend to cry about such things more often than older cats. Ours (though they are blood siblings, and we brought them home together) cried for their mama for about two weeks after we brought them home, and slept EXCLUSIVELY in the bed I'd brought over for their mama to hang around in (so it had her scent) when she'd just had them. After a couple weeks, they switched their "mama focus" to me, and they haven't cried for her since.

It's VERY possible that he's crying for his brother. Have you noticed him going around the place looking for something? He might be looking for him.

Don't worry. It's heartbreaking to see them going through it, but he'll be ok.

Just takes a little time for the little guy to adjust, that's all.

 

[maherwoman]

Originally Posted by Mel

Thank you all for your advice,
I do think it may just be the seperation from his old suroundings. He is getting better at night, we actually slept the whole night without one wail.

It just seems to be bad when I get home from work and he has been alone for a while and in the morning when we are getting ready for work.
He has figured out how to jump up on the bed and snuggle inbetween my boyfriend and I once we have fallen asleep

I just hope we don't roll over one night not knowing he is there.

I feel like the meowing might subside a bit as time goes on.
he is also really bad at dinner time now, putting his paws up on the table ( we eat at the coffee table) and meowing even jumping up. I read that letting him know that this wasn't right and saying it was our dinner and showing him his would make him stop but it doesn't seem to be working any suggestions?

As far as kitty asking for (or even trying to get) your food...my best advice would be to PLEASE don't even give him a MORSEL of it (and kick your man if he tries). He's young enough that if someone's given him a bit of it, you can break him of the habit of asking. But it'll take patience. Just put him down and give him a VERY stern NO, and he'll get the message. Yes, showing him his food will also give him a very clear picture of what you're saying to him.

We had a friend stay with us in between places when our babies were still under a year old, and he gave Hobbes little morsels of food (despite my practically KILLING him for doing so), and Hobbes is now the RUDEST cat about food. He begs for food CONSTANTLY, and SPRINTS into the kitchen from anywhere in the house when he hears someone going there, and if you're making your own food, he'll cry the whole time. We've done quite a lot in trying to break him of this, but since someone gave him human food, and his pension for eating A LOT in general, he's just stuck on it (though he hasn't had it for at least a year). We just got him used to the word OUT, and he runs back out of the room, though I can't say he doesn't try to come back in.

Bottom line, just make sure NO ONE is giving him even a LITTLE human food, and keep telling him NO and showing him his food when he does it, and it should break him of asking for yours. He's young enough that it should work.

If you ever have to teach him the word OUT, you just say the word, and pick him up and (lightly) toss him out of the room. Eventually, he'll get the idea. You just say the word, and provide an action portraying what you want kitty to do, and they put two-and-two together in it. (Also, if you want to teach him DOWN, say the word, and pick up him or his paws and put them back down on the floor.) You might have to do these things repeatedly, and they might require quite a lot of patience, but don't back down...it's VERY worth it.

I hope all that helps!!

P.S. I've also found that snapping your fingers if kitty is being stubborn about learning is a sound that really gets their attention. Anymore, I just have to snap my fingers, and our kitties will stop doing what they're doing wrong. (They usually already know if they're doing something we'd like them not to do, so they're usually waiting to hear me saying to stop.) I've gotten them to the point that when I want them down, I just snap my fingers and swipe my pointed index finger toward the floor, and they get down. I don't have to say anything much anymore for them to listen. Now, mind you, I'm not harsh with my babies...I love them to death!! It's more things that I've taught them are rude to do...such as jumping up when they know you're eating, asking for your food, sniffing toward your food, etc. I love these guys, but being rude isn't cool...ya know?

 

[mel]

Maherwoman,
These are all fantastic tips.
I have also been told that if he doesn't get it after three or four times to put him in a time out. What do you think about that?
I have tried the clapping hands and snapping my finers and he couldn't care less. He is a pretty laid back little kitty when he wants to be espessially when he has his paws on the table sniffing for food

I know my boyfriend nor I have givin him any "human food" So I don't know where he picked up this habit. I'm sure he'll get the hint sooner or later.
Thanks again

 

[maherwoman]

Originally Posted by Mel

Maherwoman,
These are all fantastic tips.
I have also been told that if he doesn't get it after three or four times to put him in a time out. What do you think about that?
I have tried the clapping hands and snapping my finers and he couldn't care less. He is a pretty laid back little kitty when he wants to be espessially when he has his paws on the table sniffing for food

I know my boyfriend nor I have givin him any "human food" So I don't know where he picked up this habit. I'm sure he'll get the hint sooner or later.
Thanks again

I've never really tried time out with any of my cats, to be honest. I've tried it a couple times, but never found a cat that it works on fully. That is to say, if one of my babies just won't stop doing something, I try to figure out if it's something else that's caused it. For instance, Hobbes decided he was going to poop and pee outside the litterbox. At first, I thought he was just being a meanie, and put him in the bathroom for a bit...but the more I read about it online (and subsequently found this site and its articles), I found that he just didn't like certain qualities about his box (he wanted one for each thing, pee and poop, he didn't like it covered, and he wanted it PRISTINELY clean).

I suggest instead of doing that, come on here and ask about what's going on like you did about the meowing. Chances are there's something behind it that's really understandable and relatively simple to fix, instead of confining kitty to one room. (Also keep in mind that kitty doesn't understand the whole idea, and won't learn, because he/she usually doesn't know what put them there in the first place. They learn by physical teaching, like the taking the paws off and such.)

Of course, if you have one cat deciding they feel the need to attack, hiss at, or bite the other, I would put one in the bathroom (with all their necessities) away from the other (usually the one being aggressive gets "bathroom time") for a time (see other posts about introducing cats...same principle). So, I suppose that's a kind of time out, though I only do it in that circumstance. (Sunny gets REALLY aggressive toward Hobbes anytime he's been at the vet, and though their blood siblings, and normally love each other quite a lot, I have to separate them for a couple days until his scent returns to normal and she behaves normally around him again.)

Does all that make sense? I've had quite a lot of cats, and have tried many things, and have come up with pretty dang good ways to solve most kitty things. I think the coolest thing about this site is the fact that there are many here like that...that have and are willing to share their really great advice.

Ask away about anything! We're all here to help!