Spray Kitten With Water Bottle Or Not?

[SteveJohn]

Basically my little kitten has turned out to be an absolute nutcase. I was sent a video of her playing with other kittens before I got her and she was basically beating all the other kittens up on the video so I had my suspicions and then when I picked her up the the person said "She is a handful but only sometimes"

Now she is basically everywhere, ripping wallpaper, biting all the time(probably teething) attacks my feet and hands all the time. I work in the day so obviously can't be with her all the time and leave her to run loose when I'm not there. Had all her injections and coming up to 4 months old now and close to getting neutered.

Should I buy a water bottle and spray her when she is out of control?

Attached a pic of her. Little shit

 

[Columbine]

She may be 'a nutcase' but she's gorgeous too She sounds very like my Shenka (now 8 months) in character...the fact that the breeder's nickname for him was Toad says it all, really...

A water bottle is not a good idea for any cat - it rarely works as a deterrent/discipline 'tool', and is most likely to make her scared or wary of you...but not the action you're trying to stop.

Your best bet is to play with her multiple times a day to give her a positive outlet for that excess energy. Give her a really good play session before you go to work (if possible until she's panting and too tired to keep playing), another when you get home, and a final one before bed. Setting up a safe room for her for when you're at work is a good idea too, and it will at least protect the rest of your house a bit.

With the wallpaper thing, my guys (Shenka and his brother) are terrors for anything paper too. I get round it by having lots of cardboard scratchers for them to go at, and by giving them empty cardboard boxes to play with/destroy too. It makes one hell of a mess (I'm thinking of going into the small animal bedding business now ), but it doesn't damage the things that matter.

Lots of cat trees/window perches/vertical space helps enormously too, as it gives more space to explore, things to watch (they love the birds etc in the garden) and generally non destructive ways to occupy themselves.
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With your hands and feet, firstly make sure NEVER to use them in play with her. If you do, she'll just get confused about what is and isn't ok. Try to always have a toy to hand to redirect her attention. A laser pointer (if she likes them) is great to get her away from your feet, and a kicker type toy (such as kong kickeroo) is great to giver her to bite and bunny-kick instead of your hands/arms.
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Lastly, if you can afford it, a second kitten might be worth considering. Someone her age or a bit older, who's very confident but chilled out and well socialised would be ideal. I know it isn't always possible, but in most cases two kittens really are easier than one I don't know what we'd have done with Shenka if Grischa hadn't been here to help entertain him!

Good luck, and hang in there. With time, patience, and appropriate outlets, she WILL get better

 

[LeiLana80]

Columbine gave fantastic advice!
I don't have a thing to add, other than saying that your kitten is just adorable.

 

[SteveJohn]

Yep cheers for the advice that was great.

I was gonna use the water bottle but I won't now and try and play with her more and wear her out. That's why I got that toy for her to play with and she goes mad.

She does sit and watch tv and chill, when I first got her she would just chill for ages.

 

[danteshuman]

Sounds like a paper loving kitten to me I agree with everything Columbine said ... except the squirt bottle. I'm all for using a squirt bottle to train cats not to dart out doors. However the rest of the time, I think patience, consistency and gentle annoyance is the key to training cats. For instance I used squirt bottles & penny cans to train my boys to stay off the counter. Chester our semi-feral I just shout "OFF!" and pick him up & put him on the ground if he isn't moving fast enough. In retrospect I could have probably trained my boys with out the squirt bottle to stay off the counter. All cats will counter surf when you are not around though

 

[danteshuman]

* Dante loves paper. So I fold a newspaper sheet into a giant fan, then tie a knot in the middle. Then fan/spread out to make a bow tie shape. My punk loves to tear off pieces of the fan, spit it out & bite it again. A light rattle on the end far from his claws and he attacks it again. He also loves tissue paper. You might try giving your cat newspaper toys. Teething toys or rawhide chews cut in thirds work for teething kittens.

 

[Columbine]

It's great that you're going to give her more playtime My guys LOVE their toys...especially feather wands and Da Bird (and other fishing rod style toys)

Unfortunately, as kittens grow, their activity levels increase before they decrease, as they need less sleep as they get older (little kittens wear out faster than older kittens do). At 8 months, my boys are now pretty trustworthy most of the time, and will gravitate towards their own toys etc for the most part. They still have tons of energy at certain times of day, but they have a lot more sense with it

 

[Norachan]

She's gorgeous!

Don't worry, all kittens are crazy and she will mellow with age. I'm have four foster kittens at the moment and they try to climb up my legs when I'm sitting at the computer. One thing that is working with them is to squeal when they dig their claws in. Mother cats and kittens do this to each other when they start to play too rough, the kitten will understand that she is hurting you.

Another kitten for her to play with is a great idea too, but I understand if you feel that one is enough.

 

[SteveJohn]

Got her a cat tree and she is loving it, keeps her entertained for ages. Glad I didn't go down the spray bottle route. Although I did come home from football training tonight and she has put a massive scratch down the tv

 

[LeiLana80]

Although I did come home from football training tonight and she has put a massive scratch down the tv

Generally it's a good idea to contain kittens while you're gone/asleep. Not only so they don't break stuff (because they totally do), but for their safety- kittens get stuck in the weirdest places and can hurt themselves.

Oh and when I say contain, I just mean a kitten-proofed room, not a cage!
A room without strings to be eaten or tangled in, no breakables, no small spaces to crawl into and get stuck in, etc.
Kittens are adorable but can be a huge pain for a few months! haha.

 

[Columbine]

Fantastic that she's loving her cat tree In my experience, cats are pretty good at keeping their destructive tendencies to their own possessions....just so long as they have enough of them and they're easily accessible

Ugh - such a pain about the tv though Maybe try covering it with an old blanket or something during the day, to prevent furture 'accidents'. that it's an easy fix, or that insurance/warranty will cover it