Kitten question for cat people.

[JackDragna]

About months ago, I took in a stray kitten. At the time, it was eight weeks old, according to the vet. At first, I let the kitten pretty much sleep where it wanted during the night. Recently, over the last few weeks, the kitten has wanted to jump on my bed and sleep there, much like my older cat does. Unfortunately, the kitten has no idea how to behave. It gets on my face, bites my toes and generally considers the sleep-time as playtime. I have tried mild discipline when the kitten is out of line and provided a cat bed in my room to sleep on, but the kitten continues to want to lick my face and pounce me when I try to sleep.

This has forced me to put the kitten out of my room and close the door. Unfortunately, the kitten now takes "revenge" on me for doing so by pooping on my couch. The kitten has done this repeatedly, even though I'm fastidious about cleaning out the litter box and making sure the kitten has access to it when I'm asleep. I'm sort of at my wit's end here. I love the kitten, but I cannot have this continue, especially when it seems impossible for me to get the kitten to behave when I let it in my room at night. I know there's plenty of cat people here on DU, so I'm hoping someone, at some point, has had an experience similar to mine and may be able to offer a suggestion.

[crispini]

1. A few thoughts....

First, any time there's potty issues, you may want to take kitty to the vet and make sure there's not something health-related going on.

Second, does kitty sleep most of the day? This may be part of the problem. If you can't keep him up during the day, make sure he gets plenty of playtime and stimulation in the evening. Then feed him right before you're ready to go to bed. This sort of simulates a natural cycle of a cat, which they go through several times a day: hunt, kill, eat, sleep, repeat. Maybe this will settle him down enough so that he'll sleep through the night.

Also, if you're going to keep him away from you and your other cat when you sleep, he's probably lonely. I'd leave radio or TV turned on for him.

Just a few thoughts, sure there are more! :hi:

[JackDragna]

5. I think he sleeps during the day..

..he's left alone with the other cat when my roommate and I go to work. I've tried to play with him at night, but he still seems active.

[sniffa]

2. our kitteh still does that

he's about 9 months old now, so he doesn't act up like that so much anymore. now he just climbs into bed to cuddle with us, walk on us, and lick our faces. i pretty much sleep right through it.

i'm guessing he'll grow out of it, but i don't know what to tell you in the interim.

[MonkeyFunk]

3. I have three cats

and don't let them sleep with me. The bf brings his favorite in, but invariably, at 5:00am she starts acting up and one of us has to get up and put her out.

The pooping thing? Cats are spiteful. I have no advice.

[AirmensMom]

4. Play with him before you sleep.

We used to play fetch with our Abyssinian at bed time, with a "chenille toy" (coiled up pipe cleaner). We'd flick it off the bed, let him go after it and bring it back, etc. You can do that while you're lying down, so it doesn't get you wound up. All that jumping on and off the bed tired the kitten out. Give it a try. When it's time to sleep, just turn the light off. He might bring the toy to you and drop it in your face the last time he fetches it. :shrug:

Our kitten got good enough to catch the toy in mid-air, thus saving energy and making the game last a bit longer. We thought it was pretty funny, though, so we didn't mind. When we were finished playing, he settled on the bed (usually between my legs) and slept through the night.

Most kitty pros will tell you that potty problems have nothing to do with revenge. Not sure I agree. But I'd take him to the vet just to be sure nothing is wrong in that area.

[Orsino]

6. A litter box in the bathroom where you shut her in at night.

Or some other room without carpet.

Kitty rambunctiousness is to be expected in the first year or more. They simply have a lot of energy, and are nocturnal hunters by nature. If allowed on the bed at night, they'll pounce on toes.

You can begin to train the kitten by allowing her onto the bed for short periods, evicting her immediately upon behavior you won't tolerate. "Training," though, often amounts to little more than managing around with the little bastards are gonna do anyway. Good luck!

[Arkansas Granny]

7. Good advice here. OP didn't say whether kitty poops on the couch

all the time or just when shut out of the bedroom. That might be a clue as to whether it's revenge pooping or not. The "eviction" training method has always worked for me, although it can be slow sometimes and requires a lot of patience. I use that method to train kittens to play with me without using claws and teeth.

[JackDragna]

10. It only happens when kitty is shut out.

Otherwise, kitty uses the box. :)

[calico1]

8. Kittens have a LOT of energy!

A few thoughts:

The way a momma cat disciplines her kittens is by hissing and spitting. You can hiss rather than scold which the cat will understand better and use a spray water bottle for the spitting. This is for when kitty does something really bad like bite you.

I also suggest you get some Feliway plug ins. I recently adopted 3 more and the plug ins work wonders to sooth the different temperaments and "cattitudes." I suggest you get a few. Put one near the litter box as this will help with not going somewhere else and also in the area where the kitty tends to spend the most time. The Feliway will also help your older cat adjust as this is also a new thing for him.

To get rid of the odor of poop, get some Nature's Miracle. This will not only clean the mess but most importantly, get rid of the odor completely, not just mask it like a regualar cleaner will.

Kitties like to play a lot. So get kitty a variety of toys to keep him entertained.

I also think it's a good idea to play with kitty a little while before bed time. Get one of those laser pointers. My cats (and dogs) love chasing the little red light all over the place. They love those feather things a lot too.

Oh, and my vet always says you should have one litter box for each cat. I don't have quite that many (8 cats, 5 litter boxes) but you might want to consider getting another box if you haven't already. Also, there is a litter called "Cat Attract" which has natural compounds in it that encourage a cat to use the box. Look into that too.

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. Every kitten have ever had always went through a nocturnal active playtime

Attacking my toes, waiting for every move under the covers to be pounced upon, as if my sleeping body were an endless playground.

Give it time, and the kitten will settle down. It's really just a phase of development. Maybe it has something to do with the kitten's night vision kicking in along with nervous system and other neural development.

At any rate, it won't last forever, and your kitten will grow out of this nighttime play phase of its life. :hi:

[CreekDog]

11. I feed my cat right before my bedtime

ever since he was little, that was the one thing that kept him quiet through the night most of the time.

for a while when he acted up, i kept a squirt bottle on the nightstand and squirted him whenever he came on the bed for a couple weeks. after a while, he came up on the bed, but did so meekly and quietely.

[Jamastiene]

12. First, remember kitten = young'un

They will want to play at that age.

You can try this:
Feed him before going to bed and he'll sleep a little while. If he wakes up, learn to sleep and wear his ass out playing while you still sleep (halfway).

Train him into a routine and, in time, as kitty grows older, there will be less and less of that, but you'll miss the play time later down the road. Patience: you must be the one that has it because cats do not.

As far as pooping on the couch when locked out, it's a cat. They are spiteful and know how to get to you. Like, "Oh yeah, shut me out, huh? Watch this shit."

Solution: Don't shut the cat out.

[ChickMagic]

13. Our kitteh is 19 years old

He still bites my nose and licks my face. He makes a nest on my neck. He headbutts me. I wouldn't trade him for the world.