Advice - cat behaviour

CBFi

Hi,

Got a kitten a couple of months ago (he was 4 months at the time). Just a few issues I'd love some advice on:

• I cant get him to stay off the coffee table and dining table - nothing has worked - squirt gun, tinfoil, clapping/ loud noises, etc..and then he starts lapping at our water glasses. Anything I can do? Nothing seems to bother him - he started drinking the water from the squirt gun (he has access to two water bowls so that's not the issue).

• We can't have him in the same room as us when we're eating because he'll just try to get at the plate. He crys the whole time he's put out of the living/dining room.

• He also crys every morning from about 6.30/7am before we are even awake. He's now the alarm clock. He (mostly) goes to bed fine when we go but from that time he starts crying non stop outside our bedroom door, waking us up. He's not allowed in the bedrooms.

They're not the biggest issues in the world but it'd be great to iron them out now if we can. Would feliway stop the crying? He oftens crys for attention too.

He's getting neutered on Friday.

Thanks and sorry for the long post!!

Zapperzy

CBFi wrote: »

Hi,

Got a kitten a couple of months ago (he was 4 months at the time). Just a few issues I'd love some advice on:

• I cant get him to stay off the coffee table and dining table - nothing has worked - squirt gun, tinfoil, clapping/ loud noises, etc..and then he starts lapping at our water glasses. Anything I can do? Nothing seems to bother him - he started drinking the water from the squirt gun (he has access to two water bowls so that's not the issue).

• We can't have him in the same room as us when we're eating because he'll just try to get at the plate. He crys the whole time he's put out of the living/dining room.

• He also crys every morning from about 6.30/7am before we are even awake. He's now the alarm clock. He (mostly) goes to bed fine when we go but from that time he starts crying non stop outside our bedroom door, waking us up. He's not allowed in the bedrooms.

They're not the biggest issues in the world but it'd be great to iron them out now if we can. Would feliway stop the crying? He oftens crys for attention too.

He's getting neutered on Friday.

Thanks and sorry for the long post!!

There's a motion activated spray can that you can put on the table and counter tops to deter cats from jumping up. Think it sprays a jet of air. Never used one ourselves, just clapped our hands and shouted at her to get down so she knows not to jump up in front of us but still does it when there's nobody watching.

I have a similarly aged kitten that also wakes up at the same time every day but she sleeps in the bedroom with us. I find getting up and feeding her and opening the blinds a little so she can see out and watch the birds normally keeps her quiet.

CBFi

We had him in our room one night because we had to monitor him and we didnt get a moments piece - he spent the night climbing all over me and nudging my face. cute usually but not at 4am!

I'll look into spray thing but not sure i'd be up for spending money when making noise doesnt work with him..

Pumpkinseeds

As far as keeping him off surfaces goes, as another poster said, you could try the sscat, it releases a motion activated spray of air that should eventually deter him.

You could try wearing him out with play a couple of hours before you go to bed and feed him after a good play session so that he's tired. It's like mimicking the cats natural cycle of hunt, kill, eat. We've found the Da Bird very good for getting ours running around and wearing themselves out. SSCAT and Da Bird are available from Amazon and I think Zooplus.UK sells cheap versions of the Da Bird too.

He's still very young and he probably just wants company, as well as having masses of energy to burn off.

CBFi

Thanks Pumkinseeds. Yep, that's what we've been doing at night- about 20 mins of play and then food and he goes off to bed grand. it's the crying in the morning that I'd love to stop. Maybe should we get a fountain feeder so he has access to food in the mornings even if we arent up?

He loves loads of attention and we love that too so he gets loads of cuddles and play. but he does NOT like not having access to the bedroom. Trying not to cave in.

Do you think he'll ever stop going for the food? hate having to put him out.

Pumpkinseeds

CBFi wrote: »

Thanks Pumkinseeds. Yep, that's what we've been doing at night- about 20 mins of play and then food and he goes off to bed grand. it's the crying in the morning that I'd love to stop. Maybe should we get a fountain feeder so he has access to food in the mornings even if we arent up?

He loves loads of attention and we love that too so he gets loads of cuddles and play. but he does NOT like not having access to the bedroom. Trying not to cave in.

Do you think he'll ever stop going for the food? hate having to put him out.

It's probably boredom, I wouldn't give in and feed him in the early hours though, we did that and we're having to try to undo it now by ignoring them. Apparently it takes about 2 weeks of ignoring them before they stop, so no positive or negative reactions to it.

We just rehomed a kitten we were fostering and she came to us at about 8 weeks old, she was 5 months old when she got a forever home, she used to go nuts around about 4am. We left a bowl of dry food for her at night and we also left out toys for her to amuse herself with. Our own adult cats seem to get active between 2 and 6am.

Our 4 have access to the bedroom and have settled into a routine now, just bear in mind that he's still a baby and is probably still adjusting to his new life. Everything is new and exciting to him.

mel.b

I adopted a stray a few years ago. He always wants to go outside about an hour before sunrise. That's fine in winter, in summer though i didn't appreciate getting up at like 4am! Finally though I was about to get a cat flap installed and that has stopped him waking me up to go outside. he used to wake me up by finding a paper or plastic bag in the bedroom and scratching at it until the noise drove me bonkers and i'd get up and let him out. The cat flap was the solution though.

With regards to the food, I think you probably have three options - put him out, ignore it or give in! If you put him out, it's less than an hour really. At home, my mum just gives in to the cats and they get a bit of the chicken or fish she is eating - keeps them happy!

Cats like to be high (security) so that is one thing. I'd just persist with the spray bottle. I never did it, but my flatmate did with a kitten I had in university. Unbeknown to me she would flick the cat with water everytime it jumped up on the bench. Lucy, who now lives with my mum in australia rarely jumps up on the bench, whereas Charlie, my sisters cat who also lives with mum basically lives on the bench.