we have this kitten that sleeps in our bedroom. We found him as a wild kitten, the taming process has gone much better since we moved him into our bedroom. We tried briefly to introduce him to rooms other than the bedroom, but he gets scared and retreats to the bedroom. So we cannot lock him out of our bedroom while we are sleeping, since it would scare him a lot and mess up his taming process.
But in the middle of the night he gets all crazy hyper and wants to bite things. Normally, I am happy to play with him, but he is biting and scratching my hand. If I tuck my hands under me, he goes after my arm. How can I stop this? I can't sleep when this is going on.
My husband said bop him on the nose w/ your finger when he does it, but any attempts at bopping are interpreted as playing. Mom said do not ever play with him w/ hands, b/c he should learn hands are not toys, but I think it is bonding to play w/ him. He does not bite hard. He just does not know when play time is over.
2006-12-13 02:19:24 · 14 answers · asked by Jessica 4 in Pets ➔ Cats
this kitten also has a ridiculous quantity of toys. I play with him at least a couple hours a day, at least 30 minutes right before I go to sleep to wear him out.
Also, I am a bit of an insomniac and if I have to get up at 3am for ten minutes to play or have a time out, I will probably not get back to sleep for an hour. So it would be preferable not to have to do anything at 3am that requires getting out of bed, since this is the kiss of death for my sleeping.
2006-12-13 02:33:03 · update #1
It's a well know fact (well know to cats anyway) that if they want to play then you should be playing with them. I found the answer with this particular problem is to interact as little as possible to the kitten, pretend to be asleep if you can. If you have to do something just have the bare minimum of contact and don't speak to him. He will grow out of it in time.
2006-12-13 03:25:43 · answer #1 · answered by gerrifriend 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know a lot of people say never to encourage rough-housing with your hands with your kitten, but I did it anyway. I never had the problem of getting bitten in my sleep. Most likely your cat is bored. Maybe you can get some automatic toys to keep your cat company. They have cat toys that move a cat teaser at one end, and another that moves a laser in a path around the floor. There's also one that you put a mouse in a ball it moves all over the house. It's a bit noisy though, but my little kitty is entertained for hours just watching it.
About the bop on the nose:
I usually do this to my little kitty when she misbehaves but I think she's a little too slow to realize it is a "no no" gesture and just looks at me like "What?"
Best of luck and glad to hear you took the time to tame him instead of giving up on him!
2006-12-13 10:24:44 · answer #2 · answered by Kemmy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You need to seperate him when he is acting wild, It is what his mother and siblings would have done, I give mine a time out in a small room until he has calmed down. You can also say ouch really loud when he bites that worked for mine, the bopping on the nose never worked and actually made ours more aggressive for a time. When ours gets to aggressive with our hands in a playful manner we switch to a toy on a stick so we can still play and wear him out, but there is a limit becasue we dont want him to hurt our kids. If you dont have kids or will never have them around your cat. Then only you can be the judge of the physical pain from the cat that you can indure and what is acceptable to you.
2006-12-13 10:24:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
cats are creatures of the night, its when their energy levels are at the highest-- in preparation to hunt like in the wild. That's why cats sleep most of the day, just like lions, tigers, and other big cats.
My kitten does this too, what we started doing is putting one of his favorite, but silent toys, in the bedroom with us. And we ignore him if he starts biting. You kind of put him in a time out when he does something unfavorable. Having a toy in the room that he likes will divert his attention.
2006-12-13 10:26:19 · answer #4 · answered by Casey B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my kitten used to do the same thing and at times i wanted to strangle him. he was also a wild cat. he's grown up and calmed down and now he's the cutest thing who will just lay across your chest and sleep all night long. i'd say just wait a bit for him to grow out of it...it sucks but the only real way to make it stop is to lock them up or sleep in a body suit lol
2006-12-13 15:40:34 · answer #5 · answered by MSU 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
my cat did that when she was little. I couldn't sleep for the first couple of months I had her. But she grew out of it. The only thing you can do is to exhaust the kitty before you go to bed by playing with him with his toys. I roll a ball across the floor and my cat chases it till she gets tired. Keep playing till he can't play anymore, then go to bed.
2006-12-13 10:25:06 · answer #6 · answered by Atousa 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well one thing you don't want to do is keep him up during the day so that he sleeps during the night. This is not good for the kitten as it would stunt his growth. You could lock him in one part of your bedroom if this is possible.
2006-12-13 10:25:36 · answer #7 · answered by raea815 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
night time is play time for cats...I know you said you can't lock him out of the room, but its worth a try. I had to do it to both of my cats too and they adjusted just fine! You would get much more sleep too! Cats don't need to be in the same room as their owners at night. If you lock it out, it will just run around and play!
2006-12-13 10:27:07 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
When our cat did this we sprayed him with a water bottle,it isn't cruel they soon learn,play at 3 in the morning means water,which they hate.
2006-12-13 10:23:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
thats a hard 1
2006-12-13 10:24:18 · answer #10 · answered by Yo its me 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋