naughty kitten!

emlou2009

we got him a week ago and he started off well behaved, but now he is being a complete s0d!!

when we eat he climbs up us to the plate and wont take no for an answer, i counted 23 times last night i put him back on the floor while i was eating! and he has started to ignore a stern "no!" whereas before he would stop what he was doing straightaway.

also, i found last night, a carrier bag under the bed which he had decided to do a poop on and as i picked it up it was soaked so he has obviously weed on it more than once! i dont think he has pooped anywhere else that he shouldnt have but i dont know if he has weed or not, we are moving on monday and the flat is too much of a warzone to tell what might be hidden behind boxes. i've stopped him going in our bedroom as thats the only thing i could think of to do?

help, any suggestions at all welcome! i've had plenty of cats before but never a kitten so i'm completely at a loss!

picklepick

You just need to perservere im afraid. Our cat used to drive us mad at meal times aswell. We used to lose our tempers telling her "NO!" and putting her on the floor all through dinner time. Eventually they get the message. It's like a 3 year old child pushing the boundaries to see how far they can go and you just have to stick to your guns, he'll stop eventually as he grows up.

As for the weeing and pooing, how many litter trays do u have? If its just the one id suggest getting a second one. You havent changed litters or anything have u? And be really religious about cleaning it out, some kitties are very fussy. Mine also went through a phase of wanting to wee on plastic bags... no idea why in her case though

username456

Hi,

Maybe you should keep your kitten in certain rooms and introduce more of the house as he becomes more confident. He may have found his way into your bedroom and found himself 'caught short' and gone in the bag and then always used the bag when he's been in that part of the house. Remember he's only got little legs! I think a lot of people give kittens a 'free run of the house', when I think they always do better when they can explore a bit at a time, become confident in that area and then have a new area 'opened up to them'.

As for the jumping on the table, he probably thinks it's a game - if he ignores a stern 'No' then if he does it shut him in the kitchen for a few minutes(ignore any pitiful mewing - they're fine), or at least until you've had your tea, and then let him out - he'll soon get the message!

I have 4 rescue cats and foster kittens for our Cats Protection, so have learnt a lot of the 'kitten stuff' by trial and error. When your kitten is a bit older, you'll be able to tell how to punish him a bit better (if needed). Shutting them in another room and ignoring them is a good punishment, but only if your cat doesn't like being ignored!

Just be consistant and patient. I love having kittens, but after fostering them, I'm always glad to see them go to their new homes and get back to my 'oldies' which are much less hassle!

roguebrogue

I use a spray bottle of water with my kitten and it works well. I had the same problems with her when I was eating, but after a couple of sprays she stopped.

Of course, if your kitten likes water then this probably won't work.

picklepick

Forgot to say aswell, you could try hissing at him when hes naughty or giving a really low growling noise. This doesnt work for all cats, but my kitten hates it when i growl at her, she knows shes being naughy. Its what mummy cat would do i guess.

Or you can try making a sort of tsk noise. Another one she hates and i only do it when shes really naughty. she puts her ears flat and looks ever so sorry when i do it, its sort of cute really!

emlou2009

i locked him in the kitchen for dinner tonight to get some peace

i will try all the other suggestions too, thank you! i dont think it is that there is too much space for him to run around as my flat is no bigger than a studio flat. when we move i do plan to have a tray upstairs and one downstairs just in case though. he doesnt seem to have dirtied anywhere today so thats good!

gabyjane

Hi i could have written your post tbh! we have had ours coming up to 4 weeks now (hes about 11 weeks) and he was an angel when we got him and now he is a little terror at times but a kitten i guess and very sweet too! We have had the wee on a carrier bag in the kitchen but think he may have thought of this as similar to his litter tray as has the liners in it, he has also chewed and ripped them all up so we got rid of them! The dinners time with us can be a nightmare as he runs up legs and jumps like a kangaroo!! we put him down a couple of times and he soon gets bored!..
Good luck although they are pickles they dont stay tiny so make the most of it!

Mercy

Feed the cat just before you eat.

Then if just sternly saying no doesn't work on its' own, don't give up. At mealtimes say no sternly then if tested again put the kitty out of the room, again saying 'no' sternly. Be aware that if encouraged by laughter etc they will keep on doing it.

My kittens learned quite quickly that they would get nothing from me when I was eating. I would however save them something for after. (sometimes a little sausage, sometimes a treat meant just for cats) This meant I got stared at but left alone and they got their treat for being 'good'

As suggested, restrict areas till the kit is fully confident of using the tray. It must be in a quiet place so kitty can get on with the rituals of elimination without being spied on or laughed at. They're surprisingly tuned into embarrassment - even at an early stage and this should be avoided.

My kits had the run of the middle room only at night, met me in bed for an hour or so am then had middle room, stairs and landing only to play in til I got home. They never messed up more than twice each and each time it was cleaned up and ignored by me. They always looked quite sheepish when I found a mistake. :rotfl:

Use bio washing stuff to clean up and don't try to draw attention to it when you find it. They're like toddlers, deal with it now if you catch em at it, if not, clean up and get on with your life.

Thinking more of your future home, if that's in the offing. You want a trained cat by then, not some furry controller of your home

Good luck!

MX

craftyfox

i have 2 kittens/ cats as we're not sure what age they were when i got them and yes i get the wee in the bag thing as well the best thing ti do is not leave any bags about that the kitty can get at and one of mine even went as far as weeing in the water dish!!! as for the climbing over you at eating times the easy way is to feed kitty at the same time, only a small amount but they will soon get the message and leave you alone

frivolous_fay

Ours loved to pee on clutter. We had stuff behind the sofa under the stairs... we later discovered it was a popular peeing place I can only assure you that the solution for us was to remove all clutter, and confine them to rooms with no clutter, and no-where to hide and pee. Ours liked carrier bags, rucksacks, any kind of bags really. The magazine rack. Anything they could squat in / on! We had to barricade behind the bookcase because they kept trying to get behind there... I can guess why.

Buttonmoons

I think I'd die if my kitten was peeing in places! My other cat has a fettish for the tumble dryer, needless to say thats left closed at ALL times now.

I have a kitten who is exactly the same at meal times, I have to put him out the room now, as he harrasses DD, knows its easier to mooch on into her plate, and he has just been fed etc, he's super greedy, I put him out in the hall but he jumps up, throws his weight on the handle and opens it now.....

I need a latch!