New Kitten night time behavior

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  • 5 May, 2016 at 1:34 pm #846892
    Mike
    Participant

    Hey there everyone,

    I’m new to the site, and a new kitten parent as well.

    I brought home a kitten the other day, and he’s getting very well acclimated to both me and my apartment.

    I have a relatively open apartment, and he managed to get over the barrier I put up between his “safe room” and my room. He seemed to be lonely and wanted to cuddle. The thing is, he spent the whole night scratching me playfully, and just generally being pretty boisterous. I thought this was strange because he didn’t seem to sleep at all. It got to the point where at about 5 in the morning I had to put him in his kitty carrier so that I could get a few hours rest before work.

    Does anyone have any recommendations? I don’t want to lock the poor guy up all night, but I need my sleep too?

    5 May, 2016 at 1:43 pm #846894
    jcat
    Participant

    Hi, Mike, how old is your kitten? Whatever age he is, he is probably missing his siblings and his mum, they all sleep together in a warm huddle, so he will be lonely if he cannot sleep with you. If you are frightened of squashing him, you can place him on your pillow by your head or make a nest for him in a box with one of your unwashed sweaters (so it smells of you — kittens generally love fleece, or warm flannel or towelling or sheepskin or soft wool (especially mohair) and place the box on the bed close to you so you can cuddle him with your hand until he drops off. A stuffed toy in there for him to cuddle with will also help. Cats are crepescular — that is, they are not nocturnal or diurnal but do most of their hunting at dawn and twilight. He will get used to your schedule but what definitely helps is to give him a meal before bedtime and then wear him out with some boisterous play — with a laser pointer is good (never point it at his eyes) or bits of screwed up paper on a string or any sort of kitten toy. (Don’t leave him alone with bits of string, it’s bad news if they try to eat it.) The rule to stop him scratching is never ever let him use your hands as a toy. Always have something in your hand for him to play with and distract him. Hands are for treats and for petting, not for scratching! It’s always a process of getting used to each other at this stage but the crazy kitten play stage is often over all too quickly so try to enjoy it (but I get it, you do need your sleep as well). Just try and wear him out before bedtime!

    5 May, 2016 at 2:21 pm #846901
    Mike
    Participant

    Thanks! This should help a lot! He’s a bit over 8 weeks old.

    12 May, 2016 at 2:38 am #847166
    sophia
    Participant

    me too my cat just had kittens

    12 May, 2016 at 8:04 am #847170
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I gotta jump in here. Wear him out? I have the same problem. First day he didn’t sleep so I didn’t. Wear him out? Is there such a thing? Mike and I share the newness of it all but living in an apt vs a house does have its drawbacks with a new little one and? It’s odd perks.

    12 May, 2016 at 3:45 pm #847181
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Play! IMHO, a playmate is the best option because 2 kits aren’t any more trouble than 1 kit (I know). But if that’s not an option for you here’s some tips:

    http://pets.thenest.com/tire-out-kitten-12124.html
    http://pets.thenest.com/tire-out-kitten-12124.html

    PG

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