# kitten hyperactive



## poppygreen (May 5, 2020)

HI guys,

hope you are well. Here i am again with another problem.
Hector by now must be 9/10 weeks.
He is sooooo active. i never experienced such an activity with my previous cats. it looks like he is constantly hunting anything, our feet, our hands, cables, boxes, plants, toys, us.

I have to admit that at the beginning we didn't really discourage hand playing. he was cute and gentle so didn't hurt and it wasn't rough play anyway. he would find comfort in grabbing your hand, suckle and bite a bit and then fall asleep. Good old days...

Now we are trying to slowly removing our hands when he hurt biting or attacking, saying a clear NO. He would then start doing in a row everything that he associate with a NO. so he runs to the cables, then jumps on the table to then jump on top of us. I never consider that aggressive, he doesn't hiss or anything, he is just playful, but we seem not to bale to stop this. we spend hours a day playing with him with toys, and he is happy to play a lot by himself but when it comes to us it looks like he cant control himself.

Only wet food seem to calm him down. yesterday out of desperation i gave him a little extra snack around 2 am and finally he gave up and slept. I feel like if we don't fix this behaviour now he is going to get worse. Any suggestion?

Thank you all


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## poppygreen (May 5, 2020)

sorry i forgot to mention that every time we go for snuggle or just try to touch him he will straight away turn it into a play time session and so its hard to just cuddle him because he would start to bite. while he sleeps he is totally different, he loves cuddles and kisses and you can lift him, move him carrying around while he sleeps and he absolutely fine. i hope its just a phase as i know the best thing would be to get him a companion but i have had no success with that so far


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## Summercat (Oct 8, 2017)

@poppygreen 
Hi,
He is a young kitten and seems he wants to play like a young kitten.
You can substitute kickers and other toys for your hands and feet but the best would be for him to have another kitten to play with. 
Get on the list at a rescue for a kitten. Right now it seems many private sellers of puppies and kittens are selling at outrageous prices and often sell kittens too young and to single cat homes.
Really it is best for him not to be a lone kitten, especially so young. 
He will not understand the word no, best to try to redirect him with a toy from areas you do not want.
You can get cable protectors for your cables.
Unfortunately, when kittens are little and become used to play with hands it can be hard to stop, especially of humans are his only outlet for companionable play.
Kittens play with each other that way and learn in group play how much is too much.
Again, a friend is best.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@poppygreen - your kitty sounds as though he is over stimulated, hence why you find him to be exceptionally hyperactive all day. .

Dry food is the worst thing for him, as it is high in carbs causing peaks and troughs in his blood sugar levels which can cause erratic behaviour.

I'd remove all the dry food and feed him on a high meat protein grain-free wet diet so that he will digest his food more slowly ---- as Nature intends for carnivores. I think you will soon see a difference in him. Let him eat as much wet food as he wants at this age.


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## poppygreen (May 5, 2020)

chillminx said:


> @poppygreen - your kitty sounds as though he is over stimulated, hence why you find him to be exceptionally hyperactive all day. .
> 
> Dry food is the worst thing for him, as it is high in carbs causing peaks and troughs in his blood sugar levels which can cause erratic behaviour.
> 
> I'd remove all the dry food and feed him on a high meat protein grain-free wet diet so that he will digest his food more slowly ---- as Nature intends for carnivores. I think you will soon see a difference in him. Let him eat as much wet food as he wants at this age.


Hi thank you so much for your advise. being Hector not very vocal kitten is not very food demanding. 
Also the vet told me to give him mainly dry food but this is something that i'm willing to try changing if its for the best.

I only have one question: hector is used to having wet food 3 to 4 times a day (usually i use 1 sachet of wet food spread in 4 meals) and the dry food bowl is always full. If i get to remove the dry food how many times a day should i give him wet food not being very vocal i worry that i wont able to give him food every time he wants as he does't demand it at all usually.

Also i have to admit i am spoiling a lot, my boyfriend just had a look on our amazon account and he was like: what the hell? i probably have 20 different orders for Hector thing related , toys, cat tree, cat scratching posts, this is because our house is huge i want him to feel comfortable and entertained pretty much everywhere. Do you think that the amount of toys and things he can do is actually turning to be a bad things? Shall I remove a few things?

I have noticed that when we are not around (now we feel comfortable with leaving him downstairs while we work upstairs and if he wants he knows where we are but doesn't usually come up here) he doesn't do much, as soon as we leave the room he will jump into his basket in the cat tree and go to sleep so i take breaks every half an hour to go and check on him and play with him and maybe a cheeky nap together hahaha. Maybe we are dedicating him too much time and yes i totally agree that he need a sibling, hopefully we will get one asap


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@poppygreen - I don't think it's possible to dedicate too much time to a kitten. They need such a lot of attention and entertaining, especially a kitten who has no kitten playmate. As long as you are letting Hector sleep when he wants to, then you are not giving him too much time.

I can't imagine why a vet would tell you to feed Hector mainly dry food! Dry food is very bad for kittens and not good for adult cats either. Leaving his bowl full of dry food all day is the worse thing you can do. Cats do not need to graze, they are not herbivores, they are carnivores and need breaks between meals. One packet of wet food a day is not enough.

At 9 to 10 weeks I would expect a kitten to eat around 200 grams a day of wet food (when there is no dry being fed). If he doesn't ask for his food then feed him by the clock, 4 meals a day e.g. breakfast, lunch, tea and supper.

Call him for his meals every time and make an occasion of it for him. Do not carry him to his dish, train him to come to you, perhaps by shaking a treat packet. (Try him with Thrive freeze dried pure protein treats, from Pets at Home and other pet stores).

Feed him at least half a packet of wet food for one meal (50 grams). Feed him a good quality grain free food such as Natures Menu Kitten.

Giving him a lot of toys is not a bad thing, but I would put some away and then swap them over when he is bored with the ones he has, and put those away for another time.

Remember that what Hector wants most of all is for you to play with him. Kittens are not always that good at playing by themselves, though most will, a bit. So ensure he has several hours play a day with you.


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