# Wit's end with 8 month old boy's behaviour!



## Exhausted (Nov 15, 2013)

This will be a bit of a long post, forgive me!

In August, we adopted four 16 week old kittens from our local animal shelter; Morrissey, Presley, Henry and Luna. They came to us neutered, and settled in surprisingly fast. 

I will also add that adopting so many was not a light decision. I suffer with agoraphobia, so I am able to be home all day with them, we also have a large enough house for them to be able to find something new to sniff each day! We made the choice to keep them as indoor cats, mainly because if they ever got lost, I wouldn't be able to leave the house to look for them, and there are a lot of undesirable people who live nearby who have often kicked a neighbours pet 'for a laugh'. 

Now, here is where I'd love to hear some advice. Whilst the other three are quite 'normal' in their kitten behaviour (they are now almost 8 months old), Henry takes his to the extreme! He is the biggest cat, always has been. He is a lovely boy, very forthcoming with affection, (he likes to try to stuff his nose up mine!), and he is first to greet me when I get out of bed in the morning. He is also affectionate to the others, and is often grooming them and snuggling with them.

However, he can be quite aggressive. I don't think it's a spiteful kind of aggression, more of an over excited one. If I am playing with one of the others, he will jump right in and take over until the other kitten runs off. This will happen even if someone else is playing with him. He also is the same if one of the others are on my lap. If he isn't the centre of attention, he doesn't like it! 

He doesn't learn from past behavior either. A squirt of a spray bottle will deter the other three from doing something, but Henry would rather be soaked than stop doing what he is doing. We have also tried putting aluminum foil around the paces we don't want him to jump onto - kitchen sides/bookcase/computer etc. Our house looks like a spaceship but he doesn't care, he just jumps on top of it 

At night, we have a routine; 20 minutes of energetic play with various toys, their last feed and then lights out. The other three have settled into this and will try to go to sleep after. Henry doesn't. I will hear him charging around for up to two hours after. Bear in mind, he would have been charging around for a couple of hours beforehand too! He wakes the others up by starting play fights, they will hiss in protest and run off but he is quite relentless. Since he has found his confidence in the house, I have not had more than four hours sleep a night, because I am kept awake by him running around and knocking things over. He wakes me up at 5:45am every morning by pawing at my face. I have learned to ignore this though by pulling the blanket over my head. Although, he sometimes takes this as an invitation to play! I am sometimes exhausted and frustrated to the point of tears. 

He is a live wire all day, sometimes missing a feed even if I bring him to it because he is much more interested in trying to climb the curtains. I joke that he doesn't have the ability to walk because he runs everywhere at full speed, he fights thin air, crashes headfirst into walls, does a head over heels roll and runs back the other way. 

I am, honestly, at my wits end. I'm concerned that he will injure himself or one of the others, or break something (else) although material things are replaceable and he isn't. He sleeps for around three hours during the day. He has been to the vet for a check up and he is in perfect health, the diagnosis being 'he's just a lively boy'. 

Like I said previously, I am home all day with them. He is always played with to try to wear him out and prevent boredom. We have toys, tunnels and a collection of cardboard boxes with various holes and shredded paper in. I am covered in scratches where he will get too into playing and forget he has claws. 

I just would really like some advice on what more I can do for him. He ignores the spray bottle, isn't deterred by citronella spray in areas I don't want him to go in, and sees aluminum foil as a new toy. He also knows the spray bottle is for when he's been naughty as he will stop, look at me and then carry right on! I have been talking with a woman about homeopathy; Bachs Flower Remedies have been suggested. Has anybody had any experience with these?

Again, I apologise for the long post. It feels better to air my frustrations and hopefully I can find new suggestions on things to try with him. I know it probably will not be suggested, but rehoming him is not an option whatsoever, he is part of the family now and would break my heart to be without him, because despite all his mischief, I really do enjoy him and he seems very happy. I just want to make sure he is enjoying me too


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Hi and welcome to the forum
Not sure I can be of much help but didn't want to read and run 
To me Henry sounds like a normal adolescent kitten,my Ragdoll Meeko was like that until he was at least 12+ months old and does still have his "mad moments"he is now nearly 4 years old 
The going places you don't want him to go I definitely cant help with as I have no such rules for Meeko he goes where he wants to ,unless dangerous of course.
The one thing you havnt mentioned is what he is fed on.Lots of foods contain fillers/sugars etc which can cause cats to be very "hyper"dry foods are the worst and not good at all.
If you don't already feed a high meat content wet only diet it may be worth a try.
On line at the likes of Zoo plus would be a good place to start..........Wet & Canned Cat Food: Free Delivery on orders £25+ zooplus!

Look for high meat content with no grain/cereal added....Catz Fine Food or Grau etc , there are many more but as I have such a fussy cat I'm not the best person to advise.
Hopefully someone will be along soon to be of more help.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

It certainly sounds as though you have your hands full with 4 adolescent kittens, especially Henry the "alpha male" of the group

I must say I agree with Buffie that Henry sounds like a fairly normal kitten in his antics. In comparison with your other 3 much more manageable kits perhaps his behaviour seems rather extreme.

Some kittens (usually male ones in my experience) are very lively characters with boundless energy, boisterous in their play, and almost foolhardy in the risks they take, throwing themselves around, leaping from heights, etc. Such kitties seem to have a super-charged attitude to life, as tho they want to extract every last atom of fun and thrills from every minute.

I find the best thing to do with such kittens (or cats) is try and channel their energy into acceptable play, as this is far more likely to be effective than trying to stop them doing things you don't want them to do. But if there are rooms you do not want him in such as e.g. the kitchen maybe, then I would ban him (and his siblings) from there until they are older.

It sounds as though Henry needs more physically challenging outlets for his energy, particularly as he is an indoor cat. He needs lots of exercise to wear him out. This will mean some DIY additions at home and being prepared to buy some equipment.

I would suggest providing several tall cat trees for him, either ceiling height or near. Zooplus, Amazon and Ebay sell quite a few inexpensive models, or perhaps push the boat out and buy one of these marvellous cat towers!:

http://hicat.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=7

The Hicat Towers ARE quite expensive though, but one forum member made her own version, using the cardboard inner tube from a roll of carpet, which I believe she got for nothing from a carpet shop, then glueing and stapling off-cuts of carpet to it and fixing the finished pole in place between floor and ceiling.

There is a really great cat exercise wheel, designed for indoor Bengal cats, who are by nature very adventurous and energetic (like your Henry).

Cat Exercise Wheels - The Maclaw Wheel

As you will see from the video you train the cats how to use it with a handheld laser light. I know these wheels are expensive, but if I had indoor cats I would certainly get one, as they'd get such good exercise from using it.

Here is some more video of kittens playing on the wheel: (I could watch them all day)

Loveblues10 week old Russian Blue Kittens on the Maclaw wheel having fun - YouTube

In addition I would give Henry plenty of places to climb so that he doesn't need to climb up your bookcases etc. Here are some great ideas you could adapt cheaply for putting up shelves at various heights on your walls.

cat climbing shelves - Yahoo Image Search Results

In addition to providing more stimulating play for Henry I would set some ground rules that you stick to. e.g. it is good you play with the kits before bedtime. After that I would feed them a high meat protein supper, settle them in one room with their beds, toys, water and litter trays, say good night to them and close the door.

If Henry is going to be disruptive at night to the other 3 kitties, then I'd settle him on his own in another room at bedtime. Preferably a room where there is nothing he can knock down or damage (ornaments etc may need to packed away until he is older and calmer). Hopefully you have enough rooms so you can provide him with his own "bedroom" at night whilst he is a kitten. NOTE: he may object at first to being shut away at night, but you'd need to be firm and persevere. If you shut your own bedroom door, there will be 2 doors between you, so hopefully you won't hear any noise.

What I would definitely NOT do is allow him (or the other 3) access to your bedroom at night, as that is just asking to be woken up when you have such an energetic playful boy, and you are going to end up deprived of proper sleep and exhausted. If you really want your cats company at night (which I personally don't as they would disturb my sleep) then wait until they are older, say 18 mths to 2 yrs old.

I also agree with Buffie's advice about diet. Don't feed Henry dry food, it is full of carbs and can cause edgy behaviour and sudden mood changes as blood sugar levels go up and down. Feed him (and the other 3) a high meat protein grain free diet, which means excluding most supermarket foods, and buying in bulk online from e.g. Zooplus and The Happy Kitty Company. Or consider feeding him a balanced raw food diet.

If you want to buy some of the foods from pet stores, there are Wainwrights individual pots at [email protected] (not the pouches though), Hilife Natures Essentials, or HiLife Temptation Chicken in Jelly (available at Tesco etc), Natures Menu pouches and Ziwipeak cans at Pets' Corner. (For a bigger choice see online as mentioned above).

High meat protein takes longer to digest/process, and is the diet cats have evolved to get the most benefit from. Cats sleep whilst they digest their food. If you feed Henry a generous high meat protein supper at bedtime he may well sleep right through until morning.

Good Luck, please let us know how you get on?


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## Jesthar (May 16, 2011)

For the jumping up problems you could give these a go:

Keep off the Sofa -Pet Controller

They give quite a shriek, as my kitten found out when she manged to turn one on accidentally before I even deployed it - neverr seen her jump like that before! Tinfoil had stopped working with her as well...

I agree about feeding grain free wet foods, too - or even raw such as Nutriment of you can. Butchers Classic is available in Pets at Home, Morrisons and Tesco, and whilst cheap is grain free


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

Well done for taking on 4 kittens, I don't think I could cope with 4 of my April who constantly wants to play. I don't get much sleep either (could be my age ) but my two take up most of the bed, the other night I closed the bedroom door but when I got up at around 4am (bathroom) April lay in the doorway, I rarely sleep much after 5am and get up at 6.15am. 

Now the Bach Flower, I tried the Crab Apple when someone posted a list as April is a chewer, lampshades etc. I even had to remove my bedroom table limp as she chewed this to get my attention, the chewing stopped almost immediately. Although since putting the bedside lamp back she does chew it occasionally. But I would say well worth a try, although not sure which would work.


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## korrok (Sep 4, 2013)

If you're having issues with his scratching it's also worth asking the vet to clip his claws next time you're there for a checkup, and to show you how to do it. It's very simple, causes them absolutely no problems except the sharp points are gone and they are less liable to slash you or get caught on furnishings. They still use scratching posts and play with toys normally! (A lot of people I speak to seem to think are somehow impaired if you clip their claws).


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## Citrineblue (Sep 28, 2012)

Having got 5 cats two of which are kittens around 6 months I can sympathise.

I can highly recommend Da Bird feathers and the mousey from Amazon or purrsinourhearts, as well as a Cat charmer from Zooplus. All of these are perfect for tiring your kittens. Flying frenzy are as good I believe.

We also have a gigantic sturdy German cat tree which is multilevelled an even with 5 5kg plus cats on doesn't move!!! and they love it. I got ours from Katzen gluck but other similar ones can be found on Katzenbaume and Petsfun.

We have recently added some DIY cat shelves in the house to create even more vertical height. These were IKEA shelves which can be cut to size and then brackets cover the ends and support. The photo shows two IKEA shelves, one cut in half, the other into three, on top we added cut down carpet tiles fixed on with double sided carpet tape. They live on these, unforeseen was the fact that the top shelf is blocked if another is on the next shelf down. We are trying to plan another shelf somehow!!!

If you can Catproof your garden it is great, our cats were house cats until Protectapuss came and cat proofed us, for 17 x 6ft by 6ft panels, a pergola and shed it cost around £670. In addition to outside we had our fencing guy use some decking tiles and cut them appropriately to go around the pergola posts, 3 tiles on each post, to make two other outside cat trees.

If your cat does have a lot of energy you could try taking him for a walk, out of my 5 two I take out daily, Harvey the oldest Alpha cat and Luna our youngest kitten. We use Mynwood Harnesses, these are made to order for your cats neck and chest measurement, she has loads of colours. Just Google Mynwood. The photos does not show the harness at its best, but I can vouch for their strength as I have hauled 5Kg Harvey out of the canal on more than one occasion.

We also feed our cats only Raw, on our journey to RAW we used a commercial brand called Natural instincts. There are other complete ones around such as Nutriment and in some Pet shops Natures Menu for cats. If you fancy doing it yourself a good made up supplement premix is Felini Complete from Zooplus although I now use T C Feline from Germany, good but expensive. I believe some Pets forum members have noticed a big change in their cats behaviour when coming off standard dry cat food to RAW.

Another recommendation I heard on Pets Forum was Museum Putty for those precious ornaments. I researched it and you can buy it from Amazon, this should help keep in place ornaments that you don't want knocked down, I think it is quake proof!!!

We also do run a Feliway diffuser just in the rooms they particularly frequent, I think it helps!! they all seem a happy bunch of cats. Again look online as it is massively cheaper than in PatH etc. 

Vets have Zyklene,which can be bought online without prescription, which can be given as a tablet or broken open and mixed with food, this can calm an anxious cat or be used to modify behaviour. A quote from the Zyklene website states 'Zylkene does not cause sedation, but is only a gentle calmer'

I do think as I have 4 boy cats and 1 girl cat that this behaviour is of an alpha boy, all mine have calmed down a lot especially post neutering.

I hope this helps.

Just previewed the photos, sorry for the three that are sideways, I hope you get the idea anyway.


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## Calvine (Aug 20, 2012)

Exhausted said:


> This will be a bit of a long post, forgive me!
> 
> In August, we adopted four 16 week old kittens from our local animal shelter; Morrissey, Presley, Henry and Luna. They came to us neutered, and settled in surprisingly fast.
> 
> ...


He actually sounds delightful (in an exasperating sort of way). I wonder what on earth he would be like if he didn't have his playmates!!!It's obviously not an option, but I wonder if he's the sort of cat who really needs outdoor stimulation? He will calm down as he gets older...great for him that he has an understanding owner.


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## Calvine (Aug 20, 2012)

Jesthar said:


> For the jumping up problems you could give these a go:
> 
> Keep off the Sofa -Pet Controller
> 
> ...


Wish Id discovered these before my settee was shredded!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Citrineblue's suggestion for walking Henry in the garden daily on harness and leash is an excellent one! :thumbup1: This will give him so many more sights, sounds and scents to process that it will in fact use up quite a bit of his mental energy. 

I can also vouch for the Mynwood harness - it is the only harness I would trust a cat not to wriggle out of! Get him used to wearing the harness indoors first, for half an hour a day for a couple of weeks before venturing out.


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## Exhausted (Nov 15, 2013)

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! 

We are pricing up the cost of making a cat enclosure in the garden. It was something I'd always wanted to do and browsing through the thread on here, I've realised it's not impossible as a DIY job! I think that will be the biggest benefit to all of the kittens, if they can have a safe place to go outside!

I have ordered a 'Keep Off The Sofa' pet controller, though he is quite confident and not many things have deterred him so far!  

I have also ordered him some Zyklene and will definitely look into a Feliway diffuser, I have heard successful stories whilst I've been reading reviews.

As for the diet: they have always just been fed on Felix, I think now, after reading your suggestions, this has a lot to do with it. They were fed this at the shelter and I always carried on with it. Morrissey was quite poorly after he came to us, he had a severely upset stomach and lost so much weight that at one point I thought I might lose him. The vet said he has a 'nervous stomach', and it would upset it more if I started to try out different foods so foolishly, I didn't.

However, I really do want to change their diet. Looking at the nutritional info on the Felix, most says 'with various sugars' which probably aids his hyperactivity! Where would you suggest I start with switching them to raw only? Is there a fairly inexpensive, but good brand? Although, I am obviously willing to pay whatever it will cost to keep them happy cats!

The harness also looks fantastic. My daughter has already decided that he'd look handsome in a leopard print one, so we're going to measure him up and order one for him, and eventually for the others too. They have recently discovered 'out of the window' and will spend quite some time watching birds and trying to bat them through the glass :biggrin5:

Again, thank you for all of your suggestions, much appreciated! I felt so guilty even writing that post. He is such a lovely, affectionate cat that I get worried he will start to resent me if I keep telling him 'no' all of the time. 

I've attached a picture of him too. He likes to sleep on me or pressed so close against me that he might as well be on me! You can see here that he is clearly incapable of sometimes being such a pest


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

He sounds lovely, bless him. I have one like him. He is 11 months now and we are still waiting for him to calm down. He is a freaking nutcase. But, his larger than life personality translates into other desireable traits too; when he has calmed down he is ridiculously affectionate, like a little puppy sometimes.

Fantastic advice you have had so far. I would advise not to waste money on Feliway, holistic remedies etc. There is no evidence to support their efficacy. Also be careful with zylkene; it is more likely to work but I have heard of cases where is turns up the confidence level, which you don't want.

Perhaps the most important thing, IMHO, is just to chill. If he is not hurting himself or the other cats just don't worry about it. Pack away anything of value (or glue it down) and anything sharp and just let everything else wear it's battle scars. Life with kittens is so much more enjoyable when you surrender. The only intervention I make with my nutter is to pull him off the other cats sometimes when is being a bit too much of a bully.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

I see other people have already mentioned diet. Yes, the sugar in the food he is eating probably has a lot to do with it.

You'll get lots of help here if you want to go raw, I suggest you start a new thread in the nutrition section for it though.

You'll see improvement with all of them with a diet improvement, but the change will be huge, if you go raw. Good luck!


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

The Quake Hold Museum Putty was my idea....it has saved at least some shreds of my sanity when my whirling dervish of destruction (otherwise called Millie) goes on the rampage.
Oh and Millie is nearly 3 but shows no sign of mellowing yet. Sigh.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Yes, the Quake Hold Museum Putty is great stuff! Suggestion very much appreciated Paddypaws!


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

I wouldn't be feeding Zylkene to a cat like this. Zylkene is not a mellower. It's a confidence booster which will, in turn, mellow a stressed or anxious cat. It sounds like this little guy has oodles of confidence, and doesn't need any more!


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

carly87 said:


> I wouldn't be feeding Zylkene to a cat like this. Zylkene is not a mellower. It's a confidence booster which will, in turn, mellow a stressed or anxious cat. It sounds like this little guy has oodles of confidence, and doesn't need any more!


Interesting to read this Carly,it was suggested when Meeko was being a vicious little thug as a kitten that I try him on Zylkene and I found it made him worse, maybe this is why  Needless to say I stopped using it.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with those who are advising caution with the Zylkene. It is not suitable for use as a sedative to treat kittenish over-exuberant behaviour. It works by boosting self confidence in a kitten/cat who has behavioural issues caused by anxiety, usually related to territorial issues. 

If the Feliway works, (of which I have personally seen no evidence) it is again most likely to be effective where there are territorial issues. 

To me your kitten's behaviour does not sound as though he has territorial issues. More a case of loads of energy, high spirit of adventure and feeling frustrated by lack of sufficient outlets for it. 

A combination of dietary changes, some more challenging play equipment (as I mentioned in a previous post) and daily walks in the garden on harness and lead, and simply *growing up* are more likely to be effective in calming him down I believe..


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## Calvine (Aug 20, 2012)

chillminx said:


> Citrineblue's suggestion for walking Henry in the garden daily on harness and leash is an excellent one! :thumbup1: This will give him so many more sights, sounds and scents to process that it will in fact use up quite a bit of his mental energy.
> 
> I can also vouch for the Mynwood harness - it is the only harness I would trust a cat not to wriggle out of! Get him used to wearing the harness indoors first, for half an hour a day for a couple of weeks before venturing out.


Think a problem was that since OP has agoraphopia, she doesn't feel inclined to go out, so the walking with harness would have to be done by someone else?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Good point Calvine, though in fact people with agoraphobia are usually fine being anywhere within the boundaries of their own property - including their own garden. Or even nearby their own property.

Agoraphobia is a fear of public places or situations *from which escape might be difficult.* Feeling trapped without an escape route can lead to panic attacks. The following link gives a good basic explanation:

Agoraphobia - Diagnosis & Treatment Options | Patient.co.uk


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

Just re-reading your post again and I can't help adding a couple more comments. Firstly just to mention what a lovely idea it is in your situation to get a bunch of kittens; yes they are exhausting but this really will work out for them and you. I also spend my days in the house, generally, and have three kittens; they really are perfect house pets. Secondly, just an observation on the lack of sleep. I sometimes let the kitties in the bedroom; sometime not. Whenever I do, I just don't expect to get much sleep; perhaps even no sleep if the nutter wants to sleep on my face. I just adapt my routine to get the sleep back though. My situation is different to yours (I am in the house because I am an unemployed layabout) but it does give me the chance to take an afternoon kip on the settee from 2-4pm with a couple of purring kitties on my lap. There's nothing like afternoon sleep to recharge those batteries, truly one of life's great pleasures.


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## Exhausted (Nov 15, 2013)

Update:

We bought Da Bird, I think I love it as much as they do! 20 minutes, 3 times a day and Henry almost puts himself to bed at midnight 
He is no longer running around like a lunatic all night, instead he does what he used to do and snuggles up with me all night.
A little more stimulation and a few less no's and we are back to enjoying each other again. 

I bought the museum putty too, lifesaver (well...ornament saver) is an understatement!

Also, as an answer to my agoraphobia - I feel completely fine in my own garden, it's when I'm past the boundaries of my house that the anxiety kicks in!

Thanks again for everyone's answers and help. I'm so happy that Henry and I are back to being good friends :thumbsup:


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I'm very pleased to hear that a couple of minor adjustments within the home have had such a beneficial effect all round.  

Great to hear you are channelling Henry's exuberant behaviour into positive outlets! Keep up the good work, and you will continue to have a contented kitty.


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## Citrineblue (Sep 28, 2012)

So so pleased that you have found these few changes have allowed you to enjoy your cat again. Really happy, it is what this forum is about so many people have been there and done that. I've only been on a year and learnt so much.


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## egyptianreggae (May 26, 2012)

What a lovely update- especially the bit about him almost putting himself to bed at night


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