# Bored kittens? Or devil spawn...?



## ButterflyBecca (Nov 19, 2010)

Hello!

We've had our kittens, dexter and jeff for 6 months now. They're 9 months old and were both neutered in April. 

Jeff is a little angel. Very laid back and very quiet most of the time, although he does have his crazy moments when he appears to have play fights with opponents that don't actually exist. 

Dexter, on the other hand, is the devil incarnate. He will not let us sleep. He is awake and scratching at our bedroom door and crying by about 5am. 

Over the last 6 months, we've tried several things. We let them have access to our bedroom, but then jeff would sleep on my pillow behind my head and purr in my war all night and dexter would wake me up by repeatedly patting my face at 5am. We tried ignoring him when he scratched and cried outside the door, but the boy is determined! He doesn't give up! He'll scratch and cry without stopping for breath for an hour without giving in. 

We tried opening the door and squirting him with a little water pistol (not in the face) when he started scratching or crying, which seemed to work at first, but I think he decided the attention was worth getting wet because he eventually just sat there and took it. We gave up on that method after that because all that happened was dexter got wet and we still didn't get any sleep!

I though maybe he was hungry, so I tried feeding them a bit more in the evenings, making the meals slightly smaller but feeding more often in the evenings, and I put a bit if dry food down for him to snack on, but he still starts scratching at our door and crying around the same time. 

I've even given in and gone downstairs to put down their morning feed, thinking that it would keep him quiet so that I could go back to sleep, but he eats and then resumes scratching and crying at the door!

I'm sure it's an attention thing, because he's very much a people cat and I do try to feel flattered that he wants our attention, but I need my beauty sleep and it's very hard to not want to kill him when all I want to do is sleep!

Is he bored? I can't see how he could be as they play very well together and they've got ridiculous amounts of toys that we rotate and they have the whole house to play in, with the exception of our living room and bedroom, but I can't think what else I can do!!

I've started going to bed with earplugs, but my other half can't get on with them and wakes me up by tossing and turning when dexter starts at the door. And I'm worried that as he gets bigger and his claws get stronger, he's going to start doing real damage to the door frame and we rent, so I'd like to get my deposit back when we move!

Sorry for the long post. Any advice would be much appreciated. I just want him to behave until 7 am, or at least leave us alone after I give in and feed them!

Will he calm down with age? He's a bsh, but while jeff seems fairly typical of the breed, dexter is not!


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

You could try playing with them before you go to bed and wear them out a bit.
We have 3 BSH and the 2 young ones always wake up about 5.30/6 am especially this time of year.
They always have breakfast about 6 ish and then they go in the garden for a while, by 10ish they are back in and asleep for a few hours.

The only other thing is to keep them downstairs in the kitchen in some nice comfy beds.


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## NIKKID (Jun 5, 2011)

It's interesting, this thread as I was about to post a similar one myself until I read it. My mother and I have adopted maine coon litter mates. Mine is a good little soul mainly but like Becca's kitten, he wakes up at the crack of dawn doing a wall of death around the bedroom. I am now giving him a large meal at night and making sure I have something to feed him in the bedroom so that hopefully I can get back to sleep. Mum's kitten is a different story. He won't settle no matter what. She finds she's in and out of bed fishing him out of one bit of mischief or another and is getting exhausted. Much to her distress she finds she has to settle him in the kitchen with his bed and toys just to get some kip which isn't what she wants at all. She's breaking her heart over it as she really wanted him to be with her but he becomes a little hellion and she's getting well battle scarred from his needle claws. 

I do find it curious that these kittens all seem to be 'going off' like alarm clocks at more or less the same time. Both ours are bombing around between 4:30 and 5:30. Anyone know if there is a reason for this? Perhaps it is simply that the sun's come up and they think we should be LOL.


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## ever expanding (May 9, 2011)

I think this must be a norm i had the same with my little Roxy every morning same time i be pounced on toes bitten and scratched she has really settled down now but it just happened over night and i didnt realise until i woke up before her one morning and saw her on the end of my bed sprawled out with a look on her face that said "do you mind youve just woken me up " she still has mega mad moments but has given up on the bad bedroom behaviour i just gave in and left the door open and tried not to react still only babies hopefully it should settle down the lack of response seemed to work for me but they are all so different


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## Shimacat (Feb 14, 2010)

Cats are what's called crepuscular creatures. Thhis means they are most active at the twilight ends of the day - dawn and dusk. In summer, this means the dawn light will wake then around 4am - and they want to do what cats do at dawn, which is go hunting.

At that time, they are fully awake and full of energy. You could try blackout blinds to control the amount of light in the room thy're sleeping? It does calm down as cats get older and they can fall into the routine of a household.


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## NIKKID (Jun 5, 2011)

ever expanding said:


> I think this must be a norm i had the same with my little Roxy every morning same time i be pounced on toes bitten and scratched she has really settled down now but it just happened over night and i didnt realise until i woke up before her one morning and saw her on the end of my bed sprawled out with a look on her face that said "do you mind youve just woken me up " she still has mega mad moments but has given up on the bad bedroom behaviour i just gave in and left the door open and tried not to react still only babies hopefully it should settle down the lack of response seemed to work for me but they are all so different


That's what I've been telling Mum. It is still very early doors. My boy left mum a little earlier than hers so he's had a little bit longer to learn his house manners. I'm sure she'll cope but this is her first cat. Mine is my fourth but strangely I hadn't observed any of this behaviour with them.


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## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

Maine coons? Piccies?


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

just sound like normal cats, however please never squirt water at them, as it will make them scared of you Not water  

With British shorthairs (are they pedigree british or DSH as is moggies?) they can be very sensitive to things like that 

they will get better with age, but they are just normal healthy happy kittens by the sound of it, can you shut them in one room? maybe the lounge with cat trees/toys/food/water/litter tray etc, or create a den in the spare bedroom just for them?


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