# How long should a kitten be sleeping per day?



## KittyBimble (Jun 11, 2014)

So I have recently adopted a kitten and I am wondering whether she sleeps enough as she seems very hyper. 

She has a little set up in my bedroom so I can gradually introduce her to the rest of the house and she just doesn't seem to sleep that much. I will play with her for a good 45 mins to an hour, and then I will feed her and she will then go on to groom herself so I expect her to take a nap but she just flys off the wall after that like she is supercharged 

I will leave her to have a rest and it seems like she goes to sleep but whenever I have to go back into the bedroom to do something she wakes straight up and wants to play again! I must play with her around 5 times a day.

At night it is especially bad, I would think after being awake seemingly all day she would be knackered but when I put her in her bed with a treat and a hot water bottle she just wants to come onto the bed with me 10 mins after.

So I let her and she seems to settle for about 20 mins and then she goes all claw and teeth playing on my leg or my feet under the covers. Its driving me mad! :

Any tips for setting a routine with this little girl? Can you even have a routine with a kitty? I've only ever known how to deal with a puppy, crating them at night.


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

is there any reason why she's just kept in the bedroom? Other animals? I'd let her have some more access to the rest of the house whilst supervised.
At night could you have another room to put her in? Mum kept her kittens in the conservatory during the night with a heater on.


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

Do you have other cats? Reading your post I presumed you had hence the gradual intro but your signature only mentions bunnies...and I don't think you need to be so restrictive in the introductions with them. Obviously you have to watch them closely if you have them as free running buns but your kitten wouldn't need confining to one room.


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## Britt (May 18, 2014)

Pooh is a young adult and he sleeps most of the day. Kittens have more energy than we think


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## KittyBimble (Jun 11, 2014)

Thanks for replying everyone 

I have been letting her explore the upstairs on her own terms these past few days but only when I can supervise her as she seems to want to eat things like a tiny bit of string or somehow find a tiny screw in a floorboard crack somewhere  so I don't feel comfortable just letting her have free roam on her own just yet. She is scared of going down the stairs also so I guess she isn't ready for that yet. 

I do have house bunnies but they have their own room and usually just like to hang out in their houses. At night I would ideally like her to sleep and stay in my bedroom, but I'm just getting no sleep while she is at this age.

I am thinking of just setting her up in the bathroom with everything she needs just at night, I just want her to know that night time is quiet time ! Maybe I am asking too much from a kitten right now haha :lol:


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

If she's got plenty of toys around she should be ok. I would take her downstairs and let her explore downstairs. Meeting bunnies at this age will be best as her predatory instincts won't be strong. We've had cats who have got used to bunnies.


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

I think kittens can sleep up to 16/24 hours if I'm not mistaken? 
I hope your kitten sleeps during the day at least then. 

If your main issue is the playing at night (cats are nocturnal animals and some tend to be wide awake at night), can you keep her out of your bedroom for the night? 

I wouldn't shut her up in the bathroom, but let her play as she pleases, but just out so you can sleep if you need your sleep. 

When I got Oleg he was 8 weeks old and very playful, he would sleep a lot too tho. 
I work from home and for the first 2 weeks, he would sleep all afternoon and a good part of the night too, but he would play the rest of the time including in the evening till midnight and then I would get one or two wake-ups at night too. I did have to sut myself up in the morning to get a bit of work done...
Eating my hair (would make me nuts, I ended up sleeping with a woolly hat on for a while) and playing with my feet and knees too  

I don't have any other pets so when he arrived he explored all of the flat thoroughly by himself, and soon felt at home everywhere. 

I don't keep him out of the bedroom at night even now because it's on the way to his litter tray. At the beginning I didn't also because he was so young and I just wanted him to feel welcome and know that I was around to play. Now he's less of a tiny kitten, I'm thinking perhaps when my flatmate moves out next year I'll rearrange things and put his litter tray in or near the other bathroom but at this stage I don't think it's fair on my flatmate who moved in before Oleg arrived, even if she's a cat lover 

Oleg doesn't play at night anymore, or when he does, he's more independant.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Your kitten isn't hyper, she's a normal kitten. Kittens are bundles of non stop energy. They go and go and go and go and go. 

And they need room to run and climb and jump. I understand your concerns for her safety of course but she really needs to run and stretch her legs throughout the day, supervised of course, depending on how old she is. Cat proof the house well, and daily, to prevent accidents such as string ingestion. If she is a wire chewer you will have to cover them.

"Plenty of toys" isn't enough, she needs you to play with her, which it sounds like you are doing, but she isn't likely to sleep after.

She will, eventually, learn that night time is sleep time. Keep to a routine. My kitten was put to bed in the bathroom for the first week after she was integrated (she was 9 weeks by then). She knew the routine and would put herself to bed, following me into the bathroom and snuggling down into her box.

On the seventh day at bed time she didn't come with me to the bathroom. I went looking for her and found her on the bed with the big cats. That's how I knew she was ready to spend the night with the rest of us, she didn't need to be put in the bathroom any more. 

Since then she has always told me when she was ready to graduate from any particular special kitten care to being a "big cat". 

Congratulations on your new baby!


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

lorilu said:


> If she is a wire chewer you will have to cover them.


Or rub them with vinegar


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

lorilu said:


> Your kitten isn't hyper, she's a normal kitten. Kittens are bundles of non stop energy. They go and go and go and go and go.
> 
> And they need room to run and climb and jump. I understand your concerns for her safety of course but she really needs to run and stretch her legs throughout the day, supervised of course, depending on how old she is. Cat proof the house well, and daily, to prevent accidents such as string ingestion. If she is a wire chewer you will have to cover them.
> 
> ...


I meant the plenty of toys to distract her from chewing other things


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## KittyBimble (Jun 11, 2014)

I have thought about putting her in the bathroom but she is drawn to whatever room I am in and I think she would cry and be distressed if I started to keep her out of my room at night. 

I work primarily from home too so she usually wants to be in the office with me making mischief :lol:

Growing up I mostly had older adopted cats around me so never really had the experience of looking after a kitten, so I guess I was surprised that she would eat stuff off the floor like a puppy would. I have fully made sure to check all the tiny places she could get into but I'm still nervous she may pull a string off a fabric or something. Or chew wires, I really didn't think she would do that!

Haha I tried the vinegar trick and the lemon juice trick for my rabbits, it made them just want to lick it off whatever place I had put it. Sookie is nowhere near as bad as those fuzzy furballs are in regards to chewing! :lol:

She has gotten used to if she goes in her bed she gets a treat so she will go there when I call her at night but its just getting her to stay there that is the problem. I guess I may just have to ignore her when she acts up in the middle of the night and hope she grows out of it soon :scared:


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## Faith Lucy Smith (Jun 12, 2014)

I think all kittens/cats are so different its hard to advise on sleeping to be honest?
Ive recently had 3 kittens at mine until they were 12 weeks when they went to their new homes and they were all different and crazy in separate ways! I really wouldn't worry about her not sleeping. She sounds like she's happy and healthy in all other ways. Perhaps she needs more stimulation to tire her out?? and yes defo let her explore more when you feel its safe.


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

KittyBimble said:


> I have thought about putting her in the bathroom but she is drawn to whatever room I am in and I think she would cry and be distressed if I started to keep her out of my room at night.
> 
> I work primarily from home too so she usually wants to be in the office with me making mischief :lol:
> 
> ...


Working from home, I was given a good game idea from another freelancer : play fetch with bits of crumbled paper (get plenty ammunition ready on your desk), will keep her away from the keyboard.

For the playing at night thing, you could do some quiet playing (fetch on and from the bed till she needs a rest and goes to sleep). Or hide under the cover and tuck yourself head included in the cover (no access!), problem then is to breath! But you can do that until she walks away in boredom/tiredness, and then you can relax.

Good luck!


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

Wiz201 said:


> If she's got plenty of toys around she should be ok. I would take her downstairs and let her explore downstairs. Meeting bunnies at this age will be best as her predatory instincts won't be strong. We've had cats who have got used to bunnies.


 100% agree on this. My kittens were quickly introduced to our guinea pigs Fliss was "meh" but Jasper loved Munch and would rush into him each morning for noses kisses up the cage

I would give her run of the house as there are no other cats to worry about...shes excited and probably curious about whats in the rest of the house, you can't sleep when you've still got exploring to do.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Ely01 said:


> Or rub them with vinegar


Or spray with mint mouthwash


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Many cats are attracted to mint, I wouldn't use mouthwash, there might be something toxic in it. I have one cat who loves vinegar.


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

Yep agree with the above. They'll obviously be sleeping a bit, and growing kittens do need to pack in decent quality sleep. But kittenhood is when most learning takes place, so wakefulness and learning and play (all inter-related) is a key life survival point. You can still use their room as a base, but incorporate supervised (with kittens I do a lot of peering round doorways) explorations into the periods you spend with her too. Learning and new experiences and actually just generally getting used to various new experiences is really good for them at that age, and will set them up well for the theory of other new experiences too. Nothing like learning to tire yourself out mentally for a little while.

Depends a bit on your house set-up, but with the rescue litters I had here I mostly just opened the door to their room and let them lead the way as far as what they were comfortable with. You can gauge a lot from their behavioural responses. I've never had homing age kittens though. Because obviously when raising rescue litters, that's the age they go off to their hopefully forever homes.

I do agree that it's better to vaguely introduce cats to rabbits when the cats are young, to normalise things. It might be easier if you have a 2nd person on hand though, so as to accurately interpret the rabbit behaviour in case of stress too, rather than all of one person's focus being on the cat.
.


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

lorilu said:


> Many cats are attracted to mint, I wouldn't use mouthwash, there might be something toxic in it. I have one cat who loves vinegar.


I think its _fairly_ rare but we had a cat that would try and get in your mouth if you had just brushed your teeth or were eating mints and was forever running off with the toothpaste!


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Polski said:


> I think its _fairly_ rare but we had a cat that would try and get in your mouth if you had just brushed your teeth or were eating mints and was forever running off with the toothpaste!


I too had a boy who was obsessed with my mouth after I brushed my teeth. In fact he had a routine I was required to follow, whenever I brushed my teeth he perched himself at face level by the bathroom doorway, and once I finished I had to stop and let him smell my breath before I passed by him.

He also was obsessed with camphor, the active ingredient in Vicks vaporub. So much so that once, before I could stop him he took a loving lick as I was rubbing it into a sore muscle on my leg. Oh my gosh it was awful. He tore around the house drooling and drooling, I finally caught up to him and tried to rinse his mouth out. After it was all over of course he had to have a wash, and oh no, it was on his PAW and we went through the whole thing again. After that he was careful not to lick if I used the Vicks, but he still couldn't resist sniffing.

It's my current ten year old girl who likes vinegar. Raw organic apple cider vinegar to be specific.

I have heard some people say their cats will go as crazy over peppermint as they will over cat nip. Cat nip IS a mint, after all.

So I would recommend covering wires, rather than relying on treating them with anything, if wires are going to be an issue. There ARE products for wire covering, or you can simply use inexpensive tubes of pipe insulation. Might look ugly, but it will work. Unelss of course the kitten likes to chew stryofoam type products. I have one of those, too.


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## KittyBimble (Jun 11, 2014)

I haven't tried playing fetch with her with crumpled bits of paper, do kittens try to eat paper? It sounds like something she would enjoy as she loves a ping pong ball because it moves so much whenever she lightly touches it.  Haha I will definitely try the head under the covers thing!

I did briefly introduce her to the rabbits and she was cautious but she didn't seem aggressive at all which I will take as a good sign - I have been trying to explore with her more this evening and she has been entertaining herself with all the new smells etc. so I hope that might make a difference tonight.


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

lorilu said:


> I too had a boy who was obsessed with my mouth after I brushed my teeth. In fact he had a routine I was required to follow, whenever I brushed my teeth he perched himself at face level by the bathroom doorway, and once I finished I had to stop and let him smell my breath before I passed by him.
> 
> He also was obsessed with camphor, the active ingredient in Vicks vaporub. So much so that once, before I could stop him he took a loving lick as I was rubbing it into a sore muscle on my leg. Oh my gosh it was awful. He tore around the house drooling and drooling, I finally caught up to him and tried to rinse his mouth out. After it was all over of course he had to have a wash, and oh no, it was on his PAW and we went through the whole thing again. After that he was careful not to lick if I used the Vicks, but he still couldn't resist sniffing.
> 
> ...


That had me chuckling. Cats are too nosy for their own good.

Years ago I had a pot noodle...I don't like them but wanted to see just how hot the Bombay bad boy was, I sat at the computer desk adding bits of the sauce until I thought it was hot enough, Puss being a greedy devil swiped some off my fork and ate them before I had the chance to stop him and then as I was wiping his drooling mouth he sat on the remains of the chilli sachet burning his bottom. It looked so sore. I had to bathe his backside in milk and cream for a couple of days...I felt so guilty for ages. It didn't cure him of swiping from forks though.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

KittyBimble said:


> I haven't tried playing fetch with her with crumpled bits of paper, do kittens try to eat paper? It sounds like something she would enjoy as she loves a ping pong ball because it moves so much whenever she lightly touches it.  Haha I will definitely try the head under the covers thing!
> 
> I did briefly introduce her to the rabbits and she was cautious but she didn't seem aggressive at all which I will take as a good sign - I have been trying to explore with her more this evening and she has been entertaining herself with all the new smells etc. so I hope that might make a difference tonight.


After my last booboo in the mint department - I've never heard of a cat liking mint!!! - I hesitate to say that I've never seen a cat try and eat a crumpled paper toy and I don't see what harm it would do them if they did ... waiting to be corrected.

Toilet roll tubes also make good toys, especially if you fold the ends over a bit and put some treats inside.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)




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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

ForeverHome said:


> After my last booboo in the mint department - I've never heard of a cat liking mint!!! - I hesitate to say that I've never seen a cat try and eat a crumpled paper toy and I don't see what harm it would do them if they did ... waiting to be corrected.
> 
> Toilet roll tubes also make good toys, especially if you fold the ends over a bit and put some treats inside.


Not a booboo at all, its rare, only known a couple of cats that have liked mint (both Siamese) and its easy enough to test. Spray some mouthwash on a cloth and if your cats recoil in horror you can use it as a deterrent.

I'd still advise using water as a deterrent in other situations despite once having a cat that loved water including the hosepipe. His favourite past time was catching frogs in a local pond...wading in and snatching them up then trotting home with them as presents and dropping them unharmed in your lap!

As for a paper ball...you do mean unbleached paper :wink:

Yes, jesting. I should imagine there are horror stories or contradictions regarding just about anything, common sense and knowing your own cats likes and dislikes goes a long way.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Thank you Polski yes you're right of course. Every cat I've known has recoiled from banana yet I've seen clips of cats eating them. I've never encountered a chewy kitten, admittedly I've only ever had three, but I always thought this honour together with mum not teaching them toiletting manners was the exclusive preserve of the canine world.


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

KittyBimble said:


> I haven't tried playing fetch with her with crumpled bits of paper, do kittens try to eat paper? It sounds like something she would enjoy as she loves a ping pong ball because it moves so much whenever she lightly touches it.  Haha I will definitely try the head under the covers thing!
> 
> I did briefly introduce her to the rabbits and she was cautious but she didn't seem aggressive at all which I will take as a good sign - I have been trying to explore with her more this evening and she has been entertaining herself with all the new smells etc. so I hope that might make a difference tonight.


My Oleg plays with the crumpled bits of paper (and puts them in his mouth, and now brings them back to me, like a puppy would with a ball) but doesn't eat them so to speak. 
He also tried to chew books I was reading and did tear bits of a page of one of my dictionaries yesterday with his mouth, but doesn't actually swallow anything, if in tiny quantities. I don't see why paper would be bad, well there's a chemicals in modern paper but it would only be bad to a kitty if he actually ate the thing I would say.

Ping pong balls is magic too


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

ForeverHome said:


> Thank you Polski yes you're right of course. Every cat I've known has recoiled from banana yet I've seen clips of cats eating them. I've never encountered a chewy kitten, admittedly I've only ever had three, but I always thought this honour together with mum not teaching them toiletting manners was the exclusive preserve of the canine world.


I've never had a chewy cat/kitten but 3 of mine liked my iphone charger cable. I often used to leave it plugged in to the usb on the pc until I realised they were playing with it. I swear they were doing with it what most kids have done with 9v batteries at some point...zapping their tongues. They would grab and put the end in their mouth, gingerly...but keep doing it while rolling around all kitten like (they were all adults!). Not sure if it could do any harm being usb but once I cottoned on I kept more of an eye on it before giving up and using it in my bedroom only.


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

My kitten has days where all he seems to do is sleep. When he first arrived he slept loads and then it got less as he got a bit older. Then we have the days where he barely sleeps at all and doesnt sleep that night! 

Today is a sleepy day, he is content napping in his hammock so I get some peace


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## KittyBimble (Jun 11, 2014)

The crumpled paper balls kept kitten busy all morning! I was amazed haha all her nice toys and she would rather play with some paper - its always the way.

She kind of had a tumble down a few stairs earlier which was horrifying until I saw that she was completely un-fazed and unhurt by it and then it was kinda funny :crazy:

Kittens... had no idea what I was in for!


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

KittyBimble said:


> The crumpled paper balls kept kitten busy all morning! I was amazed haha all her nice toys and she would rather play with some paper - its always the way.
> 
> She kind of had a tumble down a few stairs earlier which was horrifying until I saw that she was completely un-fazed and unhurt by it and then it was kinda funny :crazy:
> 
> Kittens... had no idea what I was in for!


Which is why I don't really buy kitten any toys, there are so many things he or I turn into toys. 
His top favourite toy at the moment is a long ribbon that he drags everywhere, or brings to me to play with him. I like putting some folds on his back and then he chases the loose folds like he would his tail, or has a little walk holding one bit in his mouth and the rest of the ribbon on his head, back.

This morning he gave me the chuckles (I immediately went serious again and avoided eye contact, so as not to distract him) : he was dragging it around the legs of a kitchen chair, and suddenly accelerated dramatically so as to get some tension around the chair or something... very intense work!


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

I recycle bottle tops and caps, the only proper toy they have is a flying frenzy toy. I have a laser pen too but Jess has figured that the light comes from the pen now


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

Wiz201 said:


> I recycle bottle tops and caps, the only proper toy they have is a flying frenzy toy. I have a laser pen too but Jess has figured that the light comes from the pen now


Does she? Clever girl to make a connection.

Sometimes I point to things for Oleg "hey, look, the ball of paper is there, look!" (for instance), and he looks at my finger. 
I always feel a little "disappointed" with his highness cause it reminds me of the sentence "When somebody points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger."
I have a fool, damned


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Ely01 said:


> Does she? Clever girl to make a connection.
> 
> Sometimes I point to things for Oleg "hey, look, the ball of paper is there, look!" (for instance), and he looks at my finger.
> I always feel a little "disappointed" with his highness cause it reminds me of the sentence "When somebody points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger."
> I have a fool, damned


But the finger is alive, the paper ball is not... a clever hunter really!


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