# Help! Noisy kitten problem!!



## ruthbeccalan (Jul 16, 2011)

Please can anyone help!!

We have had out 3.5 month old Siberian for just over 2 weeks.

He's very naughty at times and very loving, typical kitten but we are having 1 big issue I don't know how to solve! 

If we go out of a room and leave him, he cries, so if we go into office for example. Now most of the time this is fine and he settles or becomes occupied but it's becoming an issue in the mornings. If he hears us upstairs, he wails and cries and screams until we come down. Problem is we're in a semi and he does same if he gears neighbours. Neighbours have already to us they can hear him through the walls. We don't want him upstairs with us as my husband is slightly allergic to cats which is why we went for this breed. He's been ok with kitten but still want a car free place. Also want bedroom to be ours anyway. So between where we are and him is the hallway so it's not like he's outside our door and we can water spray him etc.

We've tried hard to ensure we don't go down while he's crying so only respond to silence and when he meows for attention we ignore him then too and give cuddles when he's quiet. I have tried feliway. I don't think he's missing mum, I think it's attention seeking. 

He's not been neutered yet and he's already huge, scheduled for neutering just after he's 4 months.

I can't think what to do as if he becomes a pest to our neighbours not sure we could keep him and this is 1 behaviour I just don't know how we can solve. 

He's not been allowed out yet but wonder if we did if it could make it worse. 

Any advice at all on how we can solve this problem?

PS he has food, water, toys, scratching post, we play before bed etc etc


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## Aubrie30 (Aug 10, 2014)

To clarify - in the mornings when you wake up and before you come downstairs, he can hear you moving around and cries for you? What time in the morning is this?

How often are you feeding him?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a better picture of what's going on.


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## ruthbeccalan (Jul 16, 2011)

He has an automatic feeder so he is being fed 3 times a day and doesn't associate us with feeding.

When neighbours start moving around at 6am he starts crying and continues until we get up a couple of hours later (we work later so get up later)


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

he'll just have to get used to the fact you don't don't get up. My two have to wait two hours later on weekends, other than that I'm up at 5 so they get fed pouches early and then the dry food is left down in a big feeder. They don't cry cause I don't respond to that.


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## Aubrie30 (Aug 10, 2014)

Three times a day doesn't sound like a lot for a kitten of that age. He's probably starving hungry! 

Rupert is three months old he gets fed at least five times a day. You can't overfeed kittens, they should be allowed to eat as much as they want, whenever they want.

Try increasing the amount of food and see if that helps with the crying. Oh, and he'll know that you put the food in the feeder... he wants you to put more in!


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## Isisini (Jun 3, 2014)

Our kitten was very noisy in a similar way when we got her - she sometimes actually lost her voice from crying out when she was left in the night etc. for HOURS, despite having everything she needed in her room except company . 

Put simply - she grew out of it. After a few weeks of very patchy sleep and feeling guilty for leaving her things improved. She knows now that lights going off is bedtime and 'radio going on in our bedroom' is waking up time. She sleeps in the office and if she wakes in the night she plays with her cat tree or a mouse toy or looks out the window. She knows there is nothing on the other side of the door for her.

Your kitten only small and it might take him a little while to work out your (and his) routine. Make sure he's got food / water / something to play with in his room, and maybe a hot water bottle if it's cold in your house, stick with your plan not to react to him and the chances are he will be fine. Routine is the key word here.

In the mean-time maybe buy your neighbours some flowers and assure them it's temporary .


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## ruthbeccalan (Jul 16, 2011)

I was advised by his breeder 3 times a day and have followed what she advised me to do with his feedingz

He seems to be being fed enough as far as I can see as he has dry food and isn't finishing it on each cycle of his feeder though eats a lot of it.

Good to hear that your cat grew out if it. We'll see how he goes over next few weeks. He does have a cat tree, heated bed, food, toys etc. Well everything really!


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## Jellypi3 (Jan 3, 2014)

I agree with Aubrie, you should try and increase his food. My two are almost 7 months and get 4 meals a day. I give them their last meal around 11:00pm, before they get shut in their room, and they get fed at 6:00am the next morning. 

As Aubrie says, kittens should have access to food most of the time. Is he purely on a dry food diet? 

One of mine is very attention demanding, and I go into another room she will cry. It's just a comfort thing as far as I know, they like to know where you are at all times. Maybe you could get him a companion to keep him company at night and when you are out?


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

I have resisted replying to this since I first saw it this morning but feel I have to comment ,what a sad thread,
I don't mean this to sound harsh but I'm not seeing a great deal of understanding or affection for your kitten.
He is a baby and must be quite lost and unsettled,he needs companionship and lots of attention /play time both to tire him out and to help him bond with his new family.
You say "its not like we can spray him with water, why would you want to 
Also why is he only fed in an automatic feeder ?
I also agree that he should be fed at least 4 times a day and with a mainly wet food and given as much as he will eat,he will be a big boy so needs lots of food.
I'm going to leave this now as I am actually feeling quite sad for the poor lad and may just say something it would be best not to .


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## MollyMilo (Feb 16, 2012)

I'm glad you posted that buffie, because I'm getting the same feelings as you. Perhaps it's because I am sat cuddling my own 3.5month old kitten.

I can't understand why you'd only feed the boy on a timed feeder? I get such pleasure putting down the fresh food and watching my little one know it's from me  

When he cries we all rush to see if he's ok! Me and the two big cats 

Perhaps your kitten needs a full time companion op, he's very lonely with the current situation.


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Just back from work and catching up.
I am firmly in the Buffie and MollyMio camp! The poor little guy has just been taken away from his mum and siblings - no wonder he gets upset when alone :sad:
You need to be a little more understanding to his needs whilst he is a baby. He needs you to spend as much time as possible with him - I realise you work, so do many people with kittens - but when you are at home he should be in your company, except at night if you don't want him in the bedroom.
I have many a time slept on the sofa with a new cat or kitten during their first few days away from mum.
Also I don't get the auto feeder thing - why are you not feeding him yourself?
The only way I can see this turning out (without changes) is that your kitten won't bond with you.
Please don't let him out for a good while yet - definitely not prior neutering. Did his breeder agree he could go out?


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

ruthbeccalan said:


> I was advised by his breeder 3 times a day and have followed what she advised me to do with his feedingz
> 
> He seems to be being fed enough as far as I can see as he has dry food and isn't finishing it on each cycle of his feeder though eats a lot of it.
> 
> ...


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I have to say I agree with Buffie, I too felt very sad reading this thread.  Your kitty is only a baby at 3.5 months old, and has not long left his mum and siblings, so of course he is going to feel lonely, and want company and reassurance, bless him.

I have no criticism of you not having him in the bedroom at night, but you need to develop a reassuring bedtime routine for the little guy, so he can get used to being on his own for 7 or 8 hours. You probably have already chosen a suitable room for him to spend the nights, and put in his litter trays, water bowl and cosy bed.

For his pre-bedtime routine you need to have at least half hour every night of vigorous interactive play (vigorous on his part). Use a Flying Frenzy or Da Bird and get him jumping and dashing about.

Then you need to feed him a tasty supper of high protein wet food e.g. Hilife Kitten Food, Lily's Kitchen Kitten Food, Wainwright's kitten food, all from [email protected])

Your kitty should definitely not be fed a 100% dry diet, it is not healthy for him. There is a wealth of expert evidence from pet nutritionists that dry food is especially bad for kittens, bad for adult cats too, if all dry is fed.

Having given your kitty his tasty wet supper in his night room, you sit quietly with him, with door closed, lights low, no TV on, but perhaps a radio playing softly on a classical music channel. Kitty, having eaten his nice supper will then groom and sleep. It may take him 10 minutes to nod off or half an hour but you stay with him, quietly ignoring him until you are sure he has settled. Then you can tiptoe out of the room. Leave the radio on softly, it will be company for him. Or have it on a timer, so it goes off at midnight and comes on again at 6 am. *

You will only need to sit with him until he falls asleep, for about a week at most, and by then kitty will have learnt that once he is in his room with his supper etc, he can feel safe on his own until morning.

The point is the little fellow does not know it is only the neighbours getting up at 6 am, he thinks it is you, so he cries to let you know he is awake.

Have you considered putting him in a room at night that is the opposite side of the house, away from the party wall with your neighbours? If this is not possible then I would put a tasty wet meal in his auto feeder, timed to open around 5.45 am, so when he hears the neighbours get up he can help himself to his breakfast.

You say your kitty does not associate you with being fed, but that would be a sad state of affairs if that were so. The ritual of serving up food and feeding it to your kitty is one important way of bonding with him, giving him the reassurance that you will always supply him with food. It is part of how you develop the trust between human and animal companion.

The other important way of bonding with kitty is several hours a day of interactive play with you. He will not get the mental stimulus he needs playing by himself.

Unless you have a safely enclosed cat pen built off the house, accessed by a cat flap, please do not even consider for a moment letting such a young kitten out of the house. It would be highly risky.

*EDIT: even better if you can follow Moggie14's suggestion and sleep in the same room at night for a couple of weeks (whilst your OH sleeps in the bedroom I mean).


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## Aubrie30 (Aug 10, 2014)

I agree with everyone else and you have received some great advice. This thread makes me sad as well.

Your kitten is a baby, he needs exactly the same things as a human baby; good quality, nutritious food (wet, not dry) love, interaction and attention.

You need to disregard what the breeder told you, I'm not sure what planet she's on but a quick google search of any cat related website will tell you that kittens need a lot more sustenance than what they get from just three meals of dry food.

I hope you continue to read this site, there are so many good posts with loads of information about the best food to give your cat and what they need.


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

ruthbeccalan said:


> I was advised by his breeder 3 times a day and have followed what she advised me to do with his feedingz
> 
> He seems to be being fed enough as far as I can see as he has dry food and isn't finishing it on each cycle of his feeder though eats a lot of it.
> 
> Good to hear that your cat grew out if it. We'll see how he goes over next few weeks. He does have a cat tree, heated bed, food, toys etc. Well everything really!


How about reducing the portions slightly but increasing the number of them?

Just an idea...


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

I agree with all of the above, and that your young kitten needs loads of attention at this stage and so you may just need to give him a lot of attention. He will need fewer meals and a little less attention as he gets older but you need to reassure him that you are here and care for him now. I'd say be careful to respect his current need and don't jump stages. 
Also a little surprised by the automatic feeder for all meals, although you may have your reasons for this?
I would avoid water spraying too. I know a kitten can be a little challenging to handle sometimes, I used the water spray technique once with Oleg when he was small, that was because he kept trying to climb the paper shade of the lamp (so much fun). 
I later founds other ways of dealing with with things like that : shush him away, pick him gently and carry him away, distract him from whatever he's doing that is not desirable, etc, there is always a better way than water spraying. Ask on the forum when you're running out of ideas, like you did here.


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## Muttly (Oct 1, 2014)

ruthbeccalan said:


> Also want bedroom to be ours anyway. So between where we are and him is the hallway so it's not like he's outside our door and we can water spray him etc.


Please don't do this to him  Would you spray water at a human baby? No you would see what was making it cry.


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2014)

ruthbeccalan said:


> Please can anyone help!!
> 
> We have had out 3.5 month old Siberian for just over 2 weeks.
> 
> ...


I can't quite believe what I am reading here? Why on earth did you get a kitten if you don't want anything to do with it?

Sorry I am not one for jumping on people but this is just awful. Poor kitten.


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

moggie14 said:


> Just back from work and catching up.
> I am firmly in the Buffie and MollyMio camp! The poor little guy has just been taken away from his mum and siblings - no wonder he gets upset when alone :sad:
> You need to be a little more understanding to his needs whilst he is a baby. He needs you to spend as much time as possible with him - I realise you work, so do many people with kittens - but when you are at home he should be in your company, except at night if you don't want him in the bedroom.
> I have many a time slept on the sofa with a new cat or kitten during their first few days away from mum.
> ...


My kitten was glued to me most of the time at that age. The only time I shut him in his room was if I went out or if he needed a nap in peace. I wanted him to sleep with me so I slept with him in the spare room for a couple of weeks under the pretence of giving hubs his beauty sleep. In reality I wanted to make sure Elsworth bonded with me mostly  If you don't want your kitten sleeping with you then that is understandable but he won't quite down in the mornings unless he has something to do. Can you get up a bit earlier to play with him? Do you have any toys you can give him to play with on his own? I used to give Elsworth a catit track and put him in his room for a bit if I needed sleep. You could always get a food maze or something to put treats in that he has to fish out just to buy you a bit more time before you play with him properly.

However don't expect him to quieten down without intervention for a few months yet. These days at 9 months Elsworth doesn't get up unless one of us does but previously during the height of summer he was waking up at 3-4am and demanding play time. I struggled though it and had many sleep deprived mornings but I survived. I was convinced it would go on forever but it didn't 

I remember the first night/day he would cry every time I left the room but gradually I got him used to not being with me and he soon stopped. I made sure he had lots of attention at other times so he didn't feel neglected. Nobody can or should give their pet 24/7 attention but it is important that they get a lot of it, especially if your kitten does not have you to cuddle up to at night.

If you make an effort to do all of the above it will help hugely. Things do get better, I was certain I wouldn't have another kitten but actually things were not so bad. It is a shock to the system when you haven't experienced it before, I hadn't had a kitten as an adult and although I knew what to expect it was still hard. It is very much worth it though and one day you will look back and miss the kitten phase.


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

When Oleg was that age I think I would still get up in the middle of the night to feed him. I work from home, the first couple of months he was here he was getting all the attention he asked for (he napped on my lap while I was at my desk), basically I could hardly work outside of nap time. Tough but way it was. 
I went to a cafe to get some work done a few times, but to tell you the truth, I found it super sad to see Oleg the curious kitten come sniffing at my computer bag and supervise the packing to get away operations 
Now when I have a deadline I simply lock myself up in the kitchen to work undisturbed for the day and only open for a short game or cuddle during coffee break, lunch break, and dinner break (and his meals).


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