New kitten question
 

My new kitten needs to be with me all the time , it sleeps on me all the time and follows me round the home non stop.

I only wanted 1 cat but is this fair????

If i leave the kitten on his own without company for a couple of hours wil he distory my home?

Ive only left him for a few mins and he screams my place down , when i return he cries and jumps on me etc.

Is this just cause he is a kitten , does he really need company of another cat.


I feel cruel now not giving him another kitten to sleep and play with , will he ever adjust to being an only cat?

As i said before i only ever wanted 1 cat , while i have enough space and money for 1 cat , im not sure i do for another 1 but if its my only way then i will have to for the sake of my kittens health

Thank u

How old is your kitty? He could be too young to be away from his littermates. He is probably looking for reassurance from you. You said in your other thread you have only had him four days.
When you leave him do you leave him a comfortable place to sleep? Like a small carrier he can curl up in? Kittens sometimes like smaller areas for sleeping. It makes them feel a little more secure.
I have a couple of squawkers too. They want my attention all the time. You get used to it.
IMO - two kitties are always better than one. They keep each other company, play together, sleep together, etc. If you get another one get him/her when he is still young. This way they can grow up together. It would be neat if you could get one of his littermates.
Good luck, keep us informed, and we need to see pics of the little one. Please. :D

Hi , thanks for your reply , he is 4 months old , he prods at my hand , legs with his legs , he must be on me or he cant sleep ...he is always trying to stick his tougue inside my mouth also , not sure why.

He is very loving though , just not sure if its a bad thing or not as it may mean he depends on me to much?

I do feel cruel though not having another cat for him to be social with but would he ever be happy just being an only cat?

He quite probably could be happy being an only cat. Do you have lots of time to give him? It may be his behaviour is something he will grow out of. He may not. Every cat is different so there is no definitive answer.
Personally I have had both. A cat who was on his own for 19 years. He shared the house in his latter years with a couple of dogs but had no other cats around. Now I can't imagine just having one. They spend a lot of time amusing each other and this allows me to get my work done. Just my :2cents: I am sure others would see things differently.

Look at it this way: he's a baby, you're his mother, babies generally hang with their mothers (or their littermates). You're also his principal source of entertainment. So play with him! Get him some kitty balls - there are tons of different kinds, but I find the metallic crinkly kind are highly prized - or just paper balls are fine, a bit of string with a bell or a few feathers tied to one end (make sure he doesn't swallow anything), those big plastic coils are great, and so on. Notice what interests him and make a game of it. Tire him out! Then he will fall asleep and give you some peace :).

Kittens [I]must[/I] play, like children and all semi-conscious animals. Many important life lessons are learned very early on, such as not to bite. Every time he nips you - I'm not talking about mouthing, which is more gentle, and normal - take away your hands immediately, firmly say NO but not loud enough or close enough to scare him, give him a short time out. Do you let him sleep on your bed? You must (unless you are deathly allergic).

When you are away, put him in one room with his stuff (litterbox, toys, bed or crate) and make sure there's nothing in the room that could be a threat to [I]him[/I], such as electrical cords, stuff he could swallow, etc. Put away anything he could break. Leave a radio on low for company. He'll probably sleep most of the time (and be doubly energetic when you return :crazy:).

He does sound very young, all the more reason to interact with him as much as possible. If you do, he will grow up to be the companion you want, who trusts you enough to let you in on a few cat secrets.

My only question would be: How can you resist? If it is easy to ignore him, by shutting him up or leaving him at home alone for hours and hours, maybe you would be happier with a mature cat who is used to that kind of life.

[QUOTE=badger;622038]Look at it this way: he's a baby, you're his mother, babies generally hang with their mothers (or their littermates). You're also his principal source of entertainment. So play with him! Get him some kitty balls - there are tons of different kinds, but I find the metallic crinkly kind are highly prized - or just paper balls are fine, a bit of string with a bell or a few feathers tied to one end (make sure he doesn't swallow anything), those big plastic coils are great, and so on. Notice what interests him and make a game of it. Tire him out! Then he will fall asleep and give you some peace :).

Kittens [I]must[/I] play, like children and all semi-conscious animals. Many important life lessons are learned very early on, such as not to bite. Every time he nips you - I'm not talking about mouthing, which is more gentle, and normal - take away your hands immediately, firmly say NO but not loud enough or close enough to scare him, give him a short time out. Do you let him sleep on your bed? You must (unless you are deathly allergic).

When you are away, put him in one room with his stuff (litterbox, toys, bed or crate) and make sure there's nothing in the room that could be a threat to [I]him[/I], such as electrical cords, stuff he could swallow, etc. Put away anything he could break. Leave a radio on low for company. He'll probably sleep most of the time (and be doubly energetic when you return :crazy:).

He does sound very young, all the more reason to interact with him as much as possible. If you do, he will grow up to be the companion you want, who trusts you enough to let you in on a few cat secrets.

My only question would be: How can you resist? If it is easy to ignore him, by shutting him up or leaving him at home alone for hours and hours, maybe you would be happier with a mature cat who is used to that kind of life.[/QUOTE]


I do play with him loads and he has lots of toys but i obviously cant be there for him 24.7 as its not possible i dont think nobody can .....hence the reason i wanted to know if it was ok for himt o be only cat.


At the moment i have 2 weeks off work so i can spend a lot of time with him , im just worried when i go back if he will get to stressed by me leaving.


Well i would of and wanted an older cat , but this kitten needed a home and i really liked him so i had him

I brought big play centre for him to play on and loads of toys , he does play with them all but he likes me to join in so i do.

You said about not letting him bite , i have been letting him do it as i didnt mind as it does not hurt , but obviously i dont want him to do it in Adult hood as it will hurt then so i should do what u says and say no.

He likes to also black flip his rear legs and scratch them on my arm , should i allow this?


thanks

[QUOTE]He likes to also black flip his rear legs and scratch them on my arm , should i allow this?
[/QUOTE]
Hard to say, does it hurt :laughing:? I'm not talking about total control here, just stop him from behaviours that could hurt him or you.
I'm glad you're putting in the time, it's the only way (see above :)).
I'm afraid you can expect this level of energy for a good year, then he will start to settle down.
Are you planning on having him neutered? Neutered cats stray less because the hormonal thing is gone. If you think he could do a runner someday, it might be a good idea. All my cats are fixed, it makes life much less complicated. But usually they are not neutered until later 5-6 months.
Don't worry about going back to work, he will be fine (see above). But be prepared for him to meet you at the door when you come home, ready for more action!

PS I wouldn't be leaving him overnight, he is far too young.

How about posting pictures of your kitten? .....We love pics here. :D

My rescue group doesn't adopt out kittens alone until they are six months old..so they get enough socialization with their littermates. I'm sure that it can still work...but you will need to work extra hard since you now replace his brothers/sisters AND his mom!

Mine was six months when I got her and she is clingy too but it doesn't bug me..my dog is super clingy too so I am just grateful to have so much love around me...:lovestruck:

But I am able to leave the house all day with no issues..maybe now that you are on vacation you can test it out. Follow the tips from the other posters about the toys, play with him for a while get him running around to tire him out..and try leaving in short spurts..maybe 30 minutes here and there, increasing to several hours each day and see how he does.

also, remember that cats are nocturnal and sleep all day for the most part, especially when they are babies..so you should be fine going out in the day. At night you want to be home for sure. Lots of furballs, especially babies and shelter pets...need a lot of reassurance..they've had a rough start sometimes and are now in a new environment....it can be a lot for the little guy to take in. Please be patient and his confidence will GROW in no time!

I only ever planned on one cat too, and now I have 5.

I rescued Vlad at 14 weeks, but like you, felt bad leaving him home alone. I got him a playmate about a month after I brought him home. I have to say, two is really not that much more expensive than one and not that much more work.

Having two they will certainly keep each other company and play together. If you do it now while he's only 4 months old chances are they will adjust to each other well.

Actually, I find it's more normal for kittens to be scared of their owners in the beginning because they aren't accustomed.

That said, all cats are different.

Another cat will help to keep her off your back all the time most likely, but if it's not in your budget, it's not in your budget. One cat properly fed with all the proper medical attention is better than two or three cats that you feed the crappy brands. See what I'm saying?

Also, cats learn behaviours just like everything else out there. If you constantly give it attention when it whines, it will always want your attention. It just needs to get used to being on its own for a little while.

P.S.>> I'm also saying this thinking the kitten is of proper age to be away from it's mother. How old is she?