kitty with occasional "scared" behaviour

[ganime]

Hi all,

My 4 month old kitten sometimes looks scared of us. For example if he sees me coming out of a room in twilight or dark, he seems at a loss whether to run away or come to me. So he walks sideways with his ears pricked and his head in a very tense position. He goes on like this until i come close and he recognizes me. i hold out my hand and caress him or pick him up, then he is OK. Also sometimes he hides from us and his ears lean back. Is this normal for a kitten or did i do something to make him chickenish :)

Another thing... He gets very active at times. He runs like crazy from room to room with no purpose. Sometimes he stops halfway and makes a turm like a braked car. He jumps to the walls, climbs a carpet that stands rolled against the wall, climbs back down, runs to the other end of the room, upsets his sleeping basket, etc. He doesn't do this all the time but when he does he acts really crazy. I had sent a message before about his always trying to bite our fingers when we want to play with him. Is he very aggressive?

A third thing he climbs to my shoulder and licks my neck... Is this normal? (Even now he was doing it, he is purring loudly at the same time)

Thanks in advance for your answers

[Pam]

I think kittens are just the most delightful creatures and absolutely impossible to figure out! Actually the behavior you describe is completely normal. I have only had two cats in my life and they are older now but were exactly the way you describe your little one when they were his age. They still occasionally will race through the house like someone is chasing them but of course it's only in their imaginations. :rolleyes: Even the biting is not unusual for a kitten. My first cat never bit but my second cat made up for it. It was quite annoying for a while but fortunately that too passes. My advice is just to sit back, relax and enjoy it. They are kittens for such a short time and kittenhood is just such a fun time!

[Former User]

I would say your kittens is just being a kitten. That running around sounds very familiar, Casper and Kitty do it every day few times, it's their frisky moment. And it's normal. It's their way of playing. If your kitty would have a playmate of same aga, they both would probably be running around like little maniacs :) Just give time for your cat, the biting will stop. In the meanwhile you can try this: everytime he bites you, say "au", a bit louder voice that you normally use to speak. We did this and it helped.

About licking your neck, the kitty may just be telling that he feels safe and comfortable close to you. Purring is a pretty good sign of him being relaxed and feeling more or less safe.

What's the name of your kitten? Is he the only cat in the house?

[ganime]

Hello, Casper_Kitty
My kitten's name is Karamel Mirnav. "Karamel" because he is an orange tabby (getting darker everyday) and "Mirnav" because in Turkish cats don't purr they do "mirrr" and Mirnav sounds very funny. So we named him two names.

He is the only cat in the house. I don't think we can get him a friend because we live in a flat. By the way my sister-in-law "madeguada" has a 2 year-old most probably pregnant Turkish Van Cat and when we brind them together it's not difficult to see they hate each other. Karamel just "grrrr"s and stays under the couch. Do you think they can learn to get along well? Also if we live Karamel with my sister-in-iaw can the other cat (Capablanca) hurt him?

[Former User]

You can't make cats instantly like each other, it takes time. Sometimes long, sometimes not, depending on the cats. And it might that some cats won't ever get along, but don't give up yet, your cats might end up liking each other :)

Karamel is a cute name! :)

[Gio]

Your kitten sounds like a lot of fun. One of my cats is also quite young (7 months at the end of the week) and he has a lots of crazy moments.

When I first took him home he was very scared of one of my other two cats, now they get along fine, she is almost 4 years old and sometimes she gets as crazy as him. :) . When my sister goes on holiday she takes her cats to stay with me, for the first few days there is a lot of growling, but then things settle down, some of them might never love each other, but at least they tolerate each other. It just takes time.

[purrley]

There's absolutely nothin cuter to me than a kitten, so innocent and sweet and you can imagine how huge and scarey you are to them until they build up a little trust. And it won't be long before they will chase you and everything else they can find all over the house. I love em so much - I'm always comin down with kitten fever:D

[tuxluvr]

Ritzy is almost 2 years old and still occasionally reverts back to the kittenhood "sideways dance" that you described - it is always accompanied by the "RCO" (Random Cat Outburst) once a day romp through the house, up the stairs and back down.... a sign that she is frisky and playful, and healthy trait....

She did this more frequently as a kitten, but still has her moments...I always call this her "happy dance"

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

ganime.....
You described Tinky to a T. Ever since we brought her home she does that sideways dance that you talk about. She still does it and she just turned six months. She is not scared of you she is just playing, that is Tinky's favorite game. We hide in different rooms and she bounces through the hall with her ears back and her tail all fluffed out to come find us. I agree with Pam just sit back and enjoy it. Many of my days consist of me sitting and watching her play, kittens are SO MUCH FUN. :D

[Ila]

Kittens are unpredictable. Misty when she was little she was scared of everything new. She is 5 now and once in awhile she still has frightened look on her. I remember a couple years ago my husband cut a tree down outside in the backyard. Us not knowing Misty watched the whole thing we came in the house and she was just trembling. We could not figure out why. Later my husband picked her up and went to the patio door to look at the tree he cut and she went pazerk and jumped out of his arms and ran away.She saw the tree go also heard it and scared her. For about 2 months she did not go near the patio door. For awhile we called her our scarty cat. She is totally an inside cat. She hates it outside.