kitty with a working mum

[ganime]

Hi,
I adopted a kitty when i was unemloyed but now i started working again. He is about 6.5 months old. And he stays alone at home for 8 hours everyday. I wonder if he feels very lonely? I asked the vet and he said as long as they have food and drinking water they will be quiet content with their life even if they are alone. He seems to be doing ok now but when we come home he starts licking our necks and doesn't want to release us. To make up for the day I try to cuddle with him but since he always scratches or bites us most of the time, it's impossible.

Another thing is, i am intending to keep him even if we have a baby but for now he seems not to know how to behave to humans. Because when we are sleeping if we let him he bites our hands and legs and sometimes even attacks our faces. What will happen if there is a helpless baby in the house? Can he learn to behave when he gets older?

Another bad habit of him is he is trying to grab evetything that's hanging down. When I am trying to wear my pants he just attacks them. He attacks flower pots and flowers. Although we use a water spray we cannto teach him not to jump on the dining table. I am sure he knows what he does is wrong because when he sees me he just ducks. .. Will he learn not to do these things as he gets older? Or maybe it's our way of bringing him up?

Thanks beforehand for your replies

[Heather Wallace]

I sohouldn't worry to much at the moment, remember he is still a kitten and kittens like to play, he will jump for everything that hangs down. My oldest cat is 9 and he still jumps for things LOL!

If you are thinking of having a baby, I would probably think about securing your cat in another room at night and when the baby is in a room unattended. I wouldn't worry about this either, if it is a problem you will just have to be extra careful and keep an eye of things, on how they progress. Remember your kitty has a lot of growing uo to do.

While your are out all day your cat probably will be a bit bored while he is a kitten but will adapt to your life style, yes leave food and water, also some toys etc.

Hope that helps?

[yumyum6970]

That is a kitten for you..Another thing you might consider is getting another one. We did that for Yum Yum, but we got an older cat..Dutchess she is 5 years old and Yum Yum is 11 months old. Dutchess has taught Yum Yum not to scratch furniture and things like that. And she keeps Yum Yum company during the day while my husband and I are at work.

http://pepeirce.tripod.com/thekittycorner

[Former User]

Our main reason for getting 2 cats was that they keep each other company when we're not home. We've never regretted on taking two, actually, we should have taken their sister too....

[purrley]

2 kitties are better than one, maybe 3 or even 4 or even...........

[lynnestankard]

I agree with 'em all Ganime - get another furbaby - two would be better!! LOL. Toys should be left for your kitty too.
Why not have a look at Efrat's post in Cat General - there is a cat-cam of her four furbabies and you can watch her babies playing - while she's at work. Their so happy.

Lynne

[Lachesis]

I agree thats why we got 2 (and ended up w/3). We both work, our 10yo goes to school and I didnt want them being lonely and I think for *them* it was the best thing, having all 3.

[Mocha]

Hi.. my kitten is like that too..he bites, scratches and won't leave anything hanging alone until its at ground level, after which he just walks off and pretends nothing happened!! Anyway, from my personal experience, I've actually seen him tone down lots, and I think that your cat will be more tame after a few more months. Maybe after getting it sterilised (is it male), it will also be less inclined to play rough. Good luck! And kittens are always such a joy to have! Enjoy it while it lasts

[NoahsMommy]

Another good selling point of getting another kitty is that your kitten will most likely stop attacking your faces...he will have another cat to work out its energy with.

When we got two, Noah's world changed....he is still my "mommy's baby" and has someone to pick on...oh, I mean...play with during the day...

[4 feline house]

ganime, you need to break baby kitty of that habit or he will still be doing it when he's grown-up kitty. It's cute when they're little, but if you encourage it you will only have trouble later on, especially with a baby.

The best way to try to break him of it is to just stop playing with him, put him down, or walk away from him as soon as he starts to get aggressive. It may take awhile, but he should eventually get the picture. He will also mellow out as he grows out of his kittenhood.

Also, cats are naturally nocturnal, so it's a safe bet he's sleeping when you're working and is not at all lonely.

But if one cat is fun, two is even funner, so I would never try to talk anyone out of getting another!

4feline is right ! You should try to end that bad habit of your kitten . I know it is not easy !!
My son taught Sydney (when he was still a small kitten ) the bad habit to "attack" , and it impossible now to break that habbit (he is almost 2 now) . So it is better to act now !!
I wish you much success !

[maxx's mom]

My husband and I both work full time and our kitty is at home all day by herself. Thankfully, she is fairly well behaved, but I agree that the solution is probably to get a second kitty. Get another soon, so that they are close to the same age.

Maxx she became rather agressive while playing. We used to put her tail in her mouth so she would bite her tail, rather than our hand. She learned very quickly that she was biting too hard! This may not be the correct approach for all cats, but it worked for us.

Good Luck!

[Vio&Juni]

Juni's papa - Vasea used to bite also, when he was very young. We tried absolutely everything, but more agressive the approach, more agressive he was. So, we understood and we tried to leave him when he was upset or agressive. But, the hanging things desease stayed forever.
We also tried the trick with biting the tail or the paws, works with some cats also, but they surely understand, that they bite hard.
Juni is also very happy when we come home and I suspect that she is lonely all day long, but we try to compensate it in the evening and in the morning.