Onyx is a little terrorist. Kittens by and large are explorers and Onyx is no exception. He is up on counters and in cabinets...basically any place he can get himself into (and not necicerily out of lol). He's getting better about things though, I think mostly because someone is home with him a lot of the time. Kittens are attention hogs, the more you give them the better. I've noticed they respond to emotional reactions...if you see a kitten doing something naw-tee the worst thing you can do is blow your stack because they love to get a reaction of some type out of you.
Cats are smart critters and they KNOW what displeases you and what doesnt. Kittens especially like to test boundries. I almost was driven to re-home Onyx, but I decided to stick it out because I knew he was just being a kitten.
Payton is going to explore as all kittens do. Don't be angry at him for being a kitten, be happy that you can watch him grow! He will get better as he learns what boundries he can push and what boundries he can't push.
*EDIT* As for keeping him occupied while you're not home...I wish I had advice for you. Spook and Remus pretty much are my "kitten sitters" when everyone leaves the house. They're young enough to keep up with Onyx but old enough to put him in line lol.
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