http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ Daily Kitten Chat Forum Topic: Massive behaviour change at 4 months? en Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:32:44 +0000 http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-670121 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 05:55:09 +0000 Siobhan 670121@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Depends a lot on the vet....the ones around here are revising their standards for fixing kittens, from an age-based scale to a weight-based one. As soon as the females hit three pounds, they can be neutered. For the little boys, it's two pounds.</p> <p>Maybe you can find a vet that uses the weight-based scale for determining when to neuter? </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-670113 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 05:46:37 +0000 ecbrown 670113@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Jessica is precious. I think others are right...hormones and reaching the "teenage" kitten years could be the explanation. I just wanted to mention that you should make sure you are not allowing her to attack your hand. That could lead to many years of that painful behaviour. When our cats would get rough with our hand we would hand them a toy like this....</p> <p><a href="http://www.petco.com/product/110291/KONG-Kickeroo-Tiger-Print-Catnip-Cat-Toy.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.petco.com/product/110291/KONG-Kickeroo-Tiger-Print-Catnip-Cat-Toy.aspx</a></p> <p>They would bunny kick, bite and wrestle the toy. This worked wonders in teaching them that our hands weren't for attacking. It also helped them get out some of that crazy aggression. I hope you get your snuggle bug back. I have a female who loves to be pet when she is in a mellow mood (and especially if the petting is her idea) but if she is in a "crazy" mood she will run away just like Jessica. Good luck. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-670090 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:25:40 +0000 GD 670090@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>You should definitely be feeding her kitten food - it's higher in fat and calories that she will need for optimum development. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-670067 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 02:06:48 +0000 AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew 670067@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>For a kitten have you tried any of the foods specific for kittens (i.e., Kitten Chow or any of the natural brands kitten food)? </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-670055 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:32:56 +0000 simi 670055@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>i'd recommend you to give her "whiskas" cat food! </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-465041 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:28:17 +0000 thisisgil 465041@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Thanks for the encouraging replies!</p> <p>Just to recap - the sort of running away from me behaviour - is this okay? Sometimes it really seems like she is petrified for me to touch her, and I wouldn't like her to act scared of me forever now :)</p> <p>One more question - can anyone recommend a really good brand of dry food for kitten growth. The vet did say she is a tiny bit underweight, not massively, but could benefit from food to bulk her a bit. I have been giving her wet and dry food, and the wet food I was recommended is the simply kitten food ( <a href="http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-is-purely/product-is-20595/pgs-is-15" rel="nofollow">http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-is-purely/product-is-20595/pgs-is-15</a> ) which she loves, and is 50% meat so I know doing her some good :) However, I am not sure what dry food is the best to supplement this with, as I have heard conflicting advice.</p> <p>Thanks again for all of your help! :) </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-464945 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:59:11 +0000 Karenopa 464945@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Hi Thisisgil and welcome to TDK! It sounds to me like your little girl is just growing up and definitely developing her kitty skills. I'm surprised that your vet has delayed her spaying til she is 6 mos. Most vets will do it at age 4 mos.<br /> But I guarantee you that she will definitely go a little bonkers when she reaches her heat cycle. Be strong..hahaha..They grow up sooo fast that before you know it you'll be missing her silly, kitten antics and wondering where the time went. Take lots of pics! =) </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-464933 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:38:55 +0000 AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew 464933@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Thisisgil, if you are comfortable with your vet and she is an inside only kitten &amp; can wait it out, you can wait for the two months. Or you can find another vet who will do the spay earlier than the six months, I have heard for a long time the same thing as Skyron says, 2 lbs and they can be neutered/spayed. </p> <p>Otherwise don't worry about all the craziness she is showing, some of it is her just being a juvenile with hormones, and practising her hunting skills w/prey. Plus little bitty cats can sound like a herd of thundering elephants when running at all hours :) </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-464882 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:44:28 +0000 Skyron 464882@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Sounds a lot like your kitty has come on heat. I work with feral cats a lot, and those babies regularly come into season at ages 4-5 months. If your vet doesn't want to spay her, find another vet, its as simple as that. I hate vets like that. Would he rather see your kitty at her young age pregnant, when she still needs all her calcium and energy for her own growth, stunting her own body for the sake of her babies? If she does get pregnant, there is a very good chance she wont be able to deliver the babies on her own, and need a cesaerian. Not to mention that you will then have to find good homes for the kittens when they're older - trust me, that's not an easy thing to do. Almost every shelter I know of use the ENS policy (early spay/neuter) to stem the population growth of unwanted animals. The basic fact is that as soon as a cat weighs 2 pounds, they can be neutered. Good luck! </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22522#post-464872 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:20:26 +0000 thisisgil 464872@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>I have recently taken on a new kitten, Jessica ( <a href="http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/6483/jessica.png" rel="nofollow">http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/6483/jessica.png</a> ). I believe she is approximately 16 weeks old.</p> <p>When I first received her (at 6 weeks), she was extraordinarily clingy and loving - she would follow me from room to room, never wanting to be far away from me, and frequently jump up on my lap and groom me. She would spend every night sleeping on my pillow just above my head, and when my alarm went off in the morning, she would wake up, and lick my face and chew on my nose.</p> <p>However, in the last week or two, I've noticed a bit of a change in her behaviour - she's always had her playful moments and had a lot of energy and I have always made sure I set aside some time to play with her, as she is left alone during the day whilst I am at work. Recently, though, it seems as if her energy levels have tripled and her behaviour has changed in the following ways:</p> <p>1) She will go for a couple of days eating just half her food and then suddenly eat everything put in front of her (wet and dry) for a couple of days, without leaving a crumb in the bowl. This pattern seems to rotate.</p> <p>2) The most affectionate kitten in the world suddenly seems scared of me - every time I reach out to pet her, she jumps backwards away from me and arches her back - she used to love to be petted before. Now, the only time I seem to get any kind of contact with her is when she wants to bite or "rabbit kick" my hands.</p> <p>3) She has an insane amount of energy. Whilst I was asleep last night, she was running from room to room all night - all I could hear was a galloping kitty and chirps from the various rooms as she suddenly accelerated away.</p> <p>4) Every toy she gets she trys to drag with her mouth - she pulled a 'build a bear' from a shelf 6 feet high and dragged it into another room last night. I also gave her a panic mouse toy to try and keep her a bit more occupied whilst I was away, but she kept catching the bobble in her mouth and pulling the *entire toy* (base and all) across the room to behind her litter tray. The toy is probably as heavy as she is, so I'm amazed she was able to do this, but confused as to why she is doing this rather than just batting and playing with the toy. She also likes to try and pull any of my loose skin (skin between my thumb and index finger, skin on my elbow etc) with her teeth which can be quite painful!</p> <p>5) She has brief spells of constant miawoing for a couple of minutes as if she wants something, and then suddenly stops again. Usually she starts jumping and running around again after this.</p> <p>6) She spends a lot of time sitting on the window ledge looking out of my apartment window - eventually I do intend to take her outside, but for the time being I can't do this as she cannot free roam as I am on the third floor of an apartment and she would have to stay out all day.</p> <p>She is just 4 months old, and I'm not sure if this is too early for her to come into season, but my vet has told me it could be possible. However they have a policy that they will not spay a kitten until she reaches 6 months old, as apparently it can be hard to find the ovaries and womb in a younger kitten.</p> <p>Has anybody experienced anything similar to this behaviour? If it's just a phase, I'm very happy to be patient with her and to ride it out, but I am itching for the adorable, affectionate Jessica who used to wake me every morning with licks to re-emerge! </p>