I have recently taken on a new kitten, Jessica ( http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/6483/jessica.png ). I believe she is approximately 16 weeks old.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
