Kitten basics 101 HELP!?
I have a wonderful kitten who is about 2 months old now. Not sure this makes any difference, but I got him entirely too young because his mother was missing. He was maybe 3 - 5 weeks old when I got him and he has been recently neutered.
Issues I am having is:
1...Tripping me up, running in front of my feet.This is dangerous for him and I.
2...Fear of certain loud noises:Thunderstorms was easy to get him over it, but for quick noises there isn't enough time for me to distract and sooth him. So what to do? His scary cat stuff injures me because I am the one he runs to with full claws to get up on me!
3. Should I allow him to be as "dependent" on me as he is? I don't want to raise a kitty with separation issues although he has a Chihuahua house mate, the Chi is a bit of an old @sshole (can't completely blame the Chi as the kitten plays too damn much). Will he grow out of this dependence? Or is this something I need to try to nip in the bud now?
And that leads to #4,..I thought cats and more so kittens slept a great deal!? He is awake and playing ALL DAY and most of the night! Even if he is in a dead sleep if I get up to go somewhere in the house he will wake and follow me. Is this remotely normal for a creature that is supposed to sleep 18 hours a day and for the most part "solitary"?
Thanks in advance!
Update:To the rude & illiterate: I wanted a cat. My Chi is old and dying on me. It has been years since I owned a cat and ALL the research I have done has not provided the answers I seek. I DID my got damn homework thank you VERY much.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Sounds like they neutered your kitty to early, they need to be at least 4 months old or by weight. But sounds like his is doing good.
1) Cat love to run in front of you, I assume to beat you to the area first. Or you are heading to a place they are exciting to go to. Not sure, they just do unless they are occupied by another kitty or pal.
2) Some cats don't like loud noises especially when they don't know what it is. Some will get use to the same noise. We brought in my cat to a new home and he was scared of all kinds of sounds. He got use to some but the new ones scare him.
3) Kittens look to their mother for guidance and training. They will soon attack you or your dog to learn how to catch prey, the mother usually trains them how to play and catch prey. Find a good toy on a string and teach them to play rough with toys and not your hands or feet.
4) Back to 3, play with your cat before you go to sleep. Play with a toy on a string (get other toys he can play independently, balls, I have had cats all my life and they love love love foil balls. Make foil balls size of a golf ball and some smaller but not small for them to swallow but bit and move.
Remember not to play with them with your hands, as they get bigger they will want to use your hand and bite you, keep to the toys for play time.
Good luck
You don't have a choice in the matter about your cat being dependent upon you, there is no "nip it in the bud right now" attitude. You got the kitten way to young and it imprinted on you. You are the parent and where you go he goes. You are his comfort zone and he is totally bonded with you. Kittens and cats always seem to walk in front of you and around your feet and especially at meal time when they think food or treats are coming. I don't know a way to stop that.
Some breeds of cats are exceedingly bonded to their pet parent and will follow them room to room because they need to be with them. That's innate in the breed and you can train them out of it. If your cat happens to be one of those then you can't change its natural instinct.
I've pasted in a site that might be of some help to you.
http://cats.about.com/od/stressanxietyincats/a/sep...
Good luck!
All totally normal behaviour that every kitten has. You can't pick how social a cat is they are always going to be independent of you and you can't really change that. Mine is eight months old and still walks in front of me. Again it is the nature of EVERY ANIMAL to be scared of loud noises. As the other answer said its really bad you didn't know all of this before hand especially if you had him at such a young age!
You should've known this before you got a kitten.