hi me and my partner are first time kitten owners we have had a ragdoll male kitten two weeks now. now he is a well behaved kitten he has not purpusally scratched anything although has left claw marks on things but he does run around climb the sofa and curtains and needs plalying with a lot in the mornigs and evenings. now i love him to pieces but my partner is finding it hard because all the work involved constanly supervising him playing as he is very playfull etc, i have told my partner we havent had him long he will calm down and that he is only a kitten, any body have any tips to keep him off sofa and curtains and will he calm down when he gets a little older? i am very upset because my partner has menchned giving him back to the breder which i do not want to do. do they get any easier?
thanks
Kittens are active and playful - and you will miss it when he is older and quieter. You are tense because you are not sure what he will do. He does not need as much supervision as you are giving.
As for climbing, clip his claws - just the very sharp tip - about once per week or so. You should have a tall scratching post, perhaps as a leg of a piece of cat furniture. When he climbs something you do not want, get him and hold him to the post so that he grasps with his claws and let him climb (up or down). This will teach him where he can use his claws.
You can also get a water pistol to deter him from climbing the curtains. However, remember this is not misbehavior, but is play.
You can also use up some of this energy with interactive toys like wands. Da bird is excellent and intense exercise, but be careful not to overdo it. Cats can start to pant they are running so hard and one wants to pull back a bit before that point.
You should reconsider keeping him off of the furniture. You will want him to sit with you on the furniture and it should be there for him as well as you. If you have a particularly delicate piece or one that attracts scratching, then consider moving it to a room closed to him.
Another good absorber of kitten play is another kitten. ; )
As another newbie, I have found that lots of scratching posts and praising him when he uses them works well. Jan's advice is excellent for the curtains, it worked for us very well. Kittens do have a lot of energy to burn and interactive play with their humans is very important. You are laying the ground-work now for a long and loving relationship so when he is playful give him lots of interaction with you and your partner.
Right now he is learning all about his new environment and what his limits are, but like any toddler he will test those limits. With patience and consistency, your little munchkin (what is his name?) will mature to be a calm and trusting friend.
(07-21-2010 08:46 AM)dextersmom Wrote: [ -> ]As another newbie, I have found that lots of scratching posts and praising him when he uses them works well. Jan's advice is excellent for the curtains, it worked for us very well. Kittens do have a lot of energy to burn and interactive play with their humans is very important. You are laying the ground-work now for a long and loving relationship so when he is playful give him lots of interaction with you and your partner.
Right now he is learning all about his new environment and what his limits are, but like any toddler he will test those limits. With patience and consistency, your little munchkin (what is his name?) will mature to be a calm and trusting friend.
I've had Sophie almost three weeks now, and until this morning, I could not even think of anything that I had to say "No" . This morning we were in the bathroom and I was getting ready for work. I noticed the shower curtain moving and apparently she decided to see if it was edible! I walked over and saw some bite marks in the curtain. After about three "No's", I think she may have the gotten the message. It is hard, though, because she looks at you with those eyes as to say "I'm a kid and kids do these things!" So you just have to keep at it and eventually they will get the idea between what they can and can't do.
Carol C.
Jan mentioned another kitten. Is there any way you could get another kitten such as a rescue because that will solve a lot of the problems. They would use most of their energy playing together and therefore less destruction.
(07-21-2010 09:40 AM)Edie Wrote: [ -> ]Jan mentioned another kitten. Is there any way you could get another kitten such as a rescue because that will solve a lot of the problems. They would use most of their energy playing together and therefore less destruction.
no my partner would not let me get another plus there is the expence.:-(
(07-21-2010 08:24 AM)JanH Wrote: [ -> ]Kittens are active and playful - and you will miss it when he is older and quieter. You are tense because you are not sure what he will do. He does not need as much supervision as you are giving.
As for climbing, clip his claws - just the very sharp tip - about once per week or so. You should have a tall scratching post, perhaps as a leg of a piece of cat furniture. When he climbs something you do not want, get him and hold him to the post so that he grasps with his claws and let him climb (up or down). This will teach him where he can use his claws.
You can also get a water pistol to deter him from climbing the curtains. However, remember this is not misbehavior, but is play.
You can also use up some of this energy with interactive toys like wands. Da bird is excellent and intense exercise, but be careful not to overdo it. Cats can start to pant they are running so hard and one wants to pull back a bit before that point.
You should reconsider keeping him off of the furniture. You will want him to sit with you on the furniture and it should be there for him as well as you. If you have a particularly delicate piece or one that attracts scratching, then consider moving it to a room closed to him.
Another good absorber of kitten play is another kitten. ; )
thankyou i just need to try and relax a little more. its the sofa which is the main problem as it was expensive and we are still paying it off. it is mainley whne he gets his made half hour he just runs behind the sofa climbs up the back of it and darts off. i will clip his nails tonight and see how that goes i do say a firm no when he jumps up and put him on his cat tree he does have 2 scraching posts how long do you think it will take for him to learn not to climb all over the sofa? we did originally let him on the sofa but not the back of it but thought this would confuse him letting him on the main part but not the back?. because me and my partner are out at work all day he is proberly more active when we get back getting another is not really an option for us at the moment due to expense and my partner just woudnt allow it.tryed the spay bottle but he seems to like it lol
(07-21-2010 08:46 AM)dextersmom Wrote: [ -> ]As another newbie, I have found that lots of scratching posts and praising him when he uses them works well. Jan's advice is excellent for the curtains, it worked for us very well. Kittens do have a lot of energy to burn and interactive play with their humans is very important. You are laying the ground-work now for a long and loving relationship so when he is playful give him lots of interaction with you and your partner.
Right now he is learning all about his new environment and what his limits are, but like any toddler he will test those limits. With patience and consistency, your little munchkin (what is his name?) will mature to be a calm and trusting friend.
his names theo
Consider a cover for the sofa until you can relax about it. Have you and your partner had indoor only pets?
(07-21-2010 10:00 AM)JanH Wrote: [ -> ]Consider a cover for the sofa until you can relax about it. Have you and your partner had indoor only pets?
yes we have when we lived with parents dogs. but never had a cat. we did want a dog but due to work commitments this would not be possible. theo has lots of toys to keep him ocuppied during the day.i have two rabbit but they are outside. we have put a fabric cover over the sofa but when he jumps his claws dig in to the leather i know he dosnt mean to as he dosnt know any better but my partner is getting abit upset by it.
Clipping the claws will reduce the penetration.
Having cats is like having children. There will be some damage. It is not misbehavior. It is just kitten and cat behavior and is part of the cost for having a cat. A cost well worth paying. To you, the sofa is an expensive part of the interior decor that deserves being treated with care. For the kitten it is a combination of bed, cat furniture and acrobatic equipment. Do not expect the kitten to really learn your view of it and do not let that frustrate you and affect how you interact with the kitten. Try to provide the kitten with the same benefits in a more attractive alternative. Perhaps you can put a really nice piece of cat furniture right by the sofa and move him there when he does something on the sofa that you do not want. However, in all of this, keep in mind the relationship you want with him. Most of us WANT our cats to be by us when we sit.
We had this problem with Charlie, but now (he's 5 months old now) we've found that because he's bigger he just jumps right up onto the sofa rather than clawing at the edge to get up, so no more little nicks in the sofa!!
Also, you mention yours is a leather sofa, so is ours. I brought a leather cleaning wax the other day and gave the edge of the cushions (where the most scratches were) a good rub and the little scratches have totally gone! As he was not actually scratching the sofa, just kinda clawing over it if he slipped off the edge or as he pulled himself up, they were simply surface marks and were easily fixed.