What to do with a wild kitten?
 

Sweet, energetic Emily--now 9 months old--has morphed into a two-year-old, or perhaps an adolescent. She is into and on top of everything, including doors, the frame holding vertical blinds, tall bookcases (pushing books out as she climbs the shelves): you name it. And she is now leading sweet, round Mimi Colette into trouble as Mimi follows Emily to the top of the refrigerator. Emily is determined to chew on anything plastic, from bags to glass frames. My DH installed a climbing ladder for her on one of our doors, but of course that's not as much fun because it's MEANT to be used for climbing.

Yesterday I watched her sit and stare up at the ceiling fan and I knew just what she was thinking. We give her two or three hard play sessions a day until she pants, but in a minute she wants more. She is long, lanky, and possessed of springs in her back legs.

Do you think she'll ever settle down? Ideas in the meantime before we pull all our hair out? We have re-named her "Oh, Emily!"

Was she literally wild - feral - when you adopted her? Of is she just super active?

In adolescence mine were similar - but they were brothers and in part wore each other out.

But they would both sit on the floor and in one leap get to the top of the refrigerator and from there to the top of the kitchen cabinets (I had 12' ceilings). And wander around up there and then leap down by steps. This lasted several years - but getting less frequent over time.

A couple of questions? Has she been neutered? Does she have enough toys of her own? Have you tried putting something she doesn't like where you don't want her to go? We used metal cookie sheets - and they hated the clanging sound when they fell to the floor. But you might try something else she won;t like (ask your vet).

Also it sounds like she's kind of a klutz - mine climbed all over the place without knocking things down in the bookcases, etc. Cats should be able to do this without knocking everything over - but climbing will never stop.

It sounds like she definitely needs more play - can you gear up your other cat to exercise Emily more?

And have you asked your vet?

My understanding of feral cats, and I could be wrong, is that if they haven't been "reached" by a very early age they will remain "feral" to some great extent the rest of their lives.

This must be a heart-breaking situation in many ways and I hope you get useable answers.

I suspect this was supposed to be a mild, funny post for the lounge...
http://www.fodors.com/community/fodo...ry-kittens.cfm

Emily was never feral; in fact, she was a bottle baby and so is very people-oriented. She is just very curious, very active, a very talented leaper, and has the energy of a pack of wild monkeys. She and Mimi Colette came from the same foster-mom, and they spend a lot of time playing. Emily is just loaded with energy. We're going to try having her run up and down the stairs in the entrance hall, a part of the house where the cats are generally not allowed: plants in the living room.

nytraveler,

Emily was spayed very young (which our vet thinks is not a good thing, especially in male cats, but that's what shelters do nowadays). She has an entire basket of toys, which she utilizes well. She flies through the air with the greatest of ease when the feather wand toys come out for play sessions.

Emily's method for climbing bookcases is (1) to jump on top of them from something else and (2) to climb to a shelf, push behind the books, come out, and keep climbing as the books fall down.

Right now she's asleep.

ROFL - I have <b>that <u>exact cat</u></b> - only male.

Got him at the Humane Society, but he had been brought there from a tiny town across the state, where I suspect he'd been (literally) <I>born in a barn</i> or something.

He's gonna be a year old very soon, and he is wild and crazy, but <I>hopefully slowing down somewhat</i>.


<b><i>Time</i></b> is my main hope...

Time...yes, time! We must be hopeful.

Some cats are just like that. She will settle down a little bit as she gets older, but probably won't ever be a couch potato type!

Is this somehow travel related?? :) :)

No, but this was supposed to be in the Lounge. Don't know what happened to put it here.

You could ask how to take this kitten on a cross county trip to make the post travel related.

I had a kitten very much like this. Little mean Kitty was his name. He could jump and climb 24/7. When we would take him to the lake house in his kitty carrier, he could always manage to escape, even with the zipper on the carrier wired shut. I finally had to get a small dog carrier to contain him in the car.

I could even ask how to take this over-sized kitten to the vet without a serenade all the way.