Slightly loony and very needy kitten - anyone with experience?

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

We've had Rosie for about 10 days now, she's 8 weeks old. We got her from a slightly dodgy looking woman in a bedsit but she was with mum and siblings and appeared fine. I know she was young to go but the kitties were going to be leaving that weekend either way so we took her home.

She is a sweetheart, incredibly loving but also incredibly needy, she cries like a babe at night. We have had to shut her downstairs as for some reason everytime she gets on our bed she goes to squat down on our white duvet for a wee or poo. No idea why, she just seems to love the soft white cotton. She's downstairs with our one year old cat and they get on really well, have even started sleeping snuggled up these last few days. But still she cries and cries, the second she hears footsteps upstairs she just howls and howls. When we go downstairs she has got into a real frenzy and just leaps into my arms purring and needs to be held for a good while.

She's been doing really well with her litter tray but these last few days has started randomly crapping under the radiator. She also leaps up onto the table and tries to eat from the dd's plate. She is lovely and such a friendly cat but she is a bit of a deliquant and I don't know to what extend you can 'train' a cat. The last kitten we didn't really have to do a thing as he was with his mum and she really took care of teaching him everything. I really think Rosie needed more time with her mum but it's too late for that now and I just wonder if it will always impact on her behaviour.

Any advice?

[Heated]

Has she been to the vets yet? If not, take her to the vets and make sure all is well, first, imo.

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

she hasn't been to the vets yet as I wanted to wait till she was a bit bigger and could have jabs and micro-chipping all in one go. I think she's fine physically and is really just a little lost baby. Shes' currently perched on my shoulder purring and licking my cheek.

[NorbertDentressangle]

Is she a tortoiseshell by any chance?

[PinkTulips]

we had a kitten taken from it's mum at 6 weeks once... i got him in a shelter where he'd been dumped.

he was so incredibly needy, he sucked jupers and kneaded, craved constant attention, pooed or peed in our bedroom for attention, etc, etc.

i loved him to bits but i couldn't have coped with him if i'd had kids at the time he was sooo needy.

some of the things can be trained out of her (jumping on the table, peeing on the bed) and some the older cat will guide her out of as she gets older but she'll probably always be a little bit more work than a cat allowed to stay with mum til 8/10 weeks (not knocking you for taking her btw, sounds like you did the right thing)

[catinthehat2]

You can't praise cats too much, they love love love it.
Crapping in the litter tray = go berserk with praise & stroking.
Crapping on the bed = silent removal and disappointment.
Getting on the table to eat DD's grub = banished to another room with her own dinner.

Eating her own grub out of her dish = insane praise.

Etc, you get the idea. They really do respond to praise and attention. If she sees you as mum (and cat mothers are quite tough), she will hang round after you loyally for life - voice of experience.

[catinthehat2]

(plus I first read it as "loony and nerdy kitten". I thought maybe you could get it a subscrption to What Computer magazine to keep it happy)

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

thank you, some great advice and yes she is a crazy tortie! I'd read all about tortoiseshell cats being a bit funny but our last tortie was so so calm and independent I thought it must be a myth

[NorbertDentressangle]

Aha! There you go then!

I would say aren't my psychic powers amazing but the truth of the matter is we have a 14(ish) year old tortie who has always been exactly as you describe.

Its no myth