"She's very naughty, isn't she?" Talk to me about your young cat's behaviour...

[OlennasWimple]

We have a cat who is about 1 year old. I think that she is entirely normal and age appropriate behaviour wise; a visitor to our house yesterday commented as she was leaving that although WimpleCat is lovely, "she's very naughty isn't she?"

So, please let me know if I have rose tinted spectacles on

Does your young cat do the following:

• jump onto the kitchen counter when there is food up there
• get down from the kitchen counter when told to do so
• come back into the house when called
• rummage in the kitchen bin
• attempt to take food from your plate when eating
• stop fighting with another cat when told to do so
• try to climb bookcases
• climb onto the roof of the house
• get in the car if the doors are left open, eg when loading the boot

Or any other "naughty" stuff?

Note - WimpleCat does some but not all of the above

[IHaveBrilloHair]

I have four indoor cats.
They all do whatever they want, and take no notice of me at all.
I absolutely adore them

[BrusselPout]

We have two 3 year old cats - they tick off most of those things, along with trying to jump out of upstairs windows and breaking into our bedroom to sleep on my head. I love their furry faces sooooo much

[BrusselPout]

Should say that they tick all the naughty ones - there are a couple on there that they definitely don't do, apparently following instructions is not very 'cat' 😂

[viccat]

I have four youngsters... Two are 20 months old and two are coming up to 7 months old.

The 20 month olds were semi feral kittens (I've had them since 4 months of age) and have always been amazingly well behaved when it comes to any naughty cat behaviours. Never been on kitchen counters or climbed curtains or pushed things off surfaces. Never been interested in human foods are and are not demanding about food in general.

The younger pair a handful! They have done everything imaginable from climbing the curtains and balancing on top of doors, are constantly on the kitchen counters and keep finding random small things they shouldn't have (one of them had a supply of 20p coins for some reason yesterday he was playing with!). I need to shut them out of the room when I'm eating or they will have paws on the plate and steal everything...

So I think it's a personality thing? Both sets of siblings have been brought up the same, although the older ones were not rescued from living in a garden until 4 months of age so are more feral. The youngsters I've had since they were a month old (as foster kittens with their mum at first), and they are more confident.

[Fluffycloudland77]

My cat does what he likes but will come in at night. He would go on the roof if he could, he did at the last house.

[hen10]

I think your visitor has clearly never had a cat. They are not good or naughty because they genuinely have no interested in how you feel about them doing any of the stuff on your list. They do what they like. I find this very refreshing. Sometimes what they want coincides with what you want. But that's all it is. And we love them for it.

[OlennasWimple]

hen10, well, she describes herself as a cat person, but thinking about it, I think she had cats in the family when she was growing up but hasn't ever had a kitten or young cat herself.

WimpleCat is, I think, perfectly typical of 1 year old cat! She will jump on the kitchen sides, which we are working hard to discourage, and will increasingly get down when she is told (sometimes even the first time!). She comes when she is called, including at night. She doesn't climb anywhere else in the house. She does have a food thing, but I put that down to being an abandoned kitten, so we have to be careful about making sure that the kitchen bin is closed and someone has to stand guard when, for example, a roast chicken is resting before being carved - but then I'd be a bit suspicious about a cat that didn't go crazy for roast chicken!

[juneybean]

I've got a tortie so is the very definition of naughty. She practically climbs into my mouth when I'm eating. I've told her repeatedly if she sits on my plate I will eat her. No fucks given though.

[Apanicaday]

My older cat is now 7 months old and the new one is 4 and a half months. They are currently using my whole house as their personal parkour course. Anything that is in their way is fair game for destruction. And the smaller one in particular likes to sit 2 cm away from your face when you are eating because why wouldn't you?!

We tell them off. They look at us. And continue!!!

[Vinorosso74]

Our lad is a handful! He's 2 in the spring. We adopted him just over a year ago aged 9 or 10 months. He has destroyed 2 paper lampshades; chewed blinds (all Ikea stuff a few years old); likes to sit on the kitchen table; tries to chew other things he shouldn't (phone chargers); regularly knocks Lego over and tries to run off with the people; likes starting fights with a local cat twice his size. He can be a big softie and snuggle right up, purring away belly up.
I have to accept he is young and will hopefully grow out of some of these behaviours but it is all fairly typical cat stuff. I've not had such a young cat since I was a child so it was a bit of a shock! Old girl was the most calm, sensible cat so very different.

[madeyemoodysmum]

My two are coming up for 4 now but when they were kittens up to about 18 months they were very naughty particularly the female, I’m glad they r calmer now they still have their moments. kittens are a handful but so much fun

[Ontheboardwalk]

Add sleeping on a neighbours bed 5 doors down (not allowed in bedroom here) and sitting on house opposites chimney pot at every opportunity.

Only one I would try and stop with water pistol if necessary is getting in the car. My cat hitched a ride with my mother home one day. Luckily it wasn’t a random car and she knew he was a git so she brought him back!