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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

Why is my kitten so naughty??

35 replies

SweetSeraphim · 18/02/2013 19:16

I have a just turned 6 month old tortie kitten, and she is the worst behaved pet I have ever had in my life

She's very bitey and scratchy, horribly destructive, and seems to need company all the time or she miaows and whines.

I have had cats all my life, but I've had her since she was ten weeks old and she is the youngest I have ever had. None of my other cats have ever behaved like this and I'm finding it a bit stressful.

Is this normal for her age?

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chemenger · 16/06/2018 09:37

What was the point of resurrecting this? I would like to know what the naughty tortie is like now, though.

AlexaAmbidextra · 15/06/2018 21:57

Oops. Just seen this thread is years old. 🙄

AlexaAmbidextra · 15/06/2018 21:56

Don’t like to disappoint you but I had a Siamese who was like this until he died at 17. 😺

Cheryl02 · 15/06/2018 21:06

I know this thread is old.But a kitten can leave it's mother from 8 weeks old I was told this by a head vet. I've had all my kittens from a young age my current one I've had since 7 weeks old he's a handful but can slowly see him calming down he's now 11 weeks old lots of play put him down when biting or scratching firm voice NO!!! I'm no vet but it seems to work for me.Also heaps of play is great the more they attack toy birds or mice tires them you get the sleepy cuddling part.

valrhona · 22/12/2014 07:14

My tortie Margot is quite aloof mostly, but can be very affectionate in her own little way and will come for a sit down on laps, or snuggles on the bed . I do get the sense she'd quite like to be an only cat, but she has the bold renegade Coley to contend with :-)

RubbishMantra · 21/12/2014 23:00

"Kittens always used to be given away at 6 weeks old. Now it's 8 weeks. No way would I want one at 3 months old when you'd have missed so much of its short kittenhood. "

To me, this sums up why so many cats get abandoned when they reach adolescence. Precisely the reason why kittens shouldn't be re-homed at 6 weeks. To protect them from people who think no further than their "cute kittenhood", in spite of the fact that it's best for the kitten to stay with their mum until 3 months.

Fluffycloudland77 · 20/12/2014 09:52

I'd remove the cat when you can't supervise them together, I've had cats for years but I wouldn't leave any animal with a baby.

Plus it's not un-heard of for toddlers to harm or sometimes kill kittens, not on purpose of course but it has happened & ought to be guarded against.

Nataleighlou · 20/12/2014 09:37

Tell me this has passed over and she's calmed down? As I have a 5 month old white tortie and she's driving me insane. I don't want to shout at her but she is REALLY naughty, but really shouting isn't even working?! I got her off someone that didn't have the time for her and maybe that's effected her a bit? But I'm a mummy and my daughter who has just turned 1 tends to have lots of fun playing with her with me, we are obviously doing a good job as she naps straight after but when she's in one of her moods she's jumping and running everywhere. She's leaving claw marks all over the furniture and will random just jump onto my daughter even when she's sitting eating. I don't know what to do:(

VenusRising · 20/02/2013 17:33

Sounds like normal kitten behaviour to me, bar the missing the litter tray.
Maybe sprinkle pepper on the places she puddles on.

Our 6 mo old kitten has a craze to go higher and higher - she climbs up on your shoulders and leaps on top of the doors.

I have her in the bedroom though, she has her little nest, and settles down there. Maybe put a bed for her in your bedroom? She may well be lonely?

cate16 · 19/02/2013 23:23

We have a naughty tortie too.
She sits on-top of open doors, and has mad turns in the night. She's been a bit sad last few day because she lost her mate last week :( .
Today's favorite activity has been 'sofa bouncing'.. her trampolining from one end to other and back and me in the middle getting bashed up each time (big sofa).
She's very loving when she wants to be, and does occasionally bite when she get exciting during these 'loved up' moments - but a firm 'NO' and she stops and cuddles again.

Schnapple · 19/02/2013 23:00

My mum has a silver tabby, he is about 18 months old now. He is a little monkey!!!! He loves to play fight, bite and scratch. We thought when we got him neutered he would calm down..... nope! He is nuts! My mum has very expensive curtains and the cat used to climb them!!! He has pulled them down on several occasions! He unfurls the loo paper, attacks my mums knitting. He loves climbing the christmas tree. He plays tag with the kids a chases them! He has calmed down a little bit as he is getting older but we have just got used to his hyperactivity! My mum jokes that he has ADHD.

Not much help but you arent alone. I love my mums cat, he has such a great personality and whilst sometimes its annoying I wouldnt change him, he is hilarious!

thecatneuterer · 19/02/2013 22:48

'Tortitude':) I love it. I intend to introduce this word to the other people at Celia Hammond's tomorrow.

portraitoftheartist · 19/02/2013 20:47

Kittens always used to be given away at 6 weeks old. Now it's 8 weeks. No way would I want one at 3 months old when you'd have missed so much of its short kittenhood.At 6 months old they're teenagers.
Agree that tortie cats are often psycho.

SweetSeraphim · 19/02/2013 19:22

Ahhh these are lovely stories

Guess she's a naughty tortie then! Let's hope the bitey scratchy thing wears off soon!

OP posts:

NorbertDentressangle · 19/02/2013 16:47

Florence - your post has reminded me of something else ours did....she would pick up stray socks from the clothes airer, floor, radiator etc and carry them round the house in her mouth (like kittens) whilst yowling!

There was also the night when her mad run around the house whilst we were all asleep included her standing outside or bedroom door and, no word of a lie, yowled the loudest and clearest 'HELLO' you've ever heard! DP and I both sat bolt upright and went "WTF did you hear that!?"

I do miss her crazy ways. We had her for about 16/17 years so the house seems strange without her.

Unlurked · 19/02/2013 16:46

I read the title of your post and thought "I bet that's a tortie"!

Our tortie was an evil kitten. We couldn't get off the couch or out of bed without chucking something on the floor first for her to attack otherwise she would attach herself to our ankles with her teeth and claws.

She's a grown up now and lovely so long as you don't stroke her without her permission

florencearbuthnot · 19/02/2013 16:43

Oh yes tortitude that sums up torties.

Fluffycloudland77 · 19/02/2013 16:41

Sounds like normal tortie behaviour.

Ours was bonkers, she had been abused as a kitten so she got away with blue murder.

I've heard it called tortitude too.

florencearbuthnot · 19/02/2013 16:39

Yes torties are very naughty.My vet describes them as bipolar.He also said that there is a link between the length of hair in the ears is a n indicator of naughtyness i thought he was joking.My tortie stalks me,wool sucks my hair and tries to pull out by the roots and is a monster,at one stage i was actually quite frightened by her because she seemed to want to attack me all the time .As she has got older she has become really loving and actually puts her paws up when we are outside in order to jump on my shoulders just like a child.They really are special i've never known a cat like her.They seem to need lots of love and attention and I think if you let her sleep on the bed she may settle down.My tortie definately doesnt think she is a cat.

NorbertDentressangle · 19/02/2013 16:36

Torties can be slightly bonkers (speaking from experience here!)

Our tortie would do mad things - run up doors and sit on the top of them when they're open, have mad moments and do 'the wall of death' around a room, could be loud and demanding and was very 'in your face'.

In fact it was that last trait that drove me mad sometimes when the DC were little. When I finally got to sit down at the end of the day, without a child clinging to me, the cat would appear on my lap and stick her face in mine.

It sounds like she needs lots of time spent with her, lots of fun and lots of wearing her out!

thecatneuterer · 19/02/2013 16:28

ha ha. Oh dear ...

SweetSeraphim · 19/02/2013 14:08

Yours would be sage advice catneuterer if only I didn't have a stroppy teenager AS WELL And 3 more to follow....

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thecatneuterer · 19/02/2013 12:59

Yes, let her sleep with you.

Also torties have a reputation for being naughty. In fact there are always referred to as 'naughty torties' at Celia Hammonds. I find i hard to believe that there really is a correlation between cat colour and temperament, but all cat people seem to swear there is.

And I was just reading a thread in the Relationships section about someone's appallingly behaved teenage daughter, and the advice there was to remember that this is a phase and it will pass. Somethingapplies to your kitten to and that's worth remembering and also that no matter how naughty your kitten is it can't come close to the horror of having a stroppy teenager :)

cozietoesie · 19/02/2013 07:13

Let her sleep with you.

sashh · 19/02/2013 04:59

Sounds normal to me.

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