|
I have a kitten-soon-to-be-cat. His name is Murray Mew. He's 10 months old. Murray's favorite activities include knocking all my poo poo off my desk/shelves/cabinets, pulling the drain stoppers out of the sink to bat around the kitchen floor, stealing the dog's food, tearing rear end around the apartment, and other typical kitten rear end in a top hat poo poo. The part that's killing me is he loves to do this during his wild time which seems to be anywhere between 1 and 3 AM. I cannot recall the last time I've gotten a full night's rest without being woken up by this little jerkface, and it's beginning to wear on me. Other than that, he's pretty sweet & loving, but he exclusively likes me & my dog. He is deathly afraid of everyone else and hides for a very long time when I have any kind of company. I think Murray would benefit immensely, both physically & socially, from becoming an outdoor/indoor kitty. Allow me to explain. Murray was born in May 2015 to a feral cat living on my street. She birthed him & his siblings under the shed in my yard. My street has long been home to feral cats because it's a dead end loop adjacent to woods and a bit of fairly unused commercial property (self storage facility). I think it's a good place for outdoor cats to roam given the extremely low traffic and abundant roaming territory. There's also a good number of other outdoor kitties. After Murray's birth I contacted a local shelter that does feral cat control. They provided me with traps to catch Murray, his 4 siblings, and his mother. And so I did. All cats were brought in, spayed/neutered, vaccinated for the basics, and then they were supposed to be returned to feral life. At that time the kittens were about 3 months old and not as feral as momma. I released momma, but kept the 5 kittens to adopt out. I managed to adopt 4 out and found myself left with Murray. I've had cats all my life, but since I now own a dog with a very high prey drive (terrier/pitbull/something mix) I never intended to keep any for myself. I held onto Murray but was unable to place him, so I kept him. It took some time, but to my amazement Murray became acclimated to my dog, and vice versa. Sure she chases him from time to time, and Murray tries to play with her by batting her face, but in the 6 months they've been freely living together there has not been a single incident. They get along quite well. However, with the dog present, getting a second cat is not an option, and given his feral roots, I thought for sure Murray would be a great indoor/outdoor cat. I was wrong. I can't get him to leave my porch. I was thinking of trying a leash and walking him with my dog but I have no experience there. Waste of time? Any tips or tricks for turning this little shithead into the outdoor animal I know he can be? Or counterpoint, keep him indoors and find a way to stop him from ruining my sleep? I've been trying to run him out of energy using a laser pointer and other toys, but it doesn't seem to make a dent...
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 02:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 12:55 |
|
|
Try not to romanticize outdoor cats. Life for feral cats is rough as hell even in best-case scenarios, and outdoor and indoor/outdoor cats have a lot of health issues that indoor cats don't -- all sorts of parasites and predators, even if they're not at risk of being hit by cars. (They're also terrible for local bird populations!) If Murray has no desire to be outside, he's not going to do well out there either, and as a rescued and socialized kitten, he probably doesn't have any residual "feral instincts" anyway. Don't force him to go out. To address the rear end in a top hat-kitten problems: look into cat toys he can play with by himself, as well as other stimulation options like cat trees, leaving a window open, stuff like that. Would it potentially help to close him away from your bedroom or turn on a white-noise machine? Also remember that he'll grow out of the rear end in a top hat kitten phase and is likely to start calming down within a few months, so this problem will solve itself.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 04:37
|
|
|
Keep your cat inside so it doesn't murder hundreds of other animals.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 08:07
|
|
|
He has cat toys and I do leave the window open where his cat tree is. The layout of my apartment is such that it's impossible to isolate him and the noise he makes. I get what you are saying but he woke me up again last night at 2AM by batting one of his toys repeatedly across the kitchen floor. If i take the toy away he turns on my own stuff to find a replacement. I'm not exactly a light sleeper... in college i roomed with a guy that snored like a dying bear and I adjusted. But this god drat cat makes so much noise. I live in a 2family on the top floor and my neighbors have also said something though they are too nice to really complain. I'm rapidly running out of patience  months of interrupted sleep wears you down
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 15:09
|
|
|
redweird posted:Keep your cat inside so it doesn't murder hundreds of other animals. Or, worse still, get murdered by an animal.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 15:44
|
|
|
Get a leash and harness. They make them for cats. Drag him around the block figureatively, so to speak. Walking around to sniff poo poo and stare into the distance is hypothetically very tiring for some cats. For the love of gently caress dont let your cat wander unsupervised outside or those weird fucks from tumblr will stick the cats skull on their shelf eith the other housecats that got killed thanks to neglectful owners. Dont let tumblr win!
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 07:58
|
|
|
Antivehicular posted:Also remember that he'll grow out of the rear end in a top hat kitten phase and is likely to start calming down within a few months, so this problem will solve itself. This is a very important point to make and I want to quote it again on its own so it doesn't get lost in the noise of the other responses. I'm sorry I don't have any experience or suggestions on the subject of your question itself. All I do have is some (hopefully helpful) perspective that might help you get through this period of your cat's life. Don't forget that your cat is still a kitten, not even a year old (born may of last year right?). I know they are testing your patience right now, as kittens do, but perhaps the knowledge that this behavior isn't permanent could help you "put up" with it for a little while longer? Don't lose heart here. Kittens are assholes and you're not the first to have to go through this. Hang in there, as they say. I know these are just words and you're the one w/ the rambunctious night terror. I hope this at least helps you weather the kitten storm for awhile longer. Good luck with your cat.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 17:36
|
|
|
Cats are very much creatures of routine. Play with him, wear him out right before bed and hopefully it might tire him out a bit over night. Granted (like everyone else mentioned here already) he's a kitten and will play 24/7 anyway, but he'll grow out of it. But if you start a routine now his schedule will start working with yours. You mentioned he's been waking you up from playing with a toy--maybe find some soft toys that would be quieter? Or get some big rug to cover the majority of the floor so his running is a bit quieter? Get a white noise machine? IMO making your cat an indoor/outdoor cat might give you more sleepless nights if you imagine all the awful things that could happen to him while out there! At least, I know I wouldn't get sleep. My cat was an rear end in a top hat kitten when I had him in a tiny studio apartment. There was no other room for him to play in and I was woken up nightly. His favorite night-time activity was playing with my face around 3, 4 and 5am. Kittens are assholes but they grow up. Hang in there! Apple Jax fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Mar 7, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 18:45
|
|
|
Buy ear plugs or a white noise machine. The environment you want your cat to play outside in sounds dangerous and awful. Feral cats don't get along with each other, they fight. Your cat will come home with bite marks, infections and abbesses require vet trips and antibiotics. Not to mention all the other dangers out there. Pitching your cat outside is irresponsible and not a solution to your problem.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2016 06:51
|
|
|
DOMDOM posted:He has cat toys and I do leave the window open where his cat tree is. The layout of my apartment is such that it's impossible to isolate him and the noise he makes. Get ear plugs. Put the cat in a room with a litter box and food and water in an opposite side of the house room. He'll shut the gently caress up eventually. He'll also not get dead because feral cats are fuckers. E: We used to lock my childhood cat in the bathroom. Use a bathroom if you have to.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2016 15:26
|
|
|
listen man some cats are just not ment to be outdoors, if hes a scared cat when he comes upon a badger or something he will die cuz there he will hesitate and there cant no hesitation in situations like that, so for the safety of the cat PLEASE LEAVE IT ALONE. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2016 20:39
|
|
|
kittens are cute little nightmares. outdooring a kitten isnt an answer to noise. .they learn to sing its young usually they outgrow the super noisy parts. try wearing the cat out with a laser, kittens usually love those loving things. spend an hour or so racing it around before bed, should wear out pretty well.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2016 22:09
|
|
|
Play with your cat with whatever toy makes him leap around the room until he is panting and flops over. (Being a young cat this may take a while.) Then feed him his food. His natural behavior after that is grooming and then taking a nap. Do this right before bed. Cats like routines, so my watch alarm goes off the same time every night when we start our rituals. Tons of already good advice against keeping a cat outdoors. Another one to add is the myth that it will get more sleep. You know how cats have that thing that if they are outside they want to be in and if they are inside they want to be out? Well, that thing usually ends up with incessant meowing and the cat wanting to be in the doorway. Young cats are normally annoying. This would not help anything.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2016 03:11
|
|
|
If you're out walking the dog anyway and not near traffic etc. I don't see the harm in bringing the cat along sometimes  my cat's pretty much indoors right now, but seems to enjoy occasional outings as long as there's adequate climbing/hiding places. She likes exploring the castle ruins  Also you could maybe try adding enrichment activity things to his routine if he seems hyperactive, like a puzzle feeder instead of a plain food dish or something? That way he would expend a bit more energy just doing regular cat stuff
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2016 21:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 12:55 |
|
|
Get a da bird, make him jump up and run around trying to catch it. You will wear him out eventually. Cats have a very simple routine Hunt -> Eat -> Sleep If you want the cat to sleep, let it "hunt" for a bit by playing with it. The next step in their natural routine is to eat what they just hunted, so wait to feed him until after you've played at night, and then he will be more likely to sleep through the night. There is no such thing as an "outdoor" domesticated cat. People who let their cat outside are incredibly irresponsible. I understand Murray was thrust upon you by a preggo kitty mama, and I appreciate all you have done for him and his siblings, but if you can't keep him inside the best thing for him would be to find him a home where he can stay inside.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2016 23:43
|
|