Cat Behaviour

[maddercow]

I agree with Tiggy's mum, Da Bird is a superb toy and wears my two out (they are three and two & still dash around like kittens so you have a long ways to go!)

I have a little laser mouse toy which I know some people aren't too keen on but my Izzy adores it, she knows she can't catch it but that doesn't stop her asking to play with it every morning and as long as it is alternated with tangible toys that she can catch and "kill" then it doesn't seem to do her any harm.

The best solution would be getting Bonnie a little boyfriend to play with. Two cats aren't much more hassle than one cat, they keep each other company and will play with each other instead of ambushing you!  I have never regretted getting Izzy last September as a companion for my boycat Cashie (they are indoor cats for reasons too many, varied and controversial to go into here) and they spend hours stalking, chasing, play fighting, grooming & cuddling and it's lovely to watch. Cashie is far less dependent upon me for his entertainment now which is something of  a relief for me. 

Bonnie sounds like a lovely little character with perfectly normal behaviour..as as long as she isn't using her claws then she's just being a normal little cat.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I agree - she's still a kitten so is playing and has lots of energy.

The swiping is a perfectly natural thing but it might be wise to try and nip it in the bud so that it doesn't become a long term habit that she never grows out of.  Imo the best thing to do if she pounces when you are coming down the stairs would be to freeze, make no eye contact and give her absolutely no reward for her behaviour.  If you talk to her, shriek or jump she will think that is part of the game - you will be acting the role of prey.  The important thing as that she doesn't find any reward in swiping at your legs.

Alternatively you could try a distraction technique.  As you go downstairs, carry a toy with you (something on a long pole so that the toy is not strongly associated with you) and if you see her or think she is about to jump at you, distract her with the toy so that she swipes at the toy instead of your legs.  Or throw a ball or small toy down the stairs for her to chase instead of going for your legs.

The running around thing is just the mad half hour so beloved o fcats!  My Mosi is 5 now and still thinks he's a kitten.  He loves doing the wall of death, esp in the middle of the night 

[Millies mum]

My 8 month old Bengal has started this too, my 4yr old daughter was asleep on the sofa last night and Narla was having a tear around the living room and suddenly jumped on my daughters head scratching her none of my others have done this before 

[Tiggy's Mum]

There's good news and bad news...

The good news is it's perfecty normal kitten/young cat behaviour, the bad news is it lasts for years! My two cats are now 4 years old and one of them in particular regularly hides in doorways and springs up the doorframe to face level to frighten the life out of me!

As for the racing round the house issue, sounds like she has lots of energy to burn off. An amazing toy that comes highly recommended is Da Bird - you could try having regular play sessions with her to try and burn some of the excess energy off.

Here's a couple of pics of my boys literally flying for Da Bird to give you an idea of how it makes them react - http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,36848.msg653455.html#msg653455

You can get them from the Purrs shop... http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/shop/da-bird-uk-gocat-da-bird-cat-toy-2-part-easy-store-rod-38

[JackSpratt]

Was Sassy a kitten when you gave her a home? Or was she slightly older? Or even, have you forgotten how naughty she could be as a kitten....? (I do that sometimes. )

Bonnie is lovely, as was Sassy.

[Always remembered]

Thank you very much for replies.  I'll do my best to ignore the bad behaviour.  I suppose I am lucky that it's only a couple of things but I wasn't used to this at all with my last cat.  It's just a bit of getting used to having a younger little rascal.  Photos of the gorgeous Bonnie and darling Sassy RIP now posted.

[Feline Costumier]

Sounds like a normal naughty kitten (which she essentially still is) and if these are the only two behaviours that have caught you're attention you're blooming lucky!

Now, about those rules...................

[JackSpratt]

Yep, usual kitten behaviour.....my youngest is two this year and still tries to swipe at feet if you step over him.  Weirdly, ignoring the swiping behaviour as much as you can works quite well too as a rule....

About rules; any photos of Bonnie? 

[Always remembered]

I'm looking for a bit of advice and help.  I adopted a 10 month old beautiful female cat - Bonnie, two months ago from my local Cat Protection League after losing my cat of 9 years to a short illness.  Bonnie was described as a wee darling and a lot of the time she is.  A couple of things about her behaviour are worrying me, the first being that she hides at the bottom of the stairs and swipes at your legs as you come down the stairs.  She doesn't tend to dig her claws in but it's given us all a bit of a fright at times.  The way that I have been dealing with it is, if I see her hiding I speak calmly to her and tell her enough of that you and she usually gets up and wanders off.  This works as long as I have seen her hiding.  We've also noticed that the swiping at legs also tends to happen if she has been out for a while and wants to go back out but we're tending to make sure that she is not left outside if we are going out.  I think this is a bit of spoilt child behaviour if she's not getting her own way.  She tends to be very over excited in the mornings when everyone is up and will start racing round the house at 100 mph.  She does a lot of the arched back halloween pose and running sideways.  We spoke to our Vet who said that the behaviour was nothing to worry about and that she was very young.  Sometimes, it is all very hilarious and entertaining and she is mostly a wee sweetie and is settling very well but the swiping at legs is making me a bit nervous.  Any advice anyone can offer in dealing with this would be much appreciated.