The kittens by now are reflections of the cats they're growing into.

[conuly]

One of them is going to be HUGE, his paws are E NOR MOUS. Jenn did a double take the other day, for a second she thought he was his mom! (He's not that big, but she's a small cat.)

And they have their own personalities. There's the one that's very shy and you never know if she's happy with attention (when she shows up at all) or merely tolerating it so you go away faster. And her sister, Miss Tiny (who still IS tiny), who is nearly as shy but at least is willing to sit on a lap. (Truly, Callie worries me. Hard to give away a cat who doesn't like people, or even her own siblings much.) Equally worrying is Butterscotch, who is so VERY friendly and needy that I'm worried he'll be unhappy if he's not being cuddled and played with 15 hours of the day. (Him, I want to give away with a sibling. It'll be a load off my back.) Sandy is the one that's going to be huge, he's the one who hates being picked up and who is always more willing to play than cuddle. (Given that they're kittens, play means "attack with all claws and teeth, but lots of jumping so you know it's in fun. They don't get that humans lack a protective layer of fur!) And that leaves Fatty, who isn't anymore, and who is definitely the bravest of the kittens. Unlike other kittens I've raised up, these are being kept indoors. Partially because they were born so late in the year, and definitely because I think it's better for them. No use letting them get used to being indoor/outdoor cats when I'm giving them away to people who'll likely keep them in. Fatty doesn't like this, and lunges for the door whenever he has a chance. Yesterday I even let him out - he came back in swishing his tail in consternation. Nobody ever told him that the outside was wet! He'll try again today, though.

Fatty is also the one who likes to chew hair. There's one in EVERY litter, and it's always an annoyance. I'm fairly tolerant of what kittens do. I don't much mind them playing at night so long as it's not on my face (it's noisy, but they're nocturnal, so... yeah), and I even accept them climbing up clothed legs (they outgrow it within a few weeks, and ignoring it is easier than flinging them wildly across the room), but you can't have cats playing with and chewing your hair. Aside from the fact that it hurts, it hurts! And I've never found anything that works forever. You redirect and redirect like a toddler, but they always try it again sooner or later. (Well, I guess you could do more than redirect, but honestly, I don't like getting punitive with cats. I mean, they're cats. It's annoying, but it's easy enough to just not let the chewers near my shoulder.) I don't know why cats do that.

Comments

[marveen.livejournal.com]

I hope you're teaching them to let you clip their claws. Since they're indoors-only, you can clip quite short (EVENTUALLY, not all at once), and playing is far more tolerable with blunt claws. My old cat 'Malkin was a gentleman about claw-clipping, and I'm teaching the current crop of cats slowly but steadily.

You have to speak Cat Language to be effectively punitive--the old spray bottle trick only works a few times before they get the idea (that if the bottle isn't in your hand it's safe to misbehave). If they're hurting you, tap their nose. Mama cat does this to discipline kits, and it has always worked for me. (Use one or two fingers and tap roughly as hard as you'd hit a keyboard while typing fast, or possibly a little harder.) A couple repetitions usually get the message across (that is, THIS BEHAVIOR IS FROWNED UPON).

[conuly]

I find snapping my fingers right in front of their nose works pretty well, and to get them out of a place clapping my hands and pointing works (more or less - you have to remove them the first few times).

But it didn't occur to me to clip their nails. I'm more used to having indoor/outdoor cats!

[marveen.livejournal.com]

I clip our indoor/outdoor cats as well, just with them I take only the tiniest bit (less than an eighth of an inch) off the tip, just so's they aren't those damned NEEDLES in your ankles).