Playing with me claws out & Pouncing.

[Xcellmusic]

I'm honestly very happy with my experience so far, loving it more and more day after day!
I'm amazed how smart they are, it's crazy!

Thanks for the infos, I'll follow Brigitte and Deborah's advices for the rough play!

Just trying to find what to do regarding the night pouncing beside wearing a shark proof diving steel suit haha

 

[SV Dad]

Xcel, my son's cat does that. He said two things.
1. Get thick blankets.
2. Don't move.

 

[WitchyWoman]

When he starts playing in the middle of the night, banish him from the bedroom and close the door. This may result in loud protest from Ayrad and you still probably won't get much sleep, but he'll eventually learn that it's not a good thing to wake daddy up in the middle of the night.

 

[Xcellmusic]

Thank you very much for the precious advices!

 

[John Popp]

We have extra pillows jammed between the footboard and the foot of the bed, followed with an extra blanket folded up laid across our feet. Doesn't matter much as he'll crawl under the comforter and figure out where your feet are. Not really much of a choice about locking him out as it prohibits our other cat from moving around the house, we would need a litter box in the bedroom (one of the few lines have with the cats) and she behaves appropriately in the bedroom.

Doesn't really much bother me, as it usually doesn't start until I am ready to get up. The real trouble starts when he makes his way back into the bedroom to awake sleeping beauty.

 

[Patti]

I agree with Deborah about banning him from the room after persistent bad behavior, but I might try a couple of other things first. A stern 'NO' doesn't necessarily get the message across, but a high pitched yelp - like a kitten might do when the rough housing gets to aggressive - will often stop the aggressor in his tracks, and I've had much better luck training my kittens about inappropriate behavior by yelping as though in pain when they get too rough. If this doesn't work then you might try simply scruffing him and removing him from the bed before actually banning him from the room. Others might recommend a squirt bottle - when waking up from a dead sleep it is sometimes easier to grab and squirt then have to get up from bed and physically remove the kitten.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Where is he pouncing on you in bed? Is he attacking your toes because your feet are moving (like when you are getting into bed or when you are adjusting position for sleep)? Or is it later in the night when you are asleep and he dive bombs on you hoping to wake you up for play?

It's important to just try to work out the motivation. If it is your toes wiggling, then either an extra blanket as some mention may just work, or you need to be aware of where the kitten is before wiggling the toes. At least for the next few months. A lot of this is the adjustment phase, where baby works out what is okay and what is not okay.

I'm with Deb on the removing kitten from the bedroom if too disruptive. When we have kittens here most don't get to sleep with us as I tend not to let the babies out in general circulation until they've had two vaccinations in which case they are then about to go to new homes. The ones that are staying then get to join the rest of the pets...and those do find it hard to sleep through the night like the others are accustomed to. The rules of our bedroom are that if you wake at 4am and want playtime, you leave the bedroom and go elsewhere. The others know the rules and do that, the kitten tend to not get it at first. So we have multiple sleepless mornings where kittens are pouncing etc and I have to get up and banish from the bedroom and then TRY to get back to sleep with kittens scratching at the door and crying etc. It can take days of this for them to get the rules but they DO. It takes persistence and some sleep deprivation.

 

[Xcellmusic]

Yes, he's pouncing at my legs and feet when I move (Adjusting position) and he's on my bed when that happens. Whenever I go to sleep he comes to bed and sleep next to me. Then he wake me up pouncing, then go back to sleep next to me until the morning. I will try to remove him if he does that every night. It's gonna be tough to hear him cry but I will follow your rules! Thanks a lot

 

[Arinelle]

I had a similar problem with Ayanai, it crops up from time to time but it's getting less and less. She will be laying cutely on the bed and I go to pet her and she grabs my hand and bunny kicks it and bites it with a little bit of claw. I don't move it at all (kind of holding it stiffly) and will tell her "Ayanai, No!" with the firm I mean business voice. She usually stops quickly, I remove my hand (without toooo many scratches) and we go about our business. I will usually leave her be for a while afterwards before attempting to pet her again. It used to happen alot during the first month I had her, but its been weeks since it has happened. I use the firm I mean business voice for when she is doing something I don't want her to (which she usually knows) and she turns her ears towards me, gives me a couple of sassy chirps and walks off in a huff. I usually throw a toy for her to play with after that to direct her attention elsewhere, or get her to play with her troublemate (lyra).

There has been some extremely insightful and great advice given to you. Hopefully as time goes on you and Ayrad will figure out the boundaries (most likely the ones he sets and you are expected to follow heh).