Hi all, just hoping someone can provide a bit of advice with my 9 month old princess! They're not problems as such, just 'issues' that perhaps might go away, or she might need a bit of retraining with.

To start with, she's a rescue cat. However, I get the feeling that she'd been brought up okay until she got rescued and taken to the vet. She's very affectionate, always grooms, very vocal, completely litter trained etc etc. I do keep her as a house cat as I really don't think she'd be confident enough outside, and I do live near a busy road - taking no chances at all.

So:

1. When she uses her litter tray, she's always a little bit too eager in cleaning up after herself and quite a lot of the time will flick her poo onto the floor. Her poo is always solid so it doesn't 'spread' or anything, but I'm worried that she might be feeling bad about doing it (I never tell her off).

2. Would she benefit from having her claws trimmed? At the moment, they're like needles. This wouldn't be a problem, as she uses her scratching post and everything. The problem is that when we're playing, she starts off okay, but then it's claws unsheathed all the way; my hands are absolutely covered in scratches at the moment and quite sore! She's the only cat I've had that does this, and I really don't want to be tapping her nose or shouting at her as it wouldn't make sense to her. How can I convince her just to join in with paddy paws only??

3. And the playing issues. She wants to play... and play.. and play.. and play. Now, I recognise that indoor cats do need more exercise and try to accommodate this as best I can. We have 15 minutes chase and hunt play in the morning. About 30-60 minutes when I get in from work (depends how tired I am) and then about 15-20 mins before bed. Between these times though, it's luck of the draw whether she chills out, or just wants more.

The other day, I played with her for 2 hours non-stop, and by the end of it was more tired than she! Is it simply a case of sticking to the play schedule until she gets used to it? She's started sitting there with her back turned to me when she's tired me out, thus making ME feel guilty!!

Any help appreciated

1. My cat used to be enthuasiastic as a kitten and tried digging to Australia.
these are a godsend!
http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/pro...83_1_Large.jpg]

2. She will probably get used to how and when to use them. Make sure she has things like a scratch post and mat if she is not an outdoor cat. Also cats tend to play fight when they are young, without a companion of a playmate - you become that playmate and sometimes the claws come out


3. It is one of the benefits of having two I am afraid, especially when they are indoor cats, she is young she wants to play. It will get less but do try and give her stimulatation. Stuff with a long string works, you can sit and watch tv and waggle the string and the cat still feels like they are being played with. Also get a biscuit treat ball, funny, rewarding and stimulating.

http://www.pet-bliss.ie/acatalog/PPICatTreatBall.jpg

1. A lot of cats 'over cover' with their litter, mine scrapes litter out onto the floor sometimes. If it bothers you, you could try a covered tray. I doubt it bothers her!

2. Don't play with your cat with your own body parts. Most cats inevitably get overexcited during a game and their claws come out. Either wear a glove if you want to persist (although it's high risk as she will want to play even when you are not wearing the glove) or better still play distance games with string or fishing rod toys. I don't think it's a reason to trim her claws.

3. Get her another kitten to play with. Then she'll stop bothering you for games and bother him instead. That is what I did myself, it worked. It would also solve (2).

Alternatively,just wait. She's still very young. In a couple of years she will sleep 22 hours a day and you'll look back fondly on how she was

I got fed up with the litter tray I bought a cat lavatory that way nothing got onto the floor.

Play games with string or with toys she can play with herself. Body parts become painful when the kitten becomes a cat and still wants to play especially when they discover what teeth can do!

I have on cat Guinness who has and always had an obession with the litter tray if it isnt right for him too go he digs again and again until he gets it right. One of my kittens also digs it out. I have 5 kittens and they are all like it

Ok thanks guys, good advice there! I'll let you know how I get on

I agree with the others who said that the "enthusiastic" raking in the litter tray is more likely to be a problem for you than for your cat! If you don't want a covered litter tray, perhaps put newspaper around the tray so that you can protect your carpet & tip any gravel back in the tray.

If you are using your hands or other body parts to play with your cat, I suggest you stop now! There's no reason why toys can't be just as much fun, especially the fishing-rod type toys that you can drag around the house. Or tie a toy to a door handle or something with string? Or use empty cotton reels or ping pong balls to roll around the floor? Screwed up bits of newspaper tied to string also make good toys ~ they don't have to be expensive. This sort of play is simply your cat practising her predatory behaviours but using your hands as prey instead of a mouse, bird or moth. Inevitably it will hurt you as she would find it extremely difficult to control the unleashing of her claws when she is in full play/predatory mode. So it's far better to let her get used to using toys rather than your hands.

As she's an indoor cat without another cat to rough & tumble with, then you are quite rightly making time to play with her & amuse her which is great. But you don't have to spend 2 solid hours trying to wear her out!! And there are other things you can do to give her mental & physical stimulation. What about trying some basic training using small food rewards as treats? Cats can be trained using a clicker to do simple things like "sit", or "rollover" or jump through a hoop, or shake "hands", or high fives. It can be a really enjoyable activity if you use rewards to train your cat. If you want to know more try googling clicker training cats ~ there's lots of info out there, plus videos showing how to start. Karen Pryor's website is very good & informative & she's written a book & made a video on clicker training cats.

Best of luck with her ~ I wish you many happy times together.

in regards to the play issue - try getting on of those laser cat toys.

I also have my one digging the litter everywhere too so I look at those little box things..

look at this one!:
http://www.7gadgets.com/2009/08/31/l...ox-house/13876

Just a word of warning about laser toys ~ they can cause behavioural issues in cats (obsessive-complusive disorder) in some cases. This is because they start off a sequence of predatory behaviour that can never be completed ~ there's nothing to catch & kill. Sometimes cats become obsessed with chasing shadows, reflections from jewellery or mirrors etc & can spend hours like this ~ which is not normal behaviour at all. Anyone who has experienced OCD themselves will know that it's not a pleasant way to be!

Ok thanks - we dont use it much and also we both said (OH) that its a bit crule as he never actually catches anything.

We used to use a laser pointer as a 'game' for one of our cats. It was the only game he would get involved in, he wasn't really a toy person, but he loved the laser pointer and used to be very energetic trying to 'catch' it. It didn't cause him any issues, but we only played the game once a week or so.

Yes, as I said laser toys may cause behavioural problems in some cases. I don't think the occasional weekly game is likely to do any harm, especially if the cats have other games & toys to play with. Plus the tendency to develop OCD type problems would have to be present in the first place. I only offered the advice as a word of warning because it can go wrong if used too much, to the exclusion of other activities, with cats that have a predisposition to OCD type behaviours.

Best bet for amusing house cats in my view is the clicker training.

Yes, I did read what you said wilhemina, I was just adding my own experience for those who are interested.

For some reason laser points are very much more likely to cause obsessive/compulsive problems with susceptible dogs (where they are generally ill-advised for that reason), than with cats who generally can enjoy occasional play sessions with them with no problem, and less behavioural problems than excess pent-up energy without a suitable outlet can cause.
As suggested. they also have the advantage of enabling vigorous play without your body being the (painful ) target.
Getting a second pet to resolve a problem with the first is rarely a good idea but in this situation I would agree with the posters suggesting this course of action, or else get in lots of sticking plasters and wait until the cat settles down a bit in a couple of years

I have found the laser point toys to be invaluable. My (nearly 2 year old) male and female cats love it. They can go out (cat flap) and go ape with tha laser oustide too. HOWEVER I don't do it all the time, so it a bit of a treat. And also hilariously funny

They don't react much to things on string, they have, but get bored. Obviously cats are different with their stimulous. but the laser works every time.

Awww, your kitten sounds adorable. I think that once she gets a bit older she won't be as energetic and will enjoy sleeping most of the day away! I was going to post and recommend a laser toy but have been suprised to read about them possibly having a detrimental effect. I do have one and use it a few times a week but I think I will be a bit careful not to over do it now.

It sounds like you are making a real effort with your kitten and she is very lucky to have someone willing to make sure she is stimulated and has plenty to do

Hi all, just a quick update!

Seems that some of the problems were being caused by her being hungry and not settling down.. so she didn't want to play per se more like getting attention.

The problem was that her bowl is never empty, but sometimes she'll just leave it and not go back to it.

So what I've taken to doing is getting her bowl when she's finished, pushing the food to the middle, and then moving into alternate rooms - she'll quite happily chomp away then! What a silly beast