I have a 2 1/2 year old female cat that is soooooo good. She is very loving, very quiet, never, ever meows. My 6 month old male kitten is the exact opposite. We took him a month ago to get fixed, when he started spraying. Initially, he was real calm, real easy. Now he jumps straight in the air, attacking the older cat. He races from one side of the house to the other. He is just wilder than he was before getting fixed. I thought when a male cat got fixed, it was supposed to calm them down. How long before he will? I will be putting a Christmas tree up about Thanksgiving time and REALLY don't want him climbing it. Also, how do I keep him off kitchen counters and the table? Popping him and squirt guns don't help at all. I know there is a spray to keep animals off furniture and all, but I can't use that where I keep food.
Answers:
Neutering a male cat does not guarantee they will be calm afterwards. I've seen numerous male cats who became so crazy and hyper that their owners said they literally were climbing all the way up their curtains! Some males will start to calm down around 1 years old, some later than that, and some never will. It all just depends on your kitty.
When my cats were having problems with jumping on tables, counters, etc, I put double sided sticky tape on anything I didn't want them on. It didn't take them long to figure out that if they jumped on things they weren't supposed to, they got tape stuck to them (although it stayed stuck to the counter when they jumped off, not on them). There are also mats that you can place on your counters that are supposed to scare cats away from them to prevent them jumping on them. I don't know much about them, but they're called "Scat Mats". I've seen them in catalogs.
Good luck calming your kitty!!
Neutering will help with some problems, but will not change the basic personality of your cat. It sounds like you have a very rambunctious teen ager. The best thing you can do is to redirect all that energy to an appropriate outlet. How about a rousing game of chase the laser light to tire him out. Or teaching him to fetch or at least chase a small ball. It is just normal high energy, time will help. Good luck and may god grant you patience ;-)
Wow..good question ! Sounds like a cat / kitten i used to have. Ok, for the x-mas tree.put "just" the tree up for about a week before you decorate it. if he's gonna climb it, let him climb it, but tell him NO when you catch him at it. Teach him just like it's a part of the furniture that you dont want him to be on. He 'should' get the hint that .. "ok, that things there, but i cant get on it." THEN.. if that works, then decorate it, and still keep your eye on him, NOT to climb it. If he's really really 'hyper' though, this might not work. I had a kitten just like him.. he eventually DID learn what he could, and couldn't do or get into. (after being 'fixed' ) Could be, that he's "feeling his oats" ?? lol. not funny, i know. but i really dont know what to tell you, besides, just keep on him about things you dont want him to do. Eventually.. it all pays off.
As cats get older they mellow out more.. Some cats are just super hyper. You mite want to try catnip.. in some cats it has the reverse effect and mellows them out. Try to direct his energy to other things. my friend chases her cat thru the house and plays hide and seek with him. Or dangle a string that he can bat at.
He will grow out of this. He is a normal kitten. Please don't pop him, cats don't do well with physical things like dogs do. Put a little vinager in the bottle of water. Use this and see if it will help. Just do not squirt him in the face. When you squirt a cat he will lick the water off normally but when it has vinager in it, it will change his mind. When he is being bad pick him up and harshly tell him bad kitty and then put him with his yoys to play with. If you will stay on top of this he will learn what is good and what is bad.. as far as the counter tops try putting foil (alu) on your counter tops..it should scare him off. Good luck with the baby
Re-direct his energies and his interests. You can:
1) play chase with him
2) go walkies with him if he is harness and leash-trained
3) get some truly interesting toys that will challenge his cleverness and agility
4) play classical or soft music in the background (this seems to help calm some cats)
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