Helping a stressed kitten....

[Giggling Squid]

So, our 9 month old kitten is for the moment an indoor kitten. She’s been in the garden supervised a couple of times in the summer but isn’t generally allowed out.
Next door also have a male kitten of a similar age, who is an outdoor cat and is allowed to roam as he pleases any time of day or night.

this used to be ok, until he discovered how to climb our fence. For the past month or so, his evening activity seems to have become visiting our back windows. He’s started visiting during the day more recently too. Our kitten seems quite traumatised by this- howls and howls at the glass when he’s out there, and more recently when she sees her own reflection too at night. She seems to be pretty freaked out by the whole situation. He’s also taken to using our grass as a toilet which obviously isn’t ideal.

we’ve tried spraying him with water, audio cat deterrants, and citrus spray so far but nothing seems to put him off visiting us

I know it’s a little pathetic to be so worried about a kitten, but it’s really sad seeing her so stressed and not being able to do much about it.

we’ve also tried keeping her out of the kitchen where the doors are but our house isn’t massive and it restricts how much space she has so much

any ideas as to how we can dissuade him from visiting or help her learn to cope with it would be amazing please!

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

Have you got curtains or blinds or anything in the kitchen so that you can close them? And if not, could you put some up?

or could you speak to your neighbour about it and see if they could stop them?

also I have a kitten and my house is tiny, but we don’t let him in the bathroom or the junk room at the minute incase he gets hurt. Maybe you could just shut the door at night so she can’t go and see him?

I don’t think it’s pathetic to be worried about a kitten, when you choose to take on a kitten, you not only have to meet their physical needs, but their emotional needs as well, if they aren’t happy about something, then it’s normal you would want to fix it.

 

[theghosttown]

So, our 9 month old kitten is for the moment an indoor kitten. She’s been in the garden supervised a couple of times in the summer but isn’t generally allowed out.
Next door also have a male kitten of a similar age, who is an outdoor cat and is allowed to roam as he pleases any time of day or night.

this used to be ok, until he discovered how to climb our fence. For the past month or so, his evening activity seems to have become visiting our back windows. He’s started visiting during the day more recently too. Our kitten seems quite traumatised by this- howls and howls at the glass when he’s out there, and more recently when she sees her own reflection too at night. She seems to be pretty freaked out by the whole situation. He’s also taken to using our grass as a toilet which obviously isn’t ideal.

we’ve tried spraying him with water, audio cat deterrants, and citrus spray so far but nothing seems to put him off visiting us

I know it’s a little pathetic to be so worried about a kitten, but it’s really sad seeing her so stressed and not being able to do much about it.

we’ve also tried keeping her out of the kitchen where the doors are but our house isn’t massive and it restricts how much space she has so much

any ideas as to how we can dissuade him from visiting or help her learn to cope with it would be amazing please!

I don’t think the bowling is stress, it’s most likely she’s coming in season / coming into season if she hasn’t been spayed.

I have a 5 month old kitten and my friend asked if she was displaying this type of behaviour. Apparently they will howl at the cat / want to go outside because they want the D hahaha. In my experience if she was spooked she would most likely stare, hiss and her body would be more reactive x

 

[Keikochan]

Hopefully the male kitten will get neutered and that should quiet him down a little bit.
He is marking his territory and that's why he is using your garden as toilet.
I have no idea if this will work but what if you collect your cats' fur when you brush her and then leave it around your garden so that your garden smells like her it might do something?

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

I don’t think the bowling is stress, it’s most likely she’s coming in season / coming into season if she hasn’t been spayed.

I have a 5 month old kitten and my friend asked if she was displaying this type of behaviour. Apparently they will howl at the cat / want to go outside because they want the D hahaha. In my experience if she was spooked she would most likely stare, hiss and her body would be more reactive x

Yes that’s very true. I kind of presumed she would have been neutered if she’s 9 months, but maybe not? It would also explain why the male cat keeps coming back if she isn’t neutered!

 

[Giggling Squid]

I don’t think the bowling is stress, it’s most likely she’s coming in season / coming into season if she hasn’t been spayed.

I have a 5 month old kitten and my friend asked if she was displaying this type of behaviour. Apparently they will howl at the cat / want to go outside because they want the D hahaha. In my experience if she was spooked she would most likely stare, hiss and her body would be more reactive x

She was spayed a 4.5 months, so it’s not that. She sees him, and tail and back puff up, eat right back, and won’t settle at all - I’m pretty sure it’s not that

Have you got curtains or blinds or anything in the kitchen so that you can close them? And if not, could you put some up?

or could you speak to your neighbour about it and see if they could stop them?

also I have a kitten and my house is tiny, but we don’t let him in the bathroom or the junk room at the minute incase he gets hurt. Maybe you could just shut the door at night so she can’t go and see him?

I don’t think it’s pathetic to be worried about a kitten, when you choose to take on a kitten, you not only have to meet their physical needs, but their emotional needs as well, if they aren’t happy about something, then it’s normal you would want to fix it.

we have curtains but they don’t stop her, she just goes behind them and gets herself tangled in them when she tries to run away. I’m thinking that maybe some temporary stuff you stick on the windows might be a good idea

Hopefully the male kitten will get neutered and that should quiet him down a little bit.
He is marking his territory and that's why he is using your garden as toilet.
I have no idea if this will work but what if you collect your cats' fur when you brush her and then leave it around your garden so that your garden smells like her it might do something?

He was was neutered at a similar age to her back in the summer... might try the hair, willing to try anything at the moment!

 

[theghosttown]

Ah apologies, wrongly presumed on my side. Cats are bloody complex creatures and a law unto themselves. The fact they are so territorial doesn’t help. Is there any way you can lock her out the back rooms?

I am having to wait for my kitten to be neutered. She 5 months but she absolutely diddy. I’m hoping I’m able to do it before she comes into season!

 

[caterday28]

Poor kitty! Have you tried Feliway/catnip? Putting some catnip in a sock has always helped with our cat.

 

[SunshineDreamer]

I’d definitely start with some sort of barrier so she can’t see hi through the window. Also check out Jackson Galaxy on YouTube.

 

[hiya_hun]

I think maybe she wants to go outside and chase him off?

Is there a reason you aren't letting her out?

I have a house cat as the first 4 years of her life she lived in a flat so never ventured further than the balcony. Now I'm in a house and she is allowed out as she pleases but she never ventures far and mostly stays inside.

However our road is teaming with cars who are always in the garden - front and back! And as soon as she clocks them she squares up to them chases them away.

She might just want to claim her territory?

Id be cautious if that male cat isn't spayed though as that might be why he's always in your garden...

 

[Giggling Squid]

Ah apologies, wrongly presumed on my side. Cats are bloody complex creatures and a law unto themselves. The fact they are so territorial doesn’t help. Is there any way you can lock her out the back rooms?

I am having to wait for my kitten to be neutered. She 5 months but she absolutely diddy. I’m hoping I’m able to do it before she comes into season!

We’re trying locking her out of the kitchen in the evening which does seem to be helping...
But doesn’t work for us over night as her other litter tray is in our bedroom

Poor kitty! Have you tried Feliway/catnip? Putting some catnip in a sock has always helped with our cat.

she doesn’t seem to care about catnip - actively ignored toys with it in Feliway we’ve tried but doesn’t seem to make a difference

I think maybe she wants to go outside and chase him off?

Is there a reason you aren't letting her out?

I have a house cat as the first 4 years of her life she lived in a flat so never ventured further than the balcony. Now I'm in a house and she is allowed out as she pleases but she never ventures far and mostly stays inside.

However our road is teaming with cars who are always in the garden - front and back! And as soon as she clocks them she squares up to them chases them away.

She might just want to claim her territory?

Id be cautious if that male cat isn't spayed though as that might be why he's always in your garden...

She’s an indooor cat, for a few reasons- were in a new build so there is a lot of ongoing building work very close, she’s tiny and incredibly nosy. She also is a pedigree and cost a lot, so until she’s older and more sensible she’s staying in.

the male is neutered. I think it might be the territory thing, for a long time despite not being allowed in it there was never another cat in the garden....

Although, if the door is left open, and he’s out there she won’t even go near the door, whereas if it’s empty she’ll try to get out

 

[Keikochan]

There is a bunch of things on zooplus that are cat calming treatments. Maybe they could help?

Cat Calming Treatment at zooplus

Cat Calming Treatment

www.zooplus.ie

Can you put her liter tray anywhere else, even just outside in the hall at nighttime?

Could you install at motion activated sprinkler in your garden to try keep the other cat away?

 

[GiggleBee]

Weve just got pet remedy for our 3 cats and it seems to work. We had feliway too that worked for ages but then our cats got used it it . It has to be on 24/7 and can take a few weeks to work.

Also put some orange peel around the garden, cats hate the smell of it so might put him off.

 

[Whatever123]

Probably both in season. Personally think you shouldn’t keep a cat indoors anyway, but that’s my opinion. Obviously I appreciate you care for your cat but why have a house cat when you have the facilities for it to go outside? I.e you don’t live in a flat (that’s not ground floor)

 

[caterday28]

Probably both in season. Personally think you shouldn’t keep a cat indoors anyway, but that’s my opinion. Obviously I appreciate you care for your cat but why have a house cat when you have the facilities for it to go outside? I.e you don’t live in a flat (that’s not ground floor)

They explained they are in a new build with lots of construction around.
She is also pedigree, hence worth a lot of money and more likely to be stolen. This is obviously less of an issue for dogs are dogs are always supervised when outdoors.

Besides that, indoor cats are protected from a lot of the harms that outdoor cats face - injuries from RTAs, injuries from other animals, parasites, diseases, the potential to get lost, toxic substances (e.g. antifreeze). So long as you keep a cat stimulated (lots of toys, lots of play, scratch posts, variety, space to run around) they are much happier and safer when kept indoors.

 

[Giggling Squid]

Probably both in season. Personally think you shouldn’t keep a cat indoors anyway, but that’s my opinion. Obviously I appreciate you care for your cat but why have a house cat when you have the facilities for it to go outside? I.e you don’t live in a flat (that’s not ground floor)

They’re both spayed/neutered.
You’re entitled to your opinion, but as I did said before she’s a pedigree therefore worth a lot of money and we live on a building site and close to a main road.