At this age, after almost a month with the new shower curtain, RJ once again began exploring it. It’s not torn apart like in the heedless baby stage. But there were exploratory holes, and we can’t catch him doing it. So he has become smarter. Smarter as in more devious, and smarter in that he is not destroying the shower curtain enough to keep it from serving its intended purpose.
Which is what had upset me before, right? So, to RJ, I had nothing to complain about. This is why I replaced the cheap dollar store item with another cheap one. I knew he wasn’t grown up yet.
It can seem, as we get zoomed by our Kitten on a Mission, that our kitten has not only gotten older, but gotten more indifferent. Where’s the cuddles? Why doesn’t the kitten fall asleep on our lap anymore?
more cat pictures
This is a critical stage where many people conclude the Adorable Kitten is becoming an Aloof Cat, and they stop expecting affection. This would be a great mistake.
The kitten is becoming independent, which is the goal of all cats. They want to know if we still love them, especially since they are getting into more trouble than ever. With their increased capacity to think and plan, what they seem to be thinking and planning is crazed runs, messing with things they didn’t mess with before, and eluding our attempts to reason with them.
We put up our little fiber optic Christmas tree on RJ’s first Christmas. It’s a great training tree; all the ornaments are permanently attached, it’s sturdy enough to be investigated, and cheap enough to risk it. Some have wondered why we put up our tree so early. I explain we didn’t want to spend our actual holidays saying, “Get down from there.” We want to get it out of the way early.
RJ, like my previous Maine Coon mix, has this habit of pushing my buttons deliberately. I don’t know if this is something common to the breed, or if he is simply a wiseacre.
For RJ will sit on the little table where the tree is, look at me, and reach out for the tree.
“RJ! Get off the table. I don’t want you to play with the tree.”
This tree?
“Leave the tree alone.”
This tree? This… one… right… here?
“That tree is not for kitties.”
You… mean… this… tree?
“Don’t make me get up.”
But… I’m… making… sure… you… meant… this… tree.
The instant my posterior leaves the seat of my chair, he takes off, leaving the tree wobbling on its stand. He’s now in the kitchen, playing with the water bowl, making sure it’s full. If water slops over the side; yup, it’s full. That’s good to know.
Kittens reach a stage where the whole world opens up to them. There simply isn’t enough hours in the day to learn how everything works once it’s been pawed at, messed with, and attacked. They will play into exhaustion, then drop where they are. This is the stage where my kitten Myron, the Play Machine, would fall asleep with one paw still on his toy, so he wouldn’t waste a second.
This is where we must remember to seek out the kitten for cuddles and praise them when they are good, even if that’s only in the spaces between rowdy outbursts. They still enjoy our affection. But just as teenagers discover a world of social interaction that doesn’t include us, and get obsessed with it, our kittens are discovering how powerful they can be. We, they think, are known quantities. Time to explore other, more unknown, worlds.
They aren’t indifferent. They are simply moving into a stage of exploration and energy. They know what they are supposed to do, but they must test boundaries. So don’t make this stage a swarm of scolding and exasperation. Engage that new energy with more play using interactive toys, look for the quiet times they are too busy to stop for, and revel, with them, over their new powers.
As RJ grew more familiar with the Christmas tree, he learned how to make it rock on its table, while he is nowhere in sight. He learned that he can pull on the wire behind the table, and play with the tree, without actually playing with the tree. Surely this won’t bother me. He is, after all, not touching the tree.
Yes, he’s definitely a wiseacre.
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There’s more to raising and training a cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See my CAT TRAINING TIPS.
Cleo and Yeti are purebred Maine Coons and both will test us on matters of discipline. I use what my wife calls my “daddy voice” (in a bass register) for the following sequence:
“Cat’s name, down.”
“Cat’s name, get off the name of article of furniture.”
“Don’t make me come over there!”
*getting up and walking over* “Fee, fie, fo, fum, I see the fluff of a ’coon kitten!”
*gently push cat off article of furniture*
Yeti usually listens to me by “Don’t make me come over there”. Cleo sometimes requires the full treatment, but seeing my butt leave the chair will usually do the trick. My wife finds it frustrating that she can do the exact same routine and the cats won’t take her seriously, but if I hear her doing the routine in another room, I’ll chime in with the “daddy voice” and then hear the thuddup! of a cat jumping to the floor.
Too true! They think we “don’t really mean it” unless we get up!
Awwwwwwwwwwwwww! Sooooooooooo cute!!!- Pam