Hello everyone,
I'm turning to you because I'm struggling to understand my cat at the moment, but I don't think there's a real "problem" as such — which is why I don't want to bother the vet about it.
At the beginning of September, my partner and I took in an abandoned kitten we found in a car park (he was rummaging through bins, etc.). He was already weaned and litter-trained — he figured out the litter tray, dry food, and water straight away — and we estimated he was around 4 or 5 months old.
He's now about 7 or 8 months old, and I think he's had his adult teeth for a good month or so. He's a really sweet cat and honestly no trouble at all — playful and friendly with everyone.
We made a bit of a mistake when he was little by letting him bite and nibble our hands during play... he still does it now and it can hurt a bit, but it's never aggressive so we just let it go (especially me). I think I've also been a bit overprotective of him (again, mainly me) — I've picked him up for a cuddle every time I come home, and I'd rather say "no" thirty times than actually tell him off or "correct" him (I've never laid a finger on him with a slipper or a rolled-up newspaper or anything like that, whatever some people might recommend, rightly or wrongly).
Over the past few weeks, I've noticed some odd behaviour for two reasons:
1. He's always slept in our bedroom, either at the foot of the bed or in his basket. Now he sleeps further away, but in the mornings when he hears us waking up, he lets out a little meow and comes to snuggle with me UNDER the duvet... he purrs away, but then suddenly dashes off meowing and tears around the place.
2. During the day too, he'll occasionally start meowing and sprinting around the flat — I have no idea what he wants. When I call him, he comes running with a little meow, but he doesn't want a cuddle; he bites, and if I try to pick him up it only makes things worse.
I don't quite understand it — to me, if he's meowing (more than just a single meow, I mean), it's because he wants something, but I can't work out what. Sometimes playing with him settles him down, sometimes it doesn't. What do you think is going on? Is he bored? Could it be hormones? (He hasn't been neutered and he's obviously growing up...) Is it just his age?
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your replies!
