Hi there, I adopted my little kitten at 3 months old a few weeks ago, but for the last few days he’s been keeping me awake. Every night at bedtime he gets the zoomies for about an hour or two and I’ve no idea why. I live in a studio flat, so I can’t shut him in another room to get some peace and quiet, and it’s becoming really exhausting. I’ve tried everything: playing with him for a good fifteen minutes to tire him out before bed, taking his bowl away a few hours before and only giving it back at the last minute, ignoring him when he’s hyper, and giving him cuddles to try and calm him down. But nothing works; all he wants to do is tear around, scratch and bite me (which he absolutely never does at any other time), and try to get into all the mischief he knows he's not allowed to do. It’s starting to really wear me out both mentally and physically because I’m so sleep-deprived, so I’m coming to you to see if you have any advice on how to calm him down. Kind regards
Translated from French
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Hello, it’s perfectly normal for a healthy kitten to have bags of energy. If he’s really hyper in the evenings, it’s usually a sign that he hasn’t burnt off enough steam during the day. Are you away for work for long stretches? Is he kept inside most of the time? Ideally, you should give him access to the outdoors once he’s been fully vaccinated, wormed, had his flea and tick treatment, and been neutered. In the meantime, try to play with him as much as possible to wear him out, and make sure he has plenty of toys to keep him occupied while you’re out. Have a lovely day, Caroline.
Thanks for your reply,
I’m in the forces so my working hours can be a bit all over the place, but on average I work 8 hours a day in two 4-hour shifts with a break at lunch when I come home to check on him.
Yes, I’m planning on letting him out during the day; I’m just waiting for him to be fully vaccinated, but everything else is already sorted.
He’s got more toys than he knows what to do with and he loves playing with them. He also has a big cat tree and a window hammock so he can watch the world go by outside.
I’ll try to fit in more play sessions and hopefully that’ll do the trick.
Hi, your kitten's behaviour is perfectly normal; all cats have their daily "zoomies". However, it shouldn't usually last for 2 hours. You could: - Get him neutered now to calm him down a bit - Leave toys out for him at all times, especially things that roll (like ping-pong balls) - Get him a cat tree for climbing and scratching - Never take his food bowl away to avoid food-related stress, which makes them nervous - Play with him for much longer than fifteen minutes, especially just before you go to bed - Get some earplugs for sleeping; they’re a real lifesaver when you have restless cats. A healthy kitten needs to burn off a lot of energy, so there’s no need to calm him down artificially. He just needs more tiring interaction with you and plenty of toys.
Hi, first of all, thanks for your reply.
The vet told me he’s still too young to be neutered, so that isn't an option for now... He already has a cat tree that's about 5 and a half feet tall and loads of toys to play with. Thanks for the advice about the food bowl, I've noted that down. I might have explained myself badly, but I do play with him for much more than fifteen minutes a day; that fifteen minutes is just the time I spend with him right before bed to try and tire him out. It’s not so much the noise he makes that keeps me awake, but the fact that he "attacks" me just as I’m going to bed.
It’s perfectly normal for a healthy kitten to have loads of energy.
If he gets very hyper in the evening, it’s a sign that he isn’t burning off enough steam during the day. Are you away at work for long periods of time? Is he kept indoors most of the time?
Ideally, you should give him outdoor access once he’s been fully vaccinated, wormed, treated for fleas and ticks, and neutered.
In the meantime, you should interact with him as much as possible to try and tire him out, and give him plenty of toys to keep him occupied while you’re out.
Hi there,
Your kitten's behaviour is perfectly normal; all cats have their daily "zoomies". However, it shouldn't be lasting for 2 hours. You could try:
- Getting him neutered now to help settle him down a bit.
- Leaving toys on the floor at all times, especially things that roll around (like ping-pong balls).
- Providing a cat tree for climbing and scratching.
- Never taking his food bowl away, to avoid "food stress" which can make them anxious.
- Playing with him for much longer than fifteen minutes, particularly just before you go to bed.
- Getting some earplugs to help you sleep; they’re a lifesaver when you have hyper cats.
A healthy kitten needs to burn off a lot of steam, so there's no reason to try and calm him down artificially. He just needs more tiring interaction with you and plenty of toys.
