1 week and already it's the TERRIBLE TWOS

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Will Gizmo live to see 6 months? She's already been here a week as of yesterday and she's into everything.

So far, we've had to:

Fish her out of the garbage can in the kitchen
Peel her off the dining room table countless times
Pry her off the living room sofa
Fish her out of the toilet (yes, she tried to jump into the toilet this morning.)
Run her out of the cabinets underneath the sink in the kitchen (they have no doors - Mom has homemade curtains hanging over them)
Peel her off the same curtains covering the cabinet space under the kitchen sink
Shoo her from the bedroom closet before she gets shut in there
Take the computer mouse away from her numerous times (she likes to try to attack it)
Gently pull her claws out of the ventilation holes on the laptop . . . she's been trying to either attack the corner of it near the screen or walk across the keyboard when I'm typing.

Punishment: put her back out into the office and close the door for a little bit.

What can I say? I'm a mean meowmie but if I'm going to do anything on the computer, she simply can't be in the bedroom.

[KiaKat]

This thread requires pictures.

[Reyneth]

Oh honey, enjoy it. Crazy to say, I know! But every kitten goes through this and eventually grows out of it to some degree. And then you'll wonder what happened to your little Tasmanian Devil of a furball.

Mine still gets in tons of trouble, but nothing like 6-8 months ago. Now she's sleeping on the couch next to me, nearly a full-grown kitty. I miss the fluffy baby! They are so cute when they are little for good reason though. lol

And yes, we need photographic proof that Gizmo is really so bad.

[strawbabies]

Ahhh kittens. My Cammy's almost a year old now. I still fish her out of the toilet almost every morning. There have been lots of mornings when I've had to just close the bedroom door and leave for work because she refused to come out from under the bed. (have to close it--I don't want my dogs in there) She plays with any piece of paper she can find at all hours of the night.

We didn't put up our Christmas tree last year because we were sure she'd destroy it. Don't know if we will this year.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Here's pics taken just a few minutes ago . . . I had completely forgotten about how devilish these little ones can be.

Talk about a crash refresher course . . .this one little kitty is worse than having 3 or 4 at one time.

[dendawg]

This is why kittens are best obtained in twos....so they can tear each other apart instead of the house.

[InsanityInc]

Awwwwww, so cute! I haven't had a little kitten in a long time. Most of my cats I got when they were full grown, with all quirks fully developed. Watch the beanie babies though, I had one that would steal any little stuffed critter she found. And then proceed to beat the hell out of it. My current kitty follows in her predecessor's pawprints, and steals bottle caps, milk jug rings, and paper. Why I buy her toys I'll never know.

[Der Cute]

She's gotta be part Squirrel!!

Cute little bugger tho.

Does she kill string? tire her out with string and bottle caps, hope she sleeps good.

Cutenoob

[fireheart]

Awww, that's cute

Well, except for the attacking the computer part. Our two (who are 4 and 5 years old) walk across us while we're using the computer, or they'll wind up curled in someone's lap while they're using their laptop (my mum and dad each have a laptop for their own personal use, I have one for uni, my sister and I both have PCs although mine tends to overheat too quickly and needs a new fan and there's the PC in the study for business)

Although quick question: are you planning on getting her desexed? I've found that it really calms the cats right down...especially if they're not planning on breeding and/or you're planning on letting Gizmo out of the house.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Although quick question: are you planning on getting her desexed? I've found that it really calms the cats right down...especially if they're not planning on breeding and/or you're planning on letting Gizmo out of the house.

We are already planning to not only have Gizmo spayed as soon as she's old enough, but also declawed, as she'll probably be mostly an indoor kitty.

Now if the vet could do something about those needle sharp toothers . . .

[Akasa]

She's so cute!

[Kittish]

Two words. No bottle. Simple spray bottle filled with water and set to shoot a stream. When she's getting into mischief you'd rather she didn't, spray her with the water while telling her firmly NO! She'll get the idea pretty quick. If your aim is good you can even use it to keep her off the laptop. Won't take long before simply picking up the bottle will be enough to get her immediate attention.

Other than that, give her lots and lots of love and attention and playtime. Tell her when she's behaving like you want her to and reward her when she does well. Try throwing some small favored toy across the room for her to chase. If she carries it back anywhere near you, gently take it and throw it for her again. Get a laser pointer and wear her out chasing the little red dot. Dangle strings for her to catch and kill (though be careful with this one, the string should be big enough that she can't manage to actually eat it, plus if she starts thinking of strings as nifty toys she may tackle shoelaces and sweatpants strings on sight). Wrestle with her if you don't mind having scratches and tooth marks on your hands.

[InsanityInc]

Wrestle with her if you don't mind having scratches and tooth marks on your hands.

Oven mitts that come up your arm a bit are wonderful for this! I used to have a cat that would try to "kill" my hand when wrestling with him. Pulled on an oven mitt, problem solved.

[Mr Slugger]

When we got Houdini the first thing he did was plant his face into a glue trap, from there it was down hill

[AccountingDrone]

We are already planning to not only have Gizmo spayed as soon as she's old enough, but also declawed, as she'll probably be mostly an indoor kitty.

Now if the vet could do something about those needle sharp toothers . . .

Please dont declaw her, they cut the tips of her 'fingers' off, or damage the tendons so they will not extend. Would you chop your fingers off?

They make little plastic caps you superglue on freshly trimmed claws to prevent any damage to furniture. Right now my little pudgebucket is wearing hot pink and purple claw caps.

http://www.softpaws.com/?gclid=CJ3Er...FdZM5QodnwLWCg