I really think their behavioral problems are just parts of being a kitten and over time they will grow out of it. Also we work on training them daily so hopefully that will kick in too. Basically they are obsessed with food of all kinds so they are always trying to steal it, from the counters, (if any dishes are left in the sink they will lick all over them while we are trying to go to bed), from your lap, wherever. If we leave any food out or doors open they will get in and tear everything up. They like to tear things up in general, paper towel rolls, they get into the garbage and get it everywhere so we have to hide our garbage now, they chew (reusable!) straws, they have even chewed up a shirt of mine. On a few occasions they have peed in the sink and on one occasion pooped in it. They try to bolt out of any open doors which makes entering and exiting the apartment stressful. Finally they have a habit of jumping on my bf with claws out to catch a hold of him and it really hurts him, and when they are sitting on his lap if they start to fall they will shoot their claws out reflexively and dig into him and he has gotten some really bad scratches that way.
My bf is fed up with them and says he hates them and wishes we hadn’t gotten them and could return them. . I guess I am more tolerant and understanding since they are still just kittens, 6 months old.
What do you guys think, should we return them? They are very loving and sweet cats despite all of that.
Wow, that really sounds like a mess. I dunno, I think that’s kind of a judgement call for you to make. I’m a dog person myself but if I were in your shoes I would probably have a hard time getting rid of them. I haven’t yet in my life given up a pet once I got them. You get attached to them and feel a responsibility towards them. Cats can be really wild though. Do you have sufficient toys for them to play with?
I think my vote would have to be to give it some more time and see if you can find a way to resolve some of those issues.
The peeing and pooping outside the litterbox is a real issue. I had to send away a cat that did that, because he never grew out of it. He peed on everything.
The other stuff is kitten behavior, but spraying with a bottle when they are caught can help.
Though, you don’t need to keep a pet you hate, or your bf hates.
I am the same the thought of returning a pet horrifies me and I have never done it. When I adopt a pet they are family to me. Sure their behaviors stress me out but I just see it as we adopted two teenager untrained kittens that need more than 2 months to become well behaved and perfect.
We get them tons of toys but they knock them everywhere and lose them within a few hours so it is frustrating. I also play with them daily with their wand and laser and give lots of snuggle time.
I am wondering if setting up something w automatic feeders throughout the day could help. We feed them twice a day, a full can each. Normally for cats I would also leave a bowl of dry food out throughout the day but they would literally devour it in an instant.
Have you consulted the vet about these issues? Things like an insatiable appetite or potty issues can sometimes be due to a physical issue rather than solely a behavioral issue.
I had to return a kitten because he did hundreds of dollars damage chewing wires. He was obsessed with chewing them. Very sad. He had feline herpes and I nursed him back to health. He used to sleep right next to my head. He rushed the door everytime someone opened it too. They weren’t happy with me at the animal shelter.
I used to foster cats. I think @Moonbeam is right. They need to see the vet. It sounds like they were on the streets and couldn’t get enough food before you adopted them. That would explain them eating out of the garbage can. But get them checked since their appetite is so insatiable
They had a very recent vet check before we adopted them, and they received a clean bill of health. The adoption agency told us they rarely received cats with such good health histories.
Around 2 months ago. Maybe we should bring them back just in case? I don’t know, its not like their behavior suddenly changed, they’ve been this way since we got them.
This might seem counterproductive, but what we did was adopt an older, more chill cat to train the kitten for us. The older cat helped her grow out of her troublesome behaviors pretty quickly by being a good role model. I honestly think if you leave dry food out, within a few weeks they will figure out food isn’t scarce and adjust to eating normally.