Things You'll Need
- Toys
- Cardboard boxes
- Scratching posts
- Treats
- Water sprayer
Instructions
Play with your kitten. Provide activities that stimulate your kitten, such as chasing a moving piece of paper or toy tied to the end of a stick or climbing through a cardboard maze. Cats like to chase mice, but a moving toy is equally good.
Schedule the playtime before you go to sleep so that your kitten spends its energy. Cats are nocturnal animals, so they are likely to be active during nighttime or early in the morning. If you don't have time to play with your kitten before going to bed, exhaust your kitten during the day, so that its active phase will change to daytime and it will sleep during nighttime.
Provide scratching posts and encourage your kitten to use them to spend its energy. Reward your kitten with treats or verbal approval when you see it using the scratching post.
Say a sharp "No," use a whistle or spray your kitten with cold water to show disapproval when your kitten is performing an undesirable activity, such as knocking over a vase or stealing food. The kitten learns by experience and it observes that performing certain activities will result in a spray of cold water, so it may avoid performing these activities.
Clap your hands or use a sharp noise to distract your kitten when it is being hyperactive and destructive.
Control the amount of food your kitten eats and provide only the amount of energy recommended by your veterinarian. Hide the food between meals and instruct your family members not to feed the kitten. Cats that have a lot of excess energy to spend are likely to look for activities to entertain themselves.