Dealing with a kitten

Question
hi,
I took in a young kitten because I didn't want it to be taken to animal control.
I had him fixed in January and got his shots.

He is now about 6ish months old.

I have not had a kitten in a very long time and I am in a predicament.

I'm working 2 jobs and attending school, and he keeps me awake all night long. I am exhausted. He knocks things off of my desk, he jumps up on shelves and knocks things off, he pulled my entire dresser once or twice. He keeps me awake all night because he jumps up on my bed and chews on me. I mean he literally takes mouthfuls of my skin, grabs onto me and starts kicking me the way he does his toys.

When is he going to calm down, because I am so exhausted. I just want to sleep. it is like having a baby. I am only getting a couple hours sleep every night because he wakes me up knocking something over, or jumping on me.

I bought him a bunch of toys, but he would rather play with my water bottle or glasses or medication bottle and at 3:25 am every single day.

please give me some advice.

Answer
Hi
this is a common problem with owning a cat they simply do not have the same sleep patterns as us humans.

Kittens especially are full of energy and so will as you know want to play whenever the fancy takes them.

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do but you can try and set up a routine which if you stick too may help the situation.

Half an hour before you want to go to bed play with the kitten so that they run about a lot and tire themselves. Then just before you go to bed give them some food. Both of these will help to settle them down for the night. then if you can place them in a separate room with their bed, toys and some water and close the door.

If you do this every night they may start to get into a routine whereby they know when is bedtime and when you come and get them in the morning for some food.

if you do not have a separate room then it can be more difficult and there are no guarantees. i have three cats and they still wake us from time to time at three or four in the morning for some food or to be let out. But that's just part of owning a ct im afraid.

best wishes Kate

I do have a website which is full of useful information about cats which you may find of help www.our-happy-cat.com