needy kitten

Question
I took on a 4 week old male kitten who is now 9 months old,i called him barney,he seems to be very dependant on me,crying until i pick him up and cuddle him,he rubs his face around mine and i have to give him little kisses around his face if not he wont calm down,when i go to bed he has to sleep as near to my face as he can get if not again he starts to cry,is this normal?

Answer
Laura,

The behavior is very common in kittens who have been separated from their siblings and mother too early. I usually recommend that kittens stay with their family unit until they are at least 10-12 weeks old to prevent such behavior. There really isn't anything that you can do to fix the issue because there isn't any way to replace the lost time with mom and siblings. You can try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a very safe blend of flower essences designed to calm and reassure. This may help to alleviate some of this kitty's anxiety. You can usually find Rescue Remedy in health food/natural health stores and it's often sold for roughly $15 CAN. I would recommend that you try putting 8 drops of Rescue Remedy into this little guy's fresh water each morning, you may see a fair difference in his needy behavior in a fairly short period of time. It's also possible that the needy/clingy behavior you are seeing is going to be a permanent part of this kitty's personality, you may find that developing a routine and providing this little guy with something to cuddle with such as a soft stuffed animal may help to shift the focus off of you just a bit....Luckily this little guy hasn't developed other common behaviors like sucking on hair, blankets, clothing, human body parts, other pets in the home, etc and he doesn't sound grabby compared to some that I've fostered....Unfortunately this need for attention and reassurance may well be a permanent part of this kitty's personality and the only real way to prevent such behaviors in future is to insist that the kittens stay with mom for at least 10-12 weeks, this allows you to provide a home to a much more confident and self assured kitty.