Young cat - cute, but crazy!

Question
I just adopted a cat a month ago.  He is around 1 year of age.  During the
week when I am at work, he is alone for about 9 hours a day.  He can be quite
rough at times, attacking my legs with his paws and trying to bite a bit.  I am
pretty sure that he only wants to play.  But, I am not always in the mood to
deal with his roughness (especially when I have guests).  

I also bought him tons of toys to keep him occupied and try to show him
affection when I get home.  But, I don't think this is enough for him.  So, I
have started playing with him a little more, but think that I need to set aside
longer and more consistent play time with him.  Besides making this
adjustment, is there anything else that I can do to curtail this behavior?  I
already use the water bottle and the "No!", which is slowly (I emphasize  
slowly...) working.  Please help!

Answer
Hello Ann Marie,

I just answered a similar questions so I am pasting the response here.  Hope you don't mind!  One other thing I would recommend for you is, beleive it or not, a second cat.  I would suggest going to the shelter and getting a cat with a similar personality to be sure your current kitty doesn't just constantly terrorize the new one.  Make sure it is a playful, easy going, LARGE male that could be a little older but not too old!   This would really help him with his energy as well as keep him busy while you are away and you would be able to enjoy both of them when you get home from work as they would likely be tuckered out from playing all day :)  

Hope this helps!  Previous post is pasted below.

Natoma
Chenza Maine Coons
www.chenza.com

PS:  what area do you live in?  


Is your new kitty by chance declawed?  This is very typical behavior for a cat that has been declawed as the loss of their claws leaves them with only one deffence, biting.  They then use it all of the time even if it is just playing.

First, you need to keep him out of your room at night.  Cats are nocturnal and this playing at night will not likely stop.  If you put him out of your room he may cry for a night or two but he will get used to it and you will get your sleep.  

Whenever he does play inappropriately (You are right that this is what he's doing) you need to make a loud squealing noise to let him know he's gone too far, this noise imitates the one that his littermates would have made.  He should stop at this point, if he does not he needs to get a firm and loud NO! and a time out, generally a few minutes in the bathroom will do the trick.  Cats have short memories so leaving him in any longer than that is useless.  When you do this it needs to be loud and abrupt as you want to make it as unpleasant as possible for him without hurting him.  By doing this he will quickly begin to associate what he is doing with the noise and physical movement of being put in the bathroom and once he makes the association he will stop.

Natoma