Kittens are fun and entertaining, none can question that. But don’t feel guilty if you want them to calm down sometimes. We all deserve to be able to relax without having our kitty nipping at our toes or running up the curtains.
Hyper kittens can be a huge problem. Although, it’s completely normal for kittens to be hyper now and then as they have loads of explosive energy to burn off so it’s a sign that you have a normal kitten.
There are some ways you can calm down a hyper kitten. Some of which are preventative measures to help them burn that energy off elsewhere, and some calm them mid-hyper-blowout.
Try one or more of the following if your kitten is running circles around you:
How to Calm down a Kitten When Hyper
Provide More Fun Obstacles
Kittens need to be stimulated, challenged, and have some fun obstacles to climb on, jump over, hide in, and so on.
If you don’t provide them with some stuff designed and intended for their use, they will make use of your furniture or even you as a climbing frame.
Cat trees are the ultimate in indoor activity centers for kittens. If you’re feeling handy and like DIY then the sky’s the limit as to what you can design too.
Redirect Their Attention
This ties into to the last point about giving your kitty somewhere to play that doesn’t damage your furniture or annoy you.
Use a toy on a wire to guide them over to their play area. Make sure there is plenty of roped stuff to play with, and put their treats where you want them to play.
If they are being a persistent problem to some of your furniture check this post. But typically kittens are much easier to guide away from certain areas than older cats.
Teach them to Play Nicely
As I’ve discussed, kittens love to play. It’s the best way they can burn off some energy and fine tune their balance, hunting, and other skills they develop as they mature into adults.
As well as providing a space they can call their own as discussed in the points above, you need to get involved and play with them 1-on-1.
Not only is it loads of fun playing with kittens, you need to teach them how to play nicely. They need to be taught to respect boundaries, what hurts, and when to calm down.
This will help reduce the amount they are scratching you, which is always nice. As well as teaching them not to damage your furniture.
The interaction you give a kitten is vital to their development and the habits they form over their formative months of development and socialization.
Use this time well to direct their attention to their toys and focus their energy. Teach them to play nicely with people and you’ll have a much easier time going forward.
At What Age Do Kittens Calm Down?
This largely depends on what you call “calming down,” the breed of your cat, and of course their individual personality.
As a rule of thumb, you should see some major differences in your cats energy and activity levels between the ages of 9-12 months.
This is when kittens are maturing into adult cats. They will start sleeping a couple of hours less, but definitely be more calculated with their actions and relax a lot more.
It’s a gradual change that you may not notice day-to-day, but if you look back and really think about it I bet your cat is calming down month after month.
Outdoor cats are a lot less hyper indoors as they have a huge playground outside to burn off some of their energy. So if you’re going to be letting them outdoors from 6 months or so you can see a change in sight.
In the cats I’ve had over the years almost none still exhibit that crazy kitten hyperactivity from around 6 months or so.
Will My Kitten Calm down After Neutering/Spaying?
Male cats typically calm down after being neutered. An unneutered male cat has a lot of testosterone flowing through their bodies, and combined with a curious adolescence attitude – it’s a recipe for trouble.
The typical changes you’ll notice in your cat after having him neutered is much less desire to go outside. Especially at night when he can sense other toms are out there.
This is because they don’t feel the need to fight with other cats and find mates. And who can blame them!
Female cats may also become calmer. When a female cat is spayed they no longer have “heat cycles.”
Some cats are more vocal and energetic during their heat cycles. So eliminating them can make a difference, but I wouldn’t expect to see a huge change in their personality.
I hope you found this article, “how to calm down a kitten when hyper,” useful.
How did you get through that playful hyper phase with your kitten? Do you have any funny stories to share?
If you have some other useful tips to calm down kittens then please share with the community, thanks.
Some interesting points. I have a 5mth old Burmese and she has been a nightmare to be honest. I never knew kittens were capable of doing so much damage to a home!
The only thing that really works is directing her to a play area where we have some hanging stuff and things to distract here, kinda like you said. But that only works sometimes, and for so long!
I guess I will look back on this and smile, cause she is so cute and so much fun too. But it’s stressful at times!
Yeah, it is so much fun isn’t it, these are times to cherish and remember no matter how stressful at times. 🙂
It’s great that you have an area set up for her to play with.
Have you tried the plug in devices that are supposed to provide a calming atmopshere, not sure how