Kamikaze Kitten + Lazy Co-Owner
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 10:51 pm
We just adopted a rescue kitten about 5 weeks ago after we lost our beloved kitty of nearly 22 years to kidney failure ( I raised her alone, he only moved in 6 months ago and bonded with her right off the bat - she was so loving and gentle). It was a close time frame between these two events, but the kitten has helped divert our attention from our heartbreaking loss by channeling it into giving this little guy the best start in life we possibly can. Unfortunately, he had a severe respiratory infection and ringworm, both caught in the shelter, and has cost us a fortune in vet bills right off the bat. The lung issues have been resolved by medicine, but the ringworm is still being dealt with.
I know kittens are a lot more involved than senior kitties, I have raised a few throughout my life so I have that awareness. My boyfriend understands this, too, but since the awe of a new kitten has diminished some and become more common place in our daily routines, I feel that I am becoming the primary caretaker of the kitten (which he fell in love with and bonded with first, I was still greatly affected by the loss of my senior baby and took some time to open my heart fully to our new kitten - moving from one sick cat to another was difficult for me).
My boyfriend works long hours, he doesn't get to be home as much like myself, who works from home. So when he is here, I try to let him have kitten time and not get in the way too much so they can have their moments. However, the kitten has an abundance of energy and this manifests in zooming around the house and inevitably attacking us - we're both covered in massive amounts of kitten claw marks (and we trimmed his front paw claws which had little effect on the damage rendered us - and don't worry, he is indoor only so he's not in danger with trimmed claws). I know we need to divert the kitten into play with toys to expend these rambunctious energy bursts, and I do this throughout each day. But my boyfriend barely plays with him now, if he does it's for maybe 3-5 minutes then he stops. I try to encourage him to play with kitten and the why, but he's just become very lazy about it. Meanwhile, we're being attacked.
We got the kitten together, we intend to raise it together. He does field the litter box about 75% of the time, and he does the morning feeding. But beyond this, it seems like all responsibility has fallen on myself, which is a huge change from when we had our senior kitty who required a lot of nursing and attention because she could not walk well and needed help with a lot of issues (75% of her spine was fused). I don't want the kitten to become a point of contention, but when I ask him to play with the kitten I am getting sub-par results compared to two weeks ago when he was all about kitten play time. Any ideas on how to get him more involved willingly? I'd rather it not become a nagging issue. We have a great selection of interactive toys, so that's not a problem.
Last night in annoyance at kitten kamikaze diving, my boyfriend looked at me and said, "It used to be different, it was so calm here. Now I can't do anything without him getting in my face." While he loves the kitten, I am worried about this attitude. All he wants to do is hold the kitten for hours, but the kitten is too energetic and half the time wants to get up and play instead of being held - I don't blame the kitten for this.
I know kittens are a lot more involved than senior kitties, I have raised a few throughout my life so I have that awareness. My boyfriend understands this, too, but since the awe of a new kitten has diminished some and become more common place in our daily routines, I feel that I am becoming the primary caretaker of the kitten (which he fell in love with and bonded with first, I was still greatly affected by the loss of my senior baby and took some time to open my heart fully to our new kitten - moving from one sick cat to another was difficult for me).
My boyfriend works long hours, he doesn't get to be home as much like myself, who works from home. So when he is here, I try to let him have kitten time and not get in the way too much so they can have their moments. However, the kitten has an abundance of energy and this manifests in zooming around the house and inevitably attacking us - we're both covered in massive amounts of kitten claw marks (and we trimmed his front paw claws which had little effect on the damage rendered us - and don't worry, he is indoor only so he's not in danger with trimmed claws). I know we need to divert the kitten into play with toys to expend these rambunctious energy bursts, and I do this throughout each day. But my boyfriend barely plays with him now, if he does it's for maybe 3-5 minutes then he stops. I try to encourage him to play with kitten and the why, but he's just become very lazy about it. Meanwhile, we're being attacked.
We got the kitten together, we intend to raise it together. He does field the litter box about 75% of the time, and he does the morning feeding. But beyond this, it seems like all responsibility has fallen on myself, which is a huge change from when we had our senior kitty who required a lot of nursing and attention because she could not walk well and needed help with a lot of issues (75% of her spine was fused). I don't want the kitten to become a point of contention, but when I ask him to play with the kitten I am getting sub-par results compared to two weeks ago when he was all about kitten play time. Any ideas on how to get him more involved willingly? I'd rather it not become a nagging issue. We have a great selection of interactive toys, so that's not a problem.
Last night in annoyance at kitten kamikaze diving, my boyfriend looked at me and said, "It used to be different, it was so calm here. Now I can't do anything without him getting in my face." While he loves the kitten, I am worried about this attitude. All he wants to do is hold the kitten for hours, but the kitten is too energetic and half the time wants to get up and play instead of being held - I don't blame the kitten for this.