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I got my first kitten around a month ago. She keeps biting and scratching my blankets, and attacking them with her hind legs. I've tried rewarding her when she uses her own toys or her scratching post, as well as dedicate around 2-3 hours a day to playing with her, but it won't stop. I've resorted now to putting her from the bed to the floor after she does this, as well as firmly say "no." When I first got her at 4 months, she was calmer, still active but not as much. This has been a development for the past 3 weeks. She also has plenty of toys around.

In addition to all this, she has issues cleaning herself after pooping. She's a short haired cat, but will have crusty poop around her butthole, and if she steps in it, won't clean herself. If I try to follow up with a warm cloth, or baby wipe, she yelps and runs away.

Her mother abandoned her and her siblings, and I adopted her from a family that took them all in, and raised them.

She's currently unspayed, but will be spayed in 2 weeks since she's currently in heat. Will this behavior (the aggressive playing and destroying) lessen/go away after she recovers from being spayed?

I got a second cat (2 months) a week after getting her, but the second cat was not compatible with her at all, and would completely exclude the 5 month old from everything and they'd constantly fight, I had to give her back due to how aggressive the fights got between the two.

I'm extremely frustrated, sleep deprived, and don't know what to do anymore.

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    I feel your pain, keeping a high energy kitten of that age entertained is brutally exhausting. The amount of playtime you dedicate to her is great, in order to make the most of it try to build a routine that plays into her hunt-kill-eat-groom-sleep rhythm. Play with her until she is exhausted, then feeding time, then leave her to groom and sleep, on as regular a schedule as you can establish, rhythm and routine are key here. Do not despair, you are in the absolute worst phase, it will get better the older she gets, when she's a year old you'll barely remember what it was like.
    – bgse
    Nov 20, 2020 at 0:51
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    You've got a 5 month old kitten. That's what they do. Even older cats won't necessarily grow out of some of those behaviors; my "prim and proper" 5 year old still occasionally launches herself at a blanket and starts bunny-kicking it.
    – Allison C
    Nov 20, 2020 at 14:57
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    Is this a complaint or boast? It is great to have a playful kitten :)
    – ck1987pd
    Nov 20, 2020 at 15:23

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It sounds like your kitten really wants kicker toys. "Bunny kicking" with their hind legs on toys is a common play behavior which regular cat toys don't really satisfy. If their desire to do that is strong enough, they'll find whatever to take it out on, such as table legs, your own legs, or in this case, blankets.

Kicker toys are cat toys designed for them to kick. They're made out of cloth, and pretty large compared to the regular cat toy. They're often just a long tube, but sometimes they're more fancifully shaped, as a fish or something like that. If you can't find one in stores, you could easily make your own by sewing a cloth tube and stuffing it. The tube should be large enough that the cat can wrap its arms around it, and about as long as the cat, so when it has its arms wrapped around it, it can kick the other end with its feet.

Then when you see the cat starting to kick, or getting that look that it's hyper and wants to kick, gently toss the kicker toy near, and hopefully it'll be redirected.

As for your other problem, it sounds to me like your kitten may have diarrhea or at least that its stool is too soft. If it's too soft, the stool may get stuck to it more than normal, and the cat probably won't clean that up on its own. You might want to try adjusting its diet, as often it's the food itself that's to blame in these cases. I would also ask your vet on their advice on how to make sure your cat's stool is the right consistency.

It's not really normal for cats to step on it, so it may be an indication your cat's box needs to be cleaned more often, or that your cat really wants a roomier litterbox. If it continues even after trying to address those two things, you might try changing the litter to one of the types that acts as a desiccant, such as crystal litter. If the stool is really dry, stepping on it will probably be less of a problem.

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