When to give kittens free-run?

We got two 8wk old kittens (Zeus and Athena) 11 days ago. For the first
few days they were confined to one room. On days 3 - 5 we introduced
them supervised to the other main rooms for a few hours each day where
they played and slept. They were returned to 'their room' the rest of
the time. Since then we have given them a free run of the house when we
are home, they love it! We have been putting them back in 'their room'
when we're out at work and at night. They just seem so happy having the
full run of the house that we are now thinking would it be ok to let
them have the house to themselves when we're out. They were anxious
initially when they lost each other but now seem quite happy to
explore alone and then have fun hunting down their sibling. Is it okay
to let them loose??

It depends on how large your house is. Can they find their way back to their
litter boxes (you should have 2)? Can they hurt themselves in the house when
you are not home to supervise? You must make sure all toilet seats are down
since kittens can drown in toilets if they should fall in. Also, if you have
a recliner, check underneath in case they are hiding there. I adopted an 8
week old kitten this summer and kept him in the room at night and we were at
work until about 12 weeks old.
Gail
"j333" wrote in message
oups.com...
We got two 8wk old kittens (Zeus and Athena) 11 days ago. For the first
few days they were confined to one room. On days 3 - 5 we introduced
them supervised to the other main rooms for a few hours each day where
they played and slept. They were returned to 'their room' the rest of
the time. Since then we have given them a free run of the house when we
are home, they love it! We have been putting them back in 'their room'
when we're out at work and at night. They just seem so happy having the
full run of the house that we are now thinking would it be ok to let
them have the house to themselves when we're out. They were anxious
initially when they lost each other but now seem quite happy to
explore alone and then have fun hunting down their sibling. Is it okay
to let them loose??

"j333" wrote in message
oups.com...
We got two 8wk old kittens (Zeus and Athena) 11 days ago. For the first
few days they were confined to one room. On days 3 - 5 we introduced
them supervised to the other main rooms for a few hours each day where
they played and slept. They were returned to 'their room' the rest of
the time. Since then we have given them a free run of the house when we
are home, they love it! We have been putting them back in 'their room'
when we're out at work and at night. They just seem so happy having the
full run of the house that we are now thinking would it be ok to let
them have the house to themselves when we're out. They were anxious
initially when they lost each other but now seem quite happy to
explore alone and then have fun hunting down their sibling. Is it okay
to let them loose??



I adopted two eight week old brothers this past December and followed
exactly the same schedule as you, but by week 3 they had the entire run of
the house and have never looked back. I couldn't decide what exactly I was
waiting for, but knew I wanted to take things slowly in case any unexpected
problems surfaced.
None did.

It went so swimmingly that we added another the same age of the original
two, so now have three 6½ month old boys.
As the months have passed they have gotten more curious, more confident, and
the play gets rougher every day. In the past month I have had to block off
areas that they had previously ignored, and the occasional crash or bang is
no longer a surprise.

I also keep them out of the bedroom over night so they have become
accustomed to the door being closed and don't scratch and meow. If I don't
initiate a good play session right before bedtime they will keep me awake if
I let them in, and I have enough trouble sleeping as it is.

So let them loose, but keep a close eye on things and realize that you may
have to make changes down the line that you hadn't anticipated.

--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

"Toni" wrote in message
. ..

"j333" wrote in message
oups.com...
We got two 8wk old kittens (Zeus and Athena) 11 days ago. For the first
few days they were confined to one room. On days 3 - 5 we introduced
them supervised to the other main rooms for a few hours each day where
they played and slept. They were returned to 'their room' the rest of
the time. Since then we have given them a free run of the house when we
are home, they love it! We have been putting them back in 'their room'
when we're out at work and at night. They just seem so happy having the
full run of the house that we are now thinking would it be ok to let
them have the house to themselves when we're out. They were anxious
initially when they lost each other but now seem quite happy to
explore alone and then have fun hunting down their sibling. Is it okay
to let them loose??



I adopted two eight week old brothers this past December and followed
exactly the same schedule as you, but by week 3 they had the entire run of
the house and have never looked back. I couldn't decide what exactly I was
waiting for, but knew I wanted to take things slowly in case any
unexpected problems surfaced.
None did.

It went so swimmingly that we added another the same age of the original
two, so now have three 6½ month old boys.
As the months have passed they have gotten more curious, more confident,
and the play gets rougher every day. In the past month I have had to block
off areas that they had previously ignored, and the occasional crash or
bang is no longer a surprise.

I also keep them out of the bedroom over night so they have become
accustomed to the door being closed and don't scratch and meow. If I don't
initiate a good play session right before bedtime they will keep me awake
if I let them in, and I have enough trouble sleeping as it is.

So let them loose, but keep a close eye on things and realize that you may
have to make changes down the line that you hadn't anticipated.

--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com


Sleep

Sleep what is sleep oh I remember that it was back in 1963

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:57:35 GMT, "Gail" wrote:

You must make sure all toilet seats are down
since kittens can drown in toilets if they should fall in.

I always make sure my toilet seats are open since my cat is toilet
trained. When I forgot to keep the seat open she **** on the floor.
She taught me a lesson. She is now about six months old.

I started toilet training when she was eight weeks old. She fell in
once but jumped out quickly enough.

During toilet training I would keep her confined to her large private
bathroom when I was not there and would supervise her whenever she was
out in order to redirect her to the toilet when she had the urge to go
elsewhere.

After I was comfortable that she would not make mistakes I gave her
the run of the house. It has been over a month now and she has not had
any accidents knock on wood.

RC

wrote

During toilet training I would keep her confined to her large private
bathroom when I was not there and would supervise her whenever she was
out in order to redirect her to the toilet when she had the urge to go
elsewhere.

So. How could you tell when she had the urge? Was it a look in her
eye? A funny way of walking?

Personally, I would much rather clean a cat box than share a toilet
with a cat.

But hey, different strokes.



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On 27 Apr 2006 02:03:47 +0200, "cybercat" wrote:


wrote

During toilet training I would keep her confined to her large private
bathroom when I was not there and would supervise her whenever she was
out in order to redirect her to the toilet when she had the urge to go
elsewhere.

So. How could you tell when she had the urge? Was it a look in her
eye? A funny way of walking?


She started scratching on the floor.

Personally, I would much rather clean a cat box than share a toilet
with a cat.

I don't share a toilet with my cat. She uses the guest bathroom. But
sometimes she uses my toilet if she happens to be the neighborhood.

Why would you not want to share a toilet with a cat? It is not as if
cat takes very long to do her business. All I have to do is flush the
toilet a couple times a day.

Once I had to pee in her toilet and while I was peeing she jumped up
and started peeing herself. If only I had someone take a photo of
that.

I don't miss cleaning the cat box at all. It was not my favorite
activity. I don't think Precious misses it either.



But hey, different strokes.

Indeed.

RC



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