A 3 1/2 month old kitten is similar to sharing your days with a toddler. Wild is wild in my books. When toddler-kitty is bored – watch out! The kitty starts getting into mischief. As Maisie grows (and oh how she’s grown since I first brought her home) she is able to reach higher, jump higher, thus exploring a whole bunch of new objects in the apartment. Today I seemed to have reached my breaking point with patience.

In the morning Maisie would have swung from a chandelier, had there been one on the ceiling. Her next best option was to climb up on top of places she normally wouldn’t attempt. This process involved knocking over anything and everything in her path. There was chewing of envelope corners on the desk. The clipboard. The kitchen drawer handles.

The timing of what seemed to be the birth of “crazymaisie” is also whereby we are at the end of a full moon. October’s moon is called the Hunter’s Moon and this was so aptly named for the behaviour exuded by Maisie the past while. My ankles were repeatedly attacked. She loves to bite my toes through my big thick winter socks (thank you Mark’s Work Wearhouse) of which she doesn’t penetrate or more likely her play isn’t to kill my toes just grab them (I’m still learning the art of kitty prey play)

Either her energy peaked today or I’ve used up all my patience in the past two days. The full moon peaked on the 24^th. Whatever the reason, the two of us cooped up in the apartment was just a recipe for getting on each others nerves. She, ever the curious kitten, doing normal kitty exploring activities seemed bent on getting her way. Negative attention is just as good when you have a kitten needing some human interaction. When Mama’s face is glued to the computer screen for work, there is one surefire way to get her attention.

There was some serious selective hearing going on with the refusal to acknowledge or respond to the word “no”. From ankle attacks to clawing at the recliner upholstery (right beside me I might add) to flinging litter across the floor, it was one heckuva trying day for this kittymama. Even the squirt bottle didn’t evoke a response. I swear she just looked at me and emitted an evil laugh. She simply proceeded to leap at my arms and bat at them. Since I have been distracted with work (it’s my busy season) I let her nails grow a bit too long.

The score today sits at Maisie 1 – Mama 0

Thanks to Jackson Galaxy (the cat guru) it was evident my hunter cat was simply taking my ankles for prey.  His recommendation of placing an overstimulated kitten/cat in another room for a timeout was just what I needed. Maisie spent the next 10 minutes in the bathroom and I in my recliner with peace, glorious peace. It was definitely the right tactic and I wish I hadn’t waited until I was at my wit’s end to bring this forth. After the time out Maisie did seem a bit calmer and go figure she rubbed against my leg. She got me right where she needed. My mood softened and my voice sang out “awwwww pretty kitty. You feeling better now?” Then she went into the bedroom and took a nap. I should say so – that was quite the display of energy output!

Although she continued to be “bad” (so to speak  as in there really are no “bad” kittens just as there are no “bad toddlers” ) the break made the rest of the evening manageable.

My question is: Had the full Hunter’s Moon hyped up Maisie another notch? Was the sharpening of claws with such frenzy and frequency her need to be ready for the next round?

I’ll be happy when the moon wanes to a point where, hopefully, her wild moon energy decreases to a much more tolerable level.  A wild eyed and equally wild bodied kitten is no match for the “No” command or the squirt bottle. What do I have to face next month’s full moon? (The Beaver Moon)

As Jackson Galaxy said – cats can get over stimulated easily and it’s our job to pay attention to the signals. Today was definitely a learning curve for me.

For now; all is calm, all is good.