# How long does the kitten stage last?



## SnowyOwl (Jul 21, 2015)

I'm mostly referring to the playful attack stuff.
Before having a kitten I was always with adult cats. They understood that patting the furniture (bed, chair, couch, etc) meant to jump up. Belle immediately gets her crazy eyes when I do this and thinks it's time to play. I'm wondering if she'll just always do this or if it's part of her kitten stage. She's seven months old now, almost eight. I don't know how to train her in this but I've stopped trying as she gets way too excited to play.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

MowMow is 12, I'll let you know when he stops getting 'goosie' and doing the playful attack stuff.


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## DebS (Jun 14, 2015)

Lol...I know the feeling of wondering when the kitten crazies will end! I have a ten month old kitty now after living with my 20 year old, calm cat. I try to just enjoy each life stage but I think all cats are different and mature in their own way and on their own schedule.


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

A long time. Then when you think it's over, they have a flashback.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Maggie was a lunatic until she was 2. Then from 2-10 she acted like a typical kitten. 10-16.5 was young adult behavior. She was doing crazy stuff just a week before she was diagnosed with cancer. 

On the other hand, Kobi calmed down by the time he was a year old.

Conclusion....just depends on the cat.


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## NebraskaCat (Jan 15, 2013)

Depends on the cat. I think usually you can see them fall into their lazier lives around 18 months.

But Nala, at age 11, is still a full-on zoom-zoom, play with whatever she sees, jump on me and Penny endlessly, kind of girl.


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## Augustine (Nov 27, 2014)

Luckily, I've never had SUPER hectic kittens. They were always about "average", I suppose? Never had to deal with too much mess, running around, etc.

Anyways, my kittens (as they will forever be called, lol) are about 1 1/2 years old now, and while they still have their playful moments (mainly the zoomies), it seems more like active adult cat stuff rather than kitten playfulness. 

But, then again, their activity levels seems to have stayed the same since we got them, so maybe they still need to outgrow it? *shrugs*


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## Mandy and Ellie (Oct 22, 2013)

Definitely depends on the cat. My Ellie calmed down drastically around the 1 year mark. My Tootsie on the other hand is still pretty much a kitten and she'll be 2 in June. She's my cat that can play endlessly and then play again, whereas Ellie gets lazy and bored quickly haha.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Yep, depends on the cat. My Coco is 8+ going on 8 months and always looking for trouble. My Polly is very much an adult cat now at 21 months old. She still has her playful bursts of energy but for the most part prefers to lay around. She started out life as very, very snuggle but aside from some snuggles with hubby at night she is not snuggly AT ALL.


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

I'm never growing up!!!


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## flamesabers (Jun 16, 2015)

I agree with others that it really depends on the cat. When I adopted Kacie, she was a little over 1 year ago. She's a very well-behaved and quiet cat. Probably the strangest thing she's done is grooming my hair when I'm trying to sleep. Coco on the other hand is several years older than Kacie, but she still has some kitten-like tendencies such as wanting to explore closets, bags, cupboards, or the bathroom whenever the opportunity presents itself.

I think cats reach adulthood around 1. If Belle's behavior is more of a phase than a personality trait, I would guess you would see a change in behavior in 4-5 months.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

My brood vary - I doubt the twins will EVER mature. Before the age they are now, Je was a total "little lady". There are no hard and fast ground rules.


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

And cats remain playful all their lives! What's really funny is to see an adult cat play like a kitten.


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