Single Kitten Syndrome

Single Kitten Syndrome It is a real thing and is a behavioural issue that happens when young kittens are by themselves without a feline companion.

Kittens are sociable animals - we cannot stress this enough. As you see, they are born into litters of numerous sizes. They sleep together, eat together, play together and are known to poop together 🥴

When kittens play, they will bite each other and scratch each other. From this, they learn about claw and bite inhibition. They simply CANNOT learn this from a human. You will notice that Kittens will play, sleep, eat and repeat. This is all hours of the day, including throughout the night. Whilst we humans are good at having the odd play with Kittens, it isn't enough.

Signs of single kitten syndrome include (but not limited to):

• Biting and scratching whilst playing

• Extremely clingy

• Excessive vocalisation and attention seeking

• Chasing and biting moving objects, such as feet (this is the extreme version which comes across as more than playful and causes pain/injury)

• Obsessive suckling/nuzzling of blankets, toys etc

The above signs are extreme, not just mouthing when playing etc. Be aware that hand-rear kittens can show signs of clingy behaviour or suckling.

Any reputable good charity or rescue will only rehome young kittens in pairs or to a home with an active resident cat. Trying to rehome a 9 week old kitten with an elderly cat is not a good idea either. The kitten will pester the adult cat and that is not fair, this is why we state an active cat.

Some people will likely disagree with this and they may have been one of the very few lucky ones to have a single kitten that is well rounded. We take the stance that we do best by the animal and their needs.