Why is my cat MEAN?

[ucfgurl]

Ok, I have a 9 month old kitty. He is a domestic long hair, ORANGE, and he is needless to say full of **** and vinegar.

He likes to run underneath you feet while your walking, tripping you
He runs up, bites your legs, and runs off.
Runs around the living room (sometime in complete circles) at full speed for no apparent reason
He runs into the bedroom, pounces on us while we're in bed, and then runs out he bedroom in the middle of the night (this happens a few times in a row)
He scratches at the carpet
He zips at full speed up and down the hall way, around the apartment, for no reason at all
Chews on almost EVERYTHING he can get his mouth around

Seriously, if I were to guess.. my kitty is like in his terrible twos or something. Is there anyone who can help explain to me why my kitty is behaving this way? And most importantly, any disciplinary actions that are affective? He use to never claw at the carpet and now he does. He never use to chew on the wires and now he does.

He is our only pet so sometimes I think he isn't getting enough attention because me and my fiance are at work a lot. Do you think introducing another cat into the mix to keep him company? We give him a lot of love when we can..I just dont uderstand this!

[April2]

I think a lot has to do with his age. He's still a kitten with a lot of energy! We adopted a kitten last Summer and I didn't think I liked her too much for awhile. She was totally different from my other cat who is very sweet and laid back. This one would tear around the house, knock over drinks, etc. and play bite. We got her fixed a few months ago and now that she's just over a year old she's settled down a LOT. She's actually becoming more affectionate and will climb on my lap to be petted. She's still playful but is much calmer. So, give him time! I think with age they really do settle down quite a bit. Like you, if I were to ever get another kitten (or puppy for that matter), I think I'd get two so they could play and keep each other company.
Btw, I used to have an orange tabby and she was the sweetest cat I ever had! She was rather shy and timid but real sweet. So, I don't know if that goes with your theory that all orange cats are crazy, lol. I think they each have their own personalities just like us! :)

[DrMom45]

I had a cat the did the middle of the night "wake up and play with me" thing and my husband is not a big cat person.  I had to come up with something fast.  We lived in an apartment that had a laundry/storage room.  I got her another bed, litter box and a number of toys and put them into the laundry room.  Every night when my husband and I went to bed, Pepper went to bed too.  I would take her water bowl and a little bedtime snack and tell her it was bedtime.  After only a week, she learned what the word bedtime meant and she would run in front of me to the laundry room where she slept and played happily all night long.  That was twenty years ago and Pepper is long since gone, but the practice remains.  In our house I built our present cat a large kitty condo in the basement and every night she WAITS (sometimes impatiently) for me to put her to bed and our family gets a restful undisturbed sleep.

[marissposa]

"Choose your battles" for example.  your cat bites, but also runs around like crazy.  I would say one is a problem:  biting, and one is not really a big deal: running around.  So instead of trying to change the entire temperment of your pet.  Work on the problems that are really important and let the other ones slide.
Glad to hear that you engage in interactive play.   Some pet owners think providing toys and some ear scratches is enough.  Good luck.

[ucfgurl]

Marissposa,

First off, I really don't understand what you mean by "choose your battles. It doesn't make sense here. Secondly, if I didn't mention if before, I will now. My cat recieves a lot of love an attention from myself, my fiance, and anyone who visits us. (He is very social). He has a lot of interactive toys to keep him busy. He is one spoiled cat. He is left alone for hours at a time while I am at work but you can't hold that against me. No, its not bad that he runs around like a psycho kitty but I have a problem when it is at bedtime and at 4am in the morning. I do play with him at night, maybe I wear him out a little more. Thanks

Zodiacqueen,
My kitty is neutered, I adopted him from the SPCA. I am glad I am not the only one who has noticed aggression from orange kittys. It could be a coincidence but I am sticking with my theory. lol. He really likes to bite when you wressle and play around with him. Sometimes he comes up to you for no reason at all and bite you.

Ghilly,
I was considering adopting a new kitty. I kittysat a 5week old and cody found it to be a four legged, moving, chew toy! I thought about trying adopting a kitty a little older maybe about 5 months? I don't know. I am nervous that if I do and Cody (that is his name by the way) won't take to it too kindly and I don't want to be forced to adopted him out to someone else or return him to the shelter.

Thanks for the replies guys. I look back at it now, I do realize that my wording could have been different. Instead of MEAN..I really many PSYCHO and CRAZY =) He is constantly an orange fury ball of fire..

[Ghilly]

He sounds to me like a normal, healthy 9 month old kitten!  Cats are intrinsically, well, for lack of a better word, insane, and when they are young and healthy, they play constantly.  EVERYTHING becomes something to be hunted.  They are lions, stalking prey on the Savannah, you are a gazelle, your couch is a wildebeest.  

Is he neutered?  Sometimes neutering will calm down their behavior somewhat, but not always.  Kittens, as I said, are just nutso!  

Getting another cat is an excellent idea!  Cats, by nature, are not pack animals like dogs, and they pretend to be solitary, but the truth is they all love to have a buddy to play with, cuddle up to and to help them groom those hard-to-reach places.  If you do get another cat, try to get one that is a little bit younger than he is, because at nine months, he is old enough to have reached puberty, and if he is territorial, it will be easier to integrate a younger cat, and easier still if the other cat is a female.  If he's not neutered, however, either get him neutered, or make sure that the cat you bring in is either neutered or spayed.

Ghilly

[PrettyKitty1]

I agree 100% with maripossa. Your cat isn't mean at all. He is just being a cat. Sounds like he is bored out of his mind and being that he is so young and energetic, he needs to take that energy and boredom  out of the system. You have not mentioned one single sign of aggression here. Give him playtime before going to bed, a tired kitty is a happy kitty. Get the Cat Fancy magazine. They offer great tips on how to keep your cat busy and much much more, and no I don't work for them lol.  A busy cat is also a happy cat. He is acting out of pure instinct. My cat is considered a young adult (1 y.o) and still does these things and I don't think he'll stop any time soon. It's just funny to see them trying to stalk you lol.

[marissposa]

This sounds like a young cat trying to engage his owners in some fun time.  by giving love.. do you mean cuddling or play.  this is a young cat that needs lots of exercise.  
You can channel his natural energy into things that are alright with you. If he tries to get you to play when you are in bed... play with him BEFORE you go to bed.  Interactive toys like the fishing pole ones are great also try little noisy balls that he can chase around.  Also you can combat the restlesness by taking him on leashed walks out of doors and some people have luck with those cat dvds they sell of birds flying around.  As for the carpet: There are things you can spray on the carpet that are supposed to be repellent.  I have read that a natural orange oil spray will do the trick.  
I also think you need to re-evaluate your definition of mean.  Cats just like to be close to you, especially if you're gone a lot, that means they are often underfoot tripping you up,  I highly doubt that is a malicious act.  All of this is just natural energetic kitty behavior.  Pick your battles, is it really a bad thing that he runs full speed around the living room and down the hallway?  He is just trying to burn off some energy and it might make him less likely to harass you in the night.  Does he have enough toys to chew on?  You can spray them with nip spray if he is more attracted to the furniture than his toys.  I would also keep your cords and wires unplugged when you are not home.  Chewing through can be fatal, obviously.  
I think with some patience and energy on your part this sounds like a pretty normal cat.  They are hardwired for hunting and climbing and running from bigger animals,  you need to give him an outlet for that energy or else he will find one on his own.

[zodiacqueen]

Has your cat been neutered?  That could be a big part of the wildness.  I've also noticed that for some weird reason orange cats are dominant, aggresive, and can be mean.  I'd be interested to know if anyone else has seen this with orange cats.

If your cat has been neutered, then maybe he's lonely and needs another kitty to keep him company and to save your carpet and wires.  A new kitty would keep him busy, maybe too busy to cause any more chaos.