[missh]

Okay so my boyfriend brought me home an adorable kitten and we have only had him as our only pet, he is over a year old now and has been very kind and great with people, he gives us kisses and sleeps with us, he has more toys then most children.. but we both have busy schedules during the day so he is often home alone at day time, I try to give him lots of attention but when its time for bed he scratches up the carpet and makes a lot of noise, he wakes me up every morning around 4am and I will feed him and play a little and then shut the bedroom door because he will whine and make noise, and then after we get some rest I will re-open up the door around 7am. I can't let him think this is okay... I don't want to have to get up at 4am every morning but I don't know if he needs attention so I just get up anyway. Is he misbehaving? Is he lonely? What should I do? Is this normal?

[morgaine300]

The first obvious thing I see is that he's waking you up at for a.m. cause you're getting up and giving in!! If you don't want him to think this is OK, then don't give in to him. He'll think anything is OK as long as you bow to his wishes. Ignore him. Pull the covers over your head and give him a hint. Most cats will learn to get on your schedule. You can also give him some attention when it's time to really get up so that hopefully he'll like that time better.

Because of this run-on sentence: I try to give him lots of attention but when its time for bed he scratches up the carpet and makes a lot of noise

I'm not quite sure if you give him attention when it's time for bed, or if when it's time for bed he scratches up the carpet.

Lots of people work all day and have cats. Give him attention as soon as you get home, although he's more likely to be wanting food at that point, so the attention can come after that. If you have the evening with him, that should be enough attention. A cat can deal with being alone during the day. Of course, every cat has its own personality. (Of course, you can always go to the humane society and pick up a companion and give a homeless cat a home. ;))

Cats scratch, that's what they do. Get a scratching post or make one. You can train a cat. When he scratches on the carpet, tell him NO! and take him and put him on the scratching post so he gets the idea that's where to do it. (It helped one of mine when I put catnip on the scratching post - it became her best friend quickly.) Praise him if he uses the scratching post.

I don't see anything particularly abnormal here, so I don't think it's due to an issue, but rather what sounds like a lack of discipline on your part. Think of him like a little kid and you're the adult.