Further updates on the Maestro:
1) He continues to grow at an astonishing rate. We weigh him once per week, and last two weeks he has increased his mass by 14-15% each week! He often mews for food even though he's getting three meals a day. I was worried his meals weren't large enough and we were underfeeding him. SO says, given Maestro's ever increasing bulk, he's nowhere near underfed, just melodramatic.
On his first vet visit, at 5 weeks old, the vet mentioned that his tail was quite a bit smaller than average in proportion to his body size. Well, that stubby, little tail has lengthened (along with the rest of him) and is now about the length of his entire body (we measured it at about 7-8 inches). At times, he glimpses it on the ground twitching next to him, startles and attacks.
2) He mastered the piano trick in only two lessons (Maestro indeed!). I tested him by positioning myself behind him, holding his treats. He faced me, with his back to the keyboard, to see what command I would give, and promptly spun around (away from the treats!) and confidently sounded an F when I said, "Maestro, piano!" At times he gets creative and brings both front paws down, each paw pressing multiple notes. Maybe with a few more lessons he'll be ready to record his first album.
3) Maestro's love affair with his plush fish continues. When I bought it, it was bigger than he was and he was intimidated. When he grew to be just slightly bigger than the fish, it became his best friend, even though he could move it only with great difficulty. Now Maestro is long and lanky enough to easily tote the fish, running and leaping anywhere he pleases. He brings the fish into his pet bed and naps with a protective paw around it. SO says there was a time I went to the store, and SO heard Maestro crying about my absence and found the kitty clinging to his fish like it was a security blanket.
4) Hissing continues to serve as an effective nipping deterrent. He's invented an adorable way to stalk and "attack" me while still staying within the rules: he'll crouch, do the classic butt wiggle, and then rush forward, rear back on his hind legs and bop me with his front paws (claws retracted). Sometimes he just crouches, wiggles, and lunges, stopping abruptly right before making contact, peering at me with his innocent kitten eyes. It's as if he's saying, "Haha, fooled you! You thought I would attack, but I didn't."
He mostly seems to understand not to bite during playtime; but he will bite out of annoyance if he is not getting his way. He especially seems to be in some sort of battle for dominance with SO. While I now rarely get kitty-inflicted injuries, SO's hands and arms are a mess. He won't try the hissing trick. Instead I hear him yelling and swearing at the kitten as if Maestro had just cut him off on the freeway. I found it a little disturbing. He's only a little kitten.
Maestro seems far more defiant than he is scared of SO, so perhaps he is not being as traumatized as I feared he would be. But I still don't think this is an appropriate way to chastise a misbehaving kitten. SO still favors the "time out" approach (which often involves simply tossing him into my room, where he usually settles down and takes a nap). The bites and scratches SO receives are usually from the times he manhandles Maestro to put him in time out. Maestro is never injured, but he does get pretty angry.
Any advice on this?
