Aggressive kitten

crayola

I'm not in the habit of 'expecting' any particular behaviour from cats or getting annoyed about what is natural kitten behaviour but I would like to know what's considered a 'normal' level of aggression from a (male) kitten aged about 14 weeks.

Our kitty is not into petting at all. He will let us stroke him when he's basically asleep, but the rest of the time he only wants to bite and scratch. If we put a hand up to stroke him, he immediately lifts his paw to scratch back, every time. He also hisses and spits at us a lot!

As I say, if this is normal behaviour he can grow out of then that's fine, but I don't think it is because I have known other people with kittens of this age (of both genders) that do not behave in this way. Are we likely to be doing anything wrong? He lives with his Mum, if that makes a difference - it has occurred to me that all of the 'affection' needs he gets can be provided by her (although they mostly just fight!) so perhaps this will make him less friendly to humans.

Also, will neutering make any difference? Again I know he is a kitten, but I am so covered in scratches it looks like I've been busy with a razor

Thoughts?

sb2_2

Ive had female kittens and male and both seem to do this.

Is it 'play' fighting or proper fighting?

play fighting is common among kittens as they have alot of energy and it is 'training' for when they are older and need to protect themselves.

There are some cats who become hostile to humans early on either through a bad experience or even not being used to them.

If the kitten isnt play fighting, Try sitting next to the kitten and 'ignoring' it for a while to start with so it knows you're just around and not just going to interact with it and then keep edging your hand closer until you are in contact. eventually you can stroke the kitten.

A good idea to turn the kitten into a soppy friendly ball of fluff is to give it some catnip. All my cats go mad for it. Some just roll in it but one gets hyper, runs about like a madman on fire, then tires out an relaxes as he has wasted his energy. If the kitten does this but still attacks you, repeat the process again and it should calm down and probably wont have the energy to attack your hand .

Fridaycat

That is not normal kitten behaviour at all. Have you had the kitten from birth (I am thinking so, due to the fact that you say he lives with his Mum)? A lot of a cat's behaviour is determined by how they are socialised from a very early age, and a kitten who is used to being petted etc in the early weeks of their lives should not act like this, though I am sure there will always being exceptions to the norm!

Neutering will calm him down a little, though that is still a few months away.

Do you play with him with interactive toys - e.g. a cat dangler pole like this one http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/cat_dangler/feathers/137344?

(I'm not saying you should buy this particular one, just using it as an example). It may be a way of showing the kitten he can have fun with humans without the need to bite and scratch them. ETA - and I also meant to say that it is long enough to protect the human from any wayward claws and teeth!

crayola

sb2 wrote: »

Is it 'play' fighting or proper fighting?

I wish i could tell the difference! I ask myself this question pretty much every day. I think he thinks he is playing, or at least starts off that way but his Mum in particular does not see it like that and gets cross with him.

I do wonder if there is a sort of 'negative feedback loop' going on with her chastising him, him feeling angry and attacking back (her and us!) even harder as a result. I do feel like he is 'always in trouble' but don't really know how to prevent this situation when he is always scratching and biting other cats and people.

As for the catnip thing, we have tried this but it seems to have the effect of making him even more hyper. This morning for example he got a catnip mouse in his jaws and spent about two hours tearing from one end of the house to the other, causing mayhem!

crayola

Fridaycat wrote: »

That is not normal kitten behaviour at all. Have you had the kitten from birth

He is a rescue kitten. However he has been in contact with humans from a few days after birth (at the rescue centre I think they said it was only 2 days, maybe 4) and as I understand it this does not make him 'feral' as he was taken in while still very small. The people who fostered him for the first 8 weeks of life were fantastic 'parents' and he had good conditions and a lot of love and attention (albeit along with the rest of a large litter) so I don't see anything here that would make him be inherently unfriendly. Lots of rescue kitties, including ones that have been in the 'wild' for a lot longer are fine.

His Mum is not the most friendly cat in the world but she is quite placid and not afraid of humans or aggressive. He was quite traumatised by the journey back to our house as it was longer than we had thought and on a very hot day but that is really the only terrible thing that has happened in his life since being rescued!

(I'm not saying you should buy this particular one, just using it as an example). It may be a way of showing the kitten he can have fun with humans without the need to bite and scratch them.

Yes we do play with him with a toy very similar to that. I think to an extent it has taught him that he can have fun with 'prey' type toys but that other moving objects (e.g. feet) are not prey. However I have noticed that in the past week or so he has stopped being so shy about attacking feet and hands even though I thought we had taught him they were out of bounds...Hm

Fridaycat

Mmm, that does sound quite odd then. Did his Mum feed him herself or was he bottle fed? Sometimes that can make cats more prone to biting and scratching - our Harry was resuced at 2 days old and taken away from his mother (for good reasons by Cats Protection), and he is probably the most similar to this kind of behaviour than any other cat I've had, though he is not as aggressive as yours sounds, even as a kitten we could always cuddle and pet him without any hissing or spitting.

seafarers_wife

my cat is like this and he is now about 20 months old. he calmed down alot after being neutered, but still has his mad moments defending the house as i call it, where he will rush from room to room to room tearing past and jumping over anything in his way to get to the window.

he knows what behaviour i allow and what i dont, and i click my fingers at him and say no and if he stops he gets a fuss made of him and lots of good boy, and if he doesnt he gets squirted with a water pistol. most of the time just the picking up and shaking of the water pistol is enough to get him to stop whatever bad behaviour he is doing, usually clicking the sofa or curtains or on the kitchen worksides.

he does playfight with us alot but has learnt that if he gets his claws out or bites we immediantly stop playing and dont give him any attention for a while till he has calmed down.

some cats just dont like to be petted though but if you can perservere with trying to its all the better for you and the vet when it comes time to get his injections etc done.

Mupette

Georgie my kitten is 14 weeks today, she does the biting and pawing and isnt too fussed about cuddles, but does love to snuggle up to you when she has a nap, she doesn't and hasnt hissed at her humans.

We introduced her to Gizmo just a few weeks back and it was a battleground with those two, although now bezzy mates :j:j

You cat doesn't seem happy, maybe a trip to the vets to make sure he isnt in pain?

bagginslover

I've known several cats that came from family homes that just didn't like to be stroked. They'd tolerate it for so long, then like yours, would bite and scratch. None if these cats were mine though, and their owners never bothered to do anything about it, I just wanted you to know that your cat isn't the only one

3v3

Personality

My two furballs are actually very placid, but one adores being cuddled (and would consider it a slight if he was not permitted to snuggle in!) and the other really doesn't want to be "cuddled" but it you could just give my belly a rub and my ears a scratch I'll pretend to like it

Playfulness also has its part to play. He's testing his boundaries Being neutered does have a "calming" effect, but it should be done anyway, not simply to curb the behaviour you do not want.

You could also try the pheromone plug-ins to see if that has any affect.

Good luck

Fridaycat

I agree that personality plays a role, but I think that the hissing and spitting is beyond that? I have a gorgeous ginger boy, Robbie, and he will only let you have the occasional cuddle when he is in the mood - about once a week! Sometimes when you pick him up, he cries so loud, you would think he is in some sort of torture chamber :eek:. He is not in pain (have checked this out!) - he just doesn't like it. BUT he does not hiss and spit, I cannot ever recall a time of him doing this, and he is two years old next month.