Kitten trouble

magnumlady

My fella has now decided to try and climb up my leg when I'm washing up and bites my hair!!
The only good thing is that my female cat was exactly the same when she was a kitten and now is so lazy she hardly moves.
So I guess they'll grow out of it.

RandomOne

bounty_hunter wrote:

Yep, sounds all too familiar. I made the mistake of wearing socks around the house so he wouldn't be able to single out individual toes but it just gave him something to cling on to :rolleyes:

Still no progress here...

I do feel for you but at the same time:

You'll be pleased to hear the evil swine I've referred to in this thread hasn't attacked me for a whole week.

So 4.5 mths it's taken (I've had him since birth) but he's got the message it seems.

(I wouldn't mind, but I even called him "VB" = "Vicious b******" and he really doesn't deserve it now)

darkflower

funny but i prefer male cats. the reason? you don't have to worry bout female cats giving birth every now and then..they are a bit naughtier though. but my cat senses if their kind of play is quite rough. when i get hurt i don't move the part of my body he has bitten and that does the trick..he won't try to dig deeper.in an almost apologetic way he would release and just sit..try it! it might as well work with your cat.;)

bounty_hunter

If you got female cats spayed you wouldn't have to worry about that anyway
Incidentally, any responsible cat owner should have their male neuteured too, you may not have to deal with unwanted kittens but somebody else will have to.

Thanks for the tip darkflower. I've tried it though and it has absolutely no effect Aside from anything else it's sometimes impossible not to jerk away when you suddenly have a dozen little needles piercing your skin.


Bit of an update:
I know I said I was reluctant to do it, but it's got so bad I've reverted back to the hissing at him when he hurts me. It's not having the effect I desired, but at least he's making some kind of response. He's no longer frightened of it, but (a good proportion of the time) the combination of a hiss and a solid stare makes him settle back for a couple of seconds at least, before bouncing right back at me again

bounty_hunter

Sorry to drag this old thread up again, but the issue has turned into a complete nightmare situation and I'm really not sure what to do.

Absolutely nothing I have tried so far has worked, which has included all the suggestions in this thread, and it's got so bad now that people are starting to worry about the marks left all over my arms and legs. (For anyone who hasn't read the rest of the thread - young male cat plays very viciously, hasn't responded to any training despite excellent training in everything else).

He has now taken to terrorising anybody who comes into the house, including complete strangers, which is causing a real problem when there are visitors.
Anything that moves is open to violent attack, and I can't pick him up and cuddle him for even a few minutes without him biting/scratching so badly that I'm left looking like I've been in some kind of freak blade-related accident.

I think it's important to note that this is mostly done in a playful manner (ie. it's not his intention to hurt), but it's extremely aggressive play and it has to stop before he's forced out of the house by angry humans (not me!)

Somebody please help!
I have gone to extremes that I really didn't want to (including scaring him into submission and "falling out with him" for hours), but all to no avail

This really is urgent.


EDIT: He is only just over four and a half months, but I have spoken with various vets and found several who are willing to neuter him early considering the circumstances (also displaying signs of sexual maturity), in the hope it might help with the situation. Obviously this alone though will not solve the problem.

FranknFurter

If the vet is willing I would strongly suggest early neutering (the age he is now should be absolutely fine).
An aunt of mine had a very similiar problem many years ago and it made a world of a difference.

hmm.... dont know how effective this idea would be but,.. maybe try contacting somone who is used to rescuing feral cats, they may have some experience on calming a "over-zealous" kitty. I think there are some people who post here who may have such experience.

B

(Just somthing else, I was told recently that too much protein in their diet can make cats hyper, maybe reduce it, try and find a food that is under 30% protein. (Let me know if you do, been looking myself, lowest I can find is 30%).

bounty_hunter

Hi FranknFurter. It's not the age that matters, it's the size of the cat. He's still a bit on the small size for a full doze of anaesthetic, and not all vets are comfortable with trying to guage the right amount for a cat that could technically wait another month (by which time he will have grown a lot).
However, I've managed to convince a few to see my point of view, and they think it will be no problem.

I'd never heard that bit about the protein, I'll give it a go! Thanks.

On the feral cat bit, anyone here able to lend their wisdom?

cotton

They're neutering cats at 8 weeks old so I wouldn't be worrying about his size.
As he's doing this a lot, do you just not play with him for fear of being hurt or are you still playing as much but with toys?
Have you tried a feliway plug-in?

bounty_hunter

I'm not worried about his size, this is just the feedback I've been getting from vets

I'm playing just as much as always, and I've always used toys. Bit of a bad habit to start cats off with hands! He adores toys and has almost as many of them as I had as a kid (with him being an indoor cat I update them regularly and take them out on rotation so he always has a fresh selection to keep him amused), but after a while of playing with them he'll suddenly stop and launch himself at the nearest fleshy object instead.

The most obvious and immediate conclusion I could draw from all this is that he's just looking for attention, but he's not getting any from it! Aside from the times when I'm not on the alert and ready to reprimand him (eg. when I'm asleep <_<), he gets absolutely no gain from it whatsoever. He's either removed from my leg/chest/arm/head/feet/hands/whatever and subsequently ignored, or put outside the room on his own to cool off, so how can he possibly think that this is a way to gain attention?

Could you please describe briefly how a feliway plug-in works? I've only vaguely heard of it before and if it's a viable option I'd like to give it a go. Thanks!

Nala

*I haven't read a lot of the thread so sorry if this has been suggested before*

Maybe try clapping your hands loudly in front of his face? Might give him a fright. Or try a whistle, the most high-pitched one you can find, and blow it really loud when he hurts you?

He might well grow out of it in time, I know what you mean though, cats can bloody hurt you!!!

bounty_hunter

Hi Nala.
I've tried the clapping, but he only seems to see it as an indication that "the hands" want a fight. A whistle isn't an option, as there is a very young child living in the house attached to mine and it's mostly in the evenings that this is a problem (due to limited potential attack time before I go to work).

Thanks for the suggestions!

brian_rbk

my cat duncan was exactly the same... terrorising visitors when they came to the house. He's 7 months old now and is slowly growing out of it. The main thing is not to tolorate him playing with your hands ... even when he's not biting or scratching. He got neutered a month ago and that seems to have calmed him down alot, also his 2nd teeth have come through now (maybe that was irritating him) ... He still bites the odd time, but its getting better.