Kitten attacking my hands!!

Steve_o

I rescued a kitten from a hedge about 3 months ago, he's a lovely little guy, happy and healthy, was recently neutered and the vet said he's in perfect condition, he's about 4 months old now. The only thing is, he attacks myself and my girlfriend's hands and arms, he uses both claws and teeth, leaves nasty cuts too!! I've gotten toys for him and he will play with them for a while but then he just gets bored and wants to pounce and attack our hands again... This isn't all the time mind you, he's very affectionate a lot of the time and just wants to sleep beside us, but when he gets hyper, he goes into "attack mode".

Before rescuing him, I've never had cats so I'm wondering is this normal kitten behaviour and something he will grow out of? Do we just have to keep trying to encourage him to play with the toys?

Cheers,
Steve.

Nody

It's normal but it sounds as he may have missed some socialisation as young from his siblings as well; one thing to do is to redirect the aggression. One of the best ways of doing that is with something like da bird which you can have him chase until he can't do it any more. The other thing is to directly stop any play once he goes after you with claws; turn away and walk away and he'll learn to keep his claws in (most of the time).

The good news is he will settle down from the crazy kitten state he's currently in but it will take another couple of months at least and with the use of redirection you can get him to play out his aggression on the toys instead leaving you with a cuddly furball.

Steve_o

Thanks a million, I'll definitely try to redirect his aggression, He probably did miss out on socialization with his siblings, he was very tiny when we found him, not sure where he came from or how he ended up stuck under a hedge.

Thanks again for the advice.

boomerang

Are they interactive toys that he gets bored with? I would suggest when he gets bitey that you redirect his energy with a wand toy, like the Da Bird or even a short wand toy from the petshop. Oh and if he is indoor-only right now, you can trim the very tips of his front claws with a nail clippers so he'll inflict less damage! The quick is very easy to see.

Steve_o

Ya I have a toy for him similar to Da Bird which he does play with for ages, then he just loses interest in it and goes back to attacking our hands, he has fairly endless energy at times, but I will keep trying to re-direct his aggression away from us and hope he grows out of this phase.

Mr E

Tell me I'm not the only one who wants to see kitten pics.

Steve_o

Ha! Ok here's a couple of random ones of him!

Edit: Just noticed that 2 of these photos are actually counter productive to my OP... haha

boomerang

It's a good idea to have a couple of different wand toys, rather than just the one, because they do get bored with just one type.

Steve_o

boomerang wrote: »

It's a good idea to have a couple of different wand toys, rather than just the one, because they do get bored with just one type.

I actually hadn't thought of that! I'll pick up another couple, hopefully that'll keep him entertained.

boomerang

They are really cheap on Zooplus. I have ones featuring a green featherboa, a sprig of multicolour feathers, crinkly foil balls or a squeaky mouse at the end! The trick is to switch out the toy before he gets bored with it.

Steve_o

boomerang wrote: »

They are really cheap on Zooplus. I have ones featuring a green featherboa, a sprig of multicolour feathers, crinkly foil balls or a squeaky mouse at the end! The trick is to switch out the toy before he gets bored with it.

Brilliant I will do that!! I've never had cats before so all this advice is hugely appreciated!

Pumpkinseeds

What a gorgeous kitten, and huge paws. Our 4 love ping pong balls and tinfoil balls, but they won't play with the tinfoil balls if they're bigger than a marble:rolleyes:, balls are great for wearing them out. Other great pouncing things are poking a stick, any stick like a plant cane etc, poked under a newspaper or in a big paper bag with the handles cut off is a big hit here. They love the sound of rustling paper and poking under things. Of all the toys they have it's the freebies like tinfoil balls, paper bags and random leaves that blow in the door that they love most.:)

Taxburden carrier

Steve_o wrote: »

I rescued a kitten from a hedge about 3 months ago, he's a lovely little guy, happy and healthy, was recently neutered and the vet said he's in perfect condition, he's about 4 months old now. The only thing is, he attacks myself and my girlfriend's hands and arms, he uses both claws and teeth, leaves nasty cuts too!! I've gotten toys for him and he will play with them for a while but then he just gets bored and wants to pounce and attack our hands again... This isn't all the time mind you, he's very affectionate a lot of the time and just wants to sleep beside us, but when he gets hyper, he goes into "attack mode".

Before rescuing him, I've never had cats so I'm wondering is this normal kitten behaviour and something he will grow out of? Do we just have to keep trying to encourage him to play with the toys?

Cheers,
Steve.

You obviously haven't put up the Christmas tree yet Steve

Steve_o

Taxburden carrier wrote: »

You obviously haven't put up the Christmas tree yet Steve

Ha, Ya we're putting it up tomorrow and we're resigned to the inevitable toppling / destruction / annihilation of said tree!! hahaha

We might get some good photos / videos out of it though!

Steve_o

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

What a gorgeous kitten, and huge paws. Our 4 love ping pong balls and tinfoil balls, but they won't play with the tinfoil balls if they're bigger than a marble:rolleyes:, balls are great for wearing them out. Other great pouncing things are poking a stick, any stick like a plant cane etc, poked under a newspaper or in a big paper bag with the handles cut off is a big hit here. They love the sound of rustling paper and poking under things. Of all the toys they have it's the freebies like tinfoil balls, paper bags and random leaves that blow in the door that they love most.:)

Cheers!! I'll give those things a try out! I'm willing to give anything a go!

zef

I was given a 3-4 week old kitten by a woman at my door 3 yrs ago because she heard I 'liked cats'. Poor little mite was not socialised at all and on a routine visit to my GP she asked me was I self harming! as my hands were cut to bits from her scratches.
I learnt not to engage with her when she was getting bitey/ scratchy. Say 'ow!' loudly if she hurts you. Give a bit of time out then reassure her you're still her friend with toys as described above a few mins afterwards.
Good luck with her, i found i have a special bond with her compared to my other 2 (i love them too!) as i reared her from such a young age.

aonb

OP I was in exactly the same position as you - have never had a cat in my life and found a half dead litter (well 2 siblings dead, 2 I couldnt catch) under a hedge. Im left now with "Tux", a female nutter kitten, that is ruling our house and totally settled in.

She was feral so we have been running the gamut of claws/teeth/scratches/bites but the good folks on here gave me some ideas/tips/suggestions. Ive found that the best solution for us and Tux when she gets hyper/aggressive mode is to get a stuffed toy for her to bite/claw. I shove one onto her belly and the teeth/claws sink in immediately! I bought several Tux-sized ones in the charity shop. The wand toys I had got eaten by the JRT but agree with the posts that paper balls/plastic or cellophane bags/paper bags/boxes are very popular. Our house is littered with screwed up newspaper balls!!

This will get me given out to no doubt, but I found that a loud NO! and a tap with my finger on her forehead when she starts biting/clawing, then put on the ground was very helpful too

She is fast asleep on my lap now, and has definately improved in the last couple of weeks viz the biting/clawing, so hopefully your Toby will settle down as he grows too. Hes smashing by the way!

Zapperzy

Next time your drinking a can of guinness, cut out the plastic ball out of it and give it a wash. It's lightweight like a table tennis ball and easy for them to bat around. Any sort of cardboard box or paper bag is a cat magnet too. They especially love the cardboard boxes and packaging of expensive cat items you've bought them to ignore!

Gosub

Get one of those laser pointer thingies. He will chase the dot around the floor for about 15 minutes then will be very quiet for a while.

Works with multiple kittens too. Our 3 will climb all over each other to get to the dot. :pac:

Steve_o

Zapperzy wrote: »

Next time your drinking a can of guinness, cut out the plastic ball out of it and give it a wash. It's lightweight like a table tennis ball and easy for them to bat around. Any sort of cardboard box or paper bag is a cat magnet too. They especially love the cardboard boxes and packaging of expensive cat items you've bought them to ignore!

Gosub wrote: »

Get one of those laser pointer thingies. He will chase the dot around the floor for about 15 minutes then will be very quiet for a while.

Works with multiple kittens too. Our 3 will climb all over each other to get to the dot. :pac:

Both great ideas! Cheers all! And thanks aonb, I'm rather fond of him alright!