I can't control him!!!

I have come here to ask about my terrible kitten. I love him to death and I'm tired of being mad at him. I've read books taken peoples advice and I'm at my wits end trying to make this cat behave.

My kittens name is Natas, he is half ragdoll half siamese. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old (Birth: April 10, 2006), and I've tried to be as consistant as possible with him.

He is awful, he bites, he bites faces and hands and arms and feet. I know he is still a kitten and most of the time he's playing, but I don't want him to play with feet and FACES especially because there are children that come around on the off occassion. He eats my plants and tries to eat food I have out. I guess it's mostly the biting and attacking that I'm worried about, the other stuff is just icing on the bad cake.

I've tried using the water spray bottle, but he got used to it and just sat there taking it and enjoying the refreshing drink. I've tried saying NO very clearly and loudly and he won't move, instead he'll come and bite me. I've tried clapping, I've tried saying NO loudly once and the second time picking him up and saying NO and putting him away from the object in his destructive path.

I'm really frustrated, I just want him to cuddle more and I don't want to be mad at him all the time.

Please help me!

How old is he now? I have a kitten that is 4 months and she bites and chews toes and fingers but its never to draw blood. BUT since she is a kitten she is ALSO annoying alot of the time, she also tries to get into whatever food I have out. Last night she discovered our closet and that she can climb up our clothes using her claws to get to the top shelf. What we do with her when she does something like that is we tell her NO loudly and then put her in a room with just her litter box, no food or water. No lights, no sounds. She will shove her face down at the bottom of the door and cry and cry, but she does learn. It is hard to listen to her cry but she is learning that if we tell her no, the next time she hears it she is going in the room and she gets no contact with anyone. There seems to be some progress with this. Is there a way you can put Natas in a room by himself for some time when he does something bad? Then when you let him out if he does it again, put him back.

I am teaching my kitten rules like I learned them as a child....it seems to be working I guess my parents did a good job after all

I agree with the above poster.
Henri is much the same. She gets "fixated" on things. Usually cords, the phone antenna, necklaces.. anything that catches her eye that she can fit in her mouth. Once she locks onto something as a prey object, NOTHING can deter her.

Now, as soon as she goes for something she shouldn't be playing with, I scoop her up and put her in the laundry room for a few minutes. By that time, she is calm and has forgotten about whatever it was she wanted.

I give my guys lots and lots of toys. They seem to be occupied with those things more so than us. However some times when they play they would bite but not to hurt you just a small touch with their teeth. In the beginning when I got Marbles (he was 7 or 8 weeks old) he was biting to a point I didn't want to play with him. After not playing with him and not giving him any attention he eventually stopped. I am no expert by any means I am very new to cats and learning myself but I thought I would chime in on this one as I had the same issue with one of my boys.

Im right there with you guys!
I have a 5 month old male siamese mix who drives me insane on a daily bases.
I am inches away from donating him to my friend ( he is a single man who needs some company so thats why i say donate).

After the new year i am taking him in to get fixed. I am hoping that calms him down. I mean he steals food off my plate, and is always trying to take it from you while eat.
he bites, attackes you, climbs up walls, destroys furniture...I have just about had it.

the only reason I havent gotten rid of him is beacuse i have taken care of him since he was two weeks old and I am afraid I will miss him dearly.

I am hoping the surgery will help...is your cat fixed?

I was also wondering if you would consider giving him time out. Find a safe place that when he misbehaves, instead of getting mad at him, simply pick him up and put him in the room and shut the door.

You can start with maybe 15 minutes and then depending on how that goes, you may need to increase to 20 to 25 minutes.

When you are ready to let him out, talk to him gently, tell him he's a good boy and pet him. Then let him out and see if his behavior is any better. This will take time, but maybe it will help break the unhappy, mad-type cycle with something calmer.

By the way, Welcome to TheCatSite.

Sounds like every litten, lol!

I know the feeling, I have found that coins in a tin can (think coffee can) make the best noise to startle cats. Say the cat jumps on the counter, first shout a angry "NO!" then shake your can if the cat doesn't respend. Also getting closer and closer to them while shaking the can works wonders.

If that doesn't work, try hissing. Sounds absolutly crazy, but this is how his momma cat would deal with the biting ans scrathing, and etc. If he goes in for a bite hiss, make it as realistic, mean, and loud as possible.

Good luck, and I swear, they grow out of the terrible crazy kitten stage!

One thing you didn't mention (I don't think) is if he is neutered or not? that makes all the difference in the world with agressive kittens. He is way more then old enogh and if he isn't altered yet, that is probably not helping his aggression.

Originally Posted by Longhornchick29

put her in a room with just her litter box, no food or water. No lights, no sounds.

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Sort of harsh, isn't it?

I have 5 growing kittens with different degrees of aggression. The worst are Ichy and Go. Neutering helped calm them down but prior to the surgery, I was wondering was it worth rescuing the buggers.
Time outs (lighted room, litterbox, toys and treats), loud sudden sounds and hissing work for me. Kittenhood is temporary after all and I don't mind watching it naturally fade away.

I have a male that still attacks me and draws blood. My legs seem to be a gigantic chew toy . I get attacked when I least expect it because he is a spoiled brat and I allowed it to happen. Is he neutered? That might help calm him down if he is not . The only other suggestion I have is to get an empty Coke can put some pennies in it and duct tape the opening . Try to keep the can hidden, and shen he does something he is not supposed to do yell a firm NO and shake the can at the same time. Can't promise it will work, but it's worth a shot. I think putting kitty in time out is O.K. but cats don't have a long memory so I wouldn't keep them in a shut room for more than 15 mins.

I don't think that putting my kitten in a room with just her litterbox is too harsh. I don't want yall to think that. I don't leave her in the room for more than 5 minutes, but I do think that no toys and no food plays a factor. It's like a child, when sent to his room if he has a TV and video games and other things to do, he forgets why he is in there. Someone else on here already said cats don't have a long memory, so why put a misbehaving kitten in a room with all its toys and food? After 5 mins. she comes out again and if she goes right back to what she was doing that I didn't want her doing she goes in her room again. I know that cats and children are very different, BUT I also believe that they DO understand when they have done something wrong, and should be put in a room where they are not allowed the luxury of playing with toys. I know that they are just kittens and they will grow out of it too, but I want her to learn early what is acceptable and not acceptable.

I have not had any luck with any coins in cans...she doesn't get scared of it, she would rather sniff it.

Originally Posted by KatKisses

Sounds like every litten, lol!

If that doesn't work, try hissing. Sounds absolutly crazy, but this is how his momma cat would deal with the biting ans scrathing, and etc. If he goes in for a bite hiss, make it as realistic, mean, and loud as possible.

Good luck, and I swear, they grow out of the terrible crazy kitten stage!

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My last foster kitten was a very aggressive (and easily overstimulated!) singleton . I added time out (in the bathroom) to the growling and hissing (that I did with my previous fosters, as well as my current cats that we got as kittens ) and it worked really, really well. I really didn't know what I was going to do with her(I couldn't adopt her out with her being that aggressive in her play -not to mention when she meant it!), but by 5 months, she was much, much better (we also got ther spayed at 5 months before she left) and found a nice home with people who were used to dealing with her type of play (she was also very, very sweet when she wasn't chewing on you or trying to bend you to her will-LOL) .

Originally Posted by catsallover

My last foster kitten was a very aggressive (and easily overstimulated!) singleton

. I added time out (in the bathroom) to the growling and hissing (that I did with my previous fosters, as well as my current cats that we got as kittens

) and it worked really, really well. I really didn't know what I was going to do with her(I couldn't adopt her out with her being that aggressive in her play -not to mention when she meant it!), but by 5 months, she was much, much better (we also got ther spayed at 5 months before she left) and found a nice home with people who were used to dealing with her type of play (she was also very, very sweet when she wasn't chewing on you or trying to bend you to her will-LOL)

.

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I'd say she was the twin of mine but I know where that littermate is and she's a calm sweet thing they named "Baby". Our cat was a foster we've had since 2 weeks of age who by 8 weeks of age showed all the signs of being a mighty little hunter. Everything pretty much falls into the prey or play category for him, except when he wants some loving from us...on his own terms of course. We had him neutered at ten weeks and I can't say it helped much but it did probably help him from developing even more aggressive tendencies. My legs were quite shredded from his constant attacks and that did grandually subside but he does still play bite. I keep a large dog sized pet taxi in the living room and when he gets too aggressive he goes in there and it does calm him down.

Outside of the fact that he doesn't like to cuddle and is Mr. Extra Feisty he's a lovely and very social cat. But I'll be the first one to admit this guy is NOT the cat for everyone and probably not the temperament I would have picked out had I been doing the choosing for our first family pet. Tonight my mom came to town and met him for the first time and she commented "He's really wild, isn't he?" (His hissing at her probably didn't help ). I'm a veteran mother of an extremely strong willed child who marches to his own drum just like this kitty does and that's helped a lot in putting aside expectations and accepting him for who he is.

There have been lots of great ideas here! I have one to add...get some long toys so you can play with your kitten, and he can't catch your hands! My Garfield STILL likes to grab the hand dangling the toy, and he is 2-1/2 years old! I have to be sure the toy is really long, or hanging off a stick, or Gar WILL inflict damage to get the toy!

Don't give up on your kittens...of course they are wilder than older cats! But they will grow up, and life will get easier!

Ah the memories! Bijou was similar to your baby when he was a kitten. He would chase my legs when I was walking and I had more scratches and little nips on my feet and legs than you would believe. He calmed down after neutering and I used the hissing trick which also worked (well, until he forgot and did it again and then more hissing). At any rate, he outgrew it and is now probably one of the most gentle and loving cats I've been blessed to share my life with. There isn't a nasty bone in his big, beautiful body. If he gets a little rough now, I just have to say "OW" fairly loudly and he backs right off.

Hang in there and I'm sure your patience will be rewarded.

Have you tried hissing? Our cat Poe just nipped me because I was overstimulating him. I grabbed the back of his neck and gently pushed down and he nipped me again, so I hissed at him and he took off for a few minutes, then came back, meowed, so I petted him to let him know everything was cool and now he's relaxing in the bedroom. I've tried saying "NO" and don't believe the squirt gun is very nice and loud noises don't work. The hissing he seems to understand perfectly. So I just do that. If he's REALLY misbehaving I'll also completely ignore him for 20-30 minutes as well. That seems to add insult to injury and he'll often go off and sulk for a while.

I've only had to lock him in another room once and that was because he kept trying to steal my wife's dinner off her plate. We of course let him out after she finished though and it was less a punishment and more a "let us eat in peace" kind of thing. hehe.

I'm also going to give on up scruffing him like the mothers do because he doesn't seem to understand that one either.

When will this work?
Benson was neutered Thursday & he is still aggressive.

Because your cat is half siamese, he maybe a little bit aggrassive, it's natural for him, it's in his character. I think you are to respect his independence and to make him respect yours.

Originally Posted by crazyforinfo

When will this work?
Benson was neutered Thursday & he is still aggressive.

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It will take a while for the horomones to settle down- I don't remember how long (sorry), but several weeks at least .

Originally Posted by catsallover

It will take a while for the horomones to settle down- I don't remember how long (sorry), but several weeks at least

.

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It takes about a month