Single Kitten Syndrome?

Yo. I adopted a bottle fed kitten stray from work about three months ago. He's doing very well. Sometimes very loving and at others very erratic and aggressive. He treats everything as prey. I was warned at work about how interesting bottle fed cats are and how painful. Heh. My girlfriend is cut head to toe. He's being a bit better now (not using his claws as much), but he still bites pretty hard. I pinch him slightly and scruff him when he is bad. My girlfriend and I work very hard and during the day he is alone in our bedroom. When he come home, we've been feeling as though he is lonely and could use another cat for company and that they'll teach each other. She is a 3 month old female (spayed, shots, microchip) up for adoption. Pretty sweet. Would it be a good idea? Help them both? Whaddaya think? Thanks.

You pinch your cat?!

I have 3 bottle babies and only one of them exibits any aggresive behavior and that's only because he started life as a frozen kitten-tart. I honestly don't know if bringing another cat into that situation would be healthy. I'll let someone else answer that.

Please stop pinching your kitty...if you respond to aggression with more aggression, he won't learn.

On the other hand, I think you're spot on with him being bored. A single kitten will definitely be bored and lonely. Another kitten should help. Lots of kittens bite, and there are strategies to stop the behavior. When I've had kittens bite, usually on my hands, I stop movement with my hand, blow a puff of air at them, which surprises them, then gently take my hand away, and I substitute a toy. Don't rough house play with the kitten using your hands...many people roll the kittens over and rub their bellies during play while the kitten bites and rabbit kicks. This teaches the kitten that it is okay.

I would also suggest learning to clip your kittens claws. It's easy to learn, and done weekly should help the kitten not be able to scratch you both up so much.

Good luck, and congrats on your new babies!

I'm not sure a female is the way to go with your cat, and a younger male may be a better idea. A lot of male cats tend to be rough with females and it would be a shame to have to rehome either of them because of this, especially as yours is aggressive to begin with (obviously had to defend himself out there before you got him). I'd think about it anyway.

IMO if the kitten is a single kitten, he needs to have an older cat - not a younger one to teach him proper manners. A neutered male a few months older would be ideal.

And you need to clip nails at least once a week.

I would agree with the older neutered male as a companion. We adopted a 2 month old terror a couple months ago. He was REALLY food aggressive, REALLY bitty, scratchy, all of the above. The older male has really put him in his place. Our odler male, Enzo, is only a year old but at least he could hold his ground with the little one and still teach him a thing or too.