catatonic kitten

my kitten is about thirteen weeks old, he's absolutely insane. he pounces and hops everywhere. he attacks anything in sight even if its not moving. it seems like he has no fears in the world. he also barks and us while we walk down the stairs. really cute, but odd. i have two other cats he loves to attack, one is a 10 year old male hes a big, fat ball of love and the other is an 8 year old female, she is very prissy. tiki(the kitten) will get into swatting wars with the female, she hisses non stop at him and growls. we tried holding his paws back and letting them smell eachother but the female doesnt seem to calm down. tiki is only playing but she doesnt see that. the male is more relaxed so it takes him longer to get angry. before he starts biting he pins the little one down and tries to clean him. but that doesnt last very long, he even hisses at tiki which is very unlike him. when tiki is tired or hungry he is very very lovely. he will kiss all over your face and nibble on your lip too. its adorable but after a couple minutes hes back into attack mode. we've tried everything, time outs (which he will just sleep out and go right back out and attack when its done) spraying him with water (only gets him wet. he doesnt care he'll attack when hes soaked) we got some herbal drops to put in his water for anxiety which did nothing, we scream ouch when he bites us, he forgets that quickly. nothing is working and im afraid hes going to get worse as he gets bigger and really hurt my other cats or himself.

For heaven's sakes - he's a kitten! It's what they do, and they have no more real control over it than an 18 mo. old child - it's not their fault they come with 'springs' and stings attached, but it's up to us to help them get through it, not try to smack them down. Don't offer your face for kisses if you can't take the consequences. Do remove the older cat to a safe place if not all the time, at least for some of the time. Do kitten-proof your place for the near future in terms of fragile valuables, or anything dangerous to kittens. Play directly with him or her to focus their energy a bit. DON"T spray them or hit them, but do hiss or blow air in their faces for serious misbehaviour. Don't yell at them - they don't get understand what they did wrong, but it upsets the heck out of them. They just don't connect cause and effect, so we have to be 'bigger' about it, accept who they are (if only til they're grown) and love them for what they are, not for what you wish they were.

All the discipline methods you have listed are what you might respond to, not a kitten. You have to think like a mom cat, you are mom know and it is up to you to teach boundaries and respect, safety and limits.............. Remember, kittens will be kittens!

yup, you have to be the meowmy....hiss, and blow air...but remember a kitten is a BUNDLE of energy and you have to sort of expect this stuff for a couple of months.

Your kitten is being a kitten! If he's bothering the older kitties and that's bothering you, then you have to distract him with play. It's just like a small child bothering an older sibling - the parent has to step in and give the little one something to do. Cats are no different.

Sounds like your little boy has lots of energy - and you're going to have to help him use it up! He needs LOTS of extra alone time play. Does he go nuts for a laser toy? These help work off a lot of energy for many cats/kittens.

You may want to help your older female associate kitty with good things. Rub him all over with some wash cloths or something and put one under each food dish out. Rub him all over with another one, and when you're giving her treats, put them on kitten-scented wash cloth.

When he's doing he something he shouldn't - like biting people, blow a short, sharp puff of air in his face. Set him down and ignore him. He's got to learn that bad behavior doesn't get him attention.

He's going to be teething soon - and he will need lots of appropriate things to chew on since he seems to be a little bitey to begin with. Buy a box of bendy straws and scatter them throughout the house. If he attacks arms, hands, ankles or feet (which you should not encourage by NEVER playing with him with hands or feet), pick up a bendy straw, give it to him and walk away.

The other cats are letting him know what their boundaries are. It's up to you to help use up that energy - and to let him know in a language he can understand what your boundaries are.

Do you have much vertical space for the cats? I know it helped older kitties in our house when there were kittens around. Then they can perch up out of the way.

Hope these ideas help,

Laurie

All my kittens were hellions at that age, but they all grew out of it. I would suggest for your older cats, maybe having a room that is off limits to the kitten for now where they can go and get away from him. The fighting, hissing etc is normal. The older cats are just telling him they have had enough. And, kittens WILL play fight. If he is play fighting with the older cats, let them be for a while (but keep an eye on them). That is how they learn. But, if it looks the the older cats are getting a little ticked off, distract the kitten with something else to play with.

A laser light is a GREAT idea, or even a wand. You can wear out a kitten pretty fast having him chase a wand or light. Of course, balls, etc are great or a small stuffed animal that they can "attack". I once made a toy using a small square box and getting a jingle ball and suspend it inside with string, and cut holes on the side big enough so my kitten could get his paw and arm inside and touch the ball, but he couldn't get it out. He spent HOURS playing with that thing! It drove him crazy!

Good luck!

Sounds like a normal kitten to me

The hissing between cats is normal, especially cats that barely know each other. You said you hold paws and let them smell each other, but by doing that you are basically forcing them to be near each other. I don't know how long you've had the kitten, but I would isolate the kitten in a room seperate from the older cats for now.

The kitten will need a lot of interactive play to burn off all that kitten energy. Feather teasers like Da Bird, laser toys, etc. are all great toys to help wear the kitten out.

I'm not really adding anything to what other people have already posted. The kitten will likely grow out of this after several months have gone by.

Originally Posted by LDG

Your kitten is being a kitten! If he's bothering the older kitties and that's bothering you, then you have to distract him with play. It's just like a small child bothering an older sibling - the parent has to step in and give the little one something to do. Cats are no different.

Sounds like your little boy has lots of energy - and you're going to have to help him use it up! He needs LOTS of extra alone time play. Does he go nuts for a laser toy? These help work off a lot of energy for many cats/kittens.

You may want to help your older female associate kitty with good things. Rub him all over with some wash cloths or something and put one under each food dish out. Rub him all over with another one, and when you're giving her treats, put them on kitten-scented wash cloth.

When he's doing he something he shouldn't - like biting people, blow a short, sharp puff of air in his face. Set him down and ignore him. He's got to learn that bad behavior doesn't get him attention.

He's going to be teething soon - and he will need lots of appropriate things to chew on since he seems to be a little bitey to begin with. Buy a box of bendy straws and scatter them throughout the house. If he attacks arms, hands, ankles or feet (which you should not encourage by NEVER playing with him with hands or feet), pick up a bendy straw, give it to him and walk away.


Do you have much vertical space for the cats? I know it helped older kitties in our house when there were kittens around. Then they can perch up out of the way.

Hope these ideas help,

Laurie

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Laurie, you have the best tips and advice ever! I knew about ignoring and also the laser toy, but bendy straws, never tought of that. Also, when I introduce a new cat to my house, I know now how to associate him/her with good things for my other cats. These tips are for sure going to be helpful...at least to me and my babies!

The kitten is being a kitten. He'll grow out of it.

The two older cats can take care of themselves. If the kitten goes too far, they'll let him know it.

Originally Posted by Mawilouwl

Laurie, you have the best tips and advice ever! I knew about ignoring and also the laser toy, but bendy straws, never tought of that. Also, when I introduce a new cat to my house, I know now how to associate him/her with good things for my other cats. These tips are for sure going to be helpful...at least to me and my babies!

Click to expand...

The bendy straws we found on our own - but the rest I learned here. Feel free to both use them and pass them on!

Laurie

Careful with the blowing in their face- you can get attacked big time and pretty quickly. Add some lemon oil (you can get it a really good health food store) to your hand lotion and start slathering it on areas kitty is biting, or spray some bitter apple on the parts kitty is biting. Although restraint is needed when kittens bite, punishing them will only make them bite harder. Start putting ping pong balls around the house or carry them in your pocket. When you see kitty coming in attack mode, throw the ball diagonally toward him. Remember, with kittens you want a playmate and they want a preymate. Cats are predators bottom line, if it moves, it's prey if it doesn't- it's fair game.