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Help with Aggressive Male Cat...

post #1 of 7
2/23/10 at 7:21pm
Thread Starter 
My girlfriend and I adopted a male cat a while back. We got him when he was just a couple of weeks old and a few weeks later he became overly aggressive and playful. He is 6 months old now and we are forced to keep him in his pen most of the time. He is fine when we first get home, but then he gets playful and scratches, bites, and pounces on us. We both have scratches all over our arms and legs. Will neutering him make a significant difference? Any other suggestions would also be greatly apprecatied!
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post #2 of 7
2/23/10 at 8:29pm
It's possible that neutering will help him calm down, but honestly, he's just being a normal kitten. Make sure he's got a cat tree to crawl and scratch on. Also get some different kinds of scratchers for him. I have one girl who likes sisal and one who likes carpet, so try different kinds. Also, get some toys for him to "stalk" and pounce on. They can be something like the tops from milk jugs, straws, chenille craft sticks (fluffy pipe cleaners), wads of paper, and ping pong balls. Also you might get some interactive toys (feathers on a wand, or DaBird). This will give him something to pounce on other than you.
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post #3 of 7
2/23/10 at 9:14pm
Wait - you got him when he was a couple of WEEKS old or a couple of MONTHs old???

He sounds like a high energy normal kitten.... Yes - play with him... lots!!! Lots and lots of TOYS. Cat trees!!! Wand toys!

When he does something you do not like, you have to be like Mama cat... hiss at him or blow a puff of air in his face, say NO firmly and withdraw. You can toss him a toy or redirect his energy to a toy rather than hands and feet.

If you have been playing with him with your hands - using your hands as toys STOP STOP STOP.

Again, hiss, puff of air, no, replace hand with toy. He also needs to learn that hands are for petting, treats, etc... not for biting and scratching.
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post #4 of 7
2/23/10 at 9:35pm
Welcome to TCS!

Yes - definitely get him neutered ASAP. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't - but having those extra hormones will eventually make him worse.

What age exactly did you get him? Sometimes kittens who are taken too young from their mothers develop behavior issues, as they never had their mother/littermates to teach them the right & wrong.
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post #5 of 7
2/23/10 at 11:44pm
I have a male that plays too rough too, it is because I had to bottle raise him and he didn't have a momma cat 'explain' to him that when he plays, he bites too hard. Poodle hasn't grown out of it yet, at a year old.

When he does this I either blow in his face, hiss, say "owwww," set him down, or walk away from him. He has improved though, and I think he will eventually grow out of it.

I am not sure what you mean by:
Quote:
we are forced to keep him in his pen most of the time.
But I can't help but think that may be aggravating the problem. Depending on how much time he is in a pen, he may not be getting enough play time to burn some of his excess energy off.

My best advice it to get several toys including Da Bird, crinkle balls, jingle balls, and some fur mice. One way to keep them interested in toys is to rotate them, keep half of his toys in a container with catnip and rotate the toys out every couple weeks. To help him burn some of his energy and boredom (I think some hyper cats get into things because they are bored) play with him every day, several times a day if possible, wand toys are the best for this. Da Bird is the best wand toy, hands down.
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post #6 of 7
2/24/10 at 5:02am
Yes, he will more than likely grow out of it where he is still very young and neutering will most likely help. Also make sure that you don't encourage the rough play. A lot of people try to get their kitties going play wise and that only encourages them. A sharp "NO" has always worked for me. Good luck!
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post #7 of 7
2/26/10 at 7:06pm
Sounds like you definitely need to get some toys for your little guy, and never, never play with him with your hands. He sounds like a normal kitten, he just needs to learn what is OK to scratch at and what is not. Kittens have a LOT of energy, but if he has appropriate things to play with (that don't include your and gf's arms and legs... ) he should be able to work his energy out of his system.
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