Quote:
Originally Posted by Harliqueen 
hello,
I have a kitten who is about 6 months old. I adopted her from a family when she was about 1 month. She is very aggressive. I have tried everything to make her stop biting and scratching. I have told her no in an assertive voice, I have used a water bottle to spray at her, I have redirected her aggressiveness towards a hanging toy, I have seperated her or ignored her, I have stopped playing with her when she gets too aggresive. Nothing seems to work cause she still bites me and my face and scratches up my arms. She just recently got spayed so I figured it may calm her temper, but it didn't at all. I am at a lost I don't know what else to do...I really don't want to get rid of her, but I am so lost right now
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You say you got her when she was only one month old, that is the root of the problem. She has missed out completely on the secondary socialisation phase that starts from 7-8 weeks and continues until 3-4 months of age. During that time the kitten will learn from its littermates and/or mother what is acceptable behaviour, for example; it should not bite or scratch others because it hurts when they bite or scratch her.
A kitten of 4 weeks is also not weaned yet and the weaning process helps a kitten to learn it can't always get what it wants, it learns to deal with frustration as the mother slowly makes nursing impossible more often.
Does she really come after you or does she only bite/scratch when handled ?
If she only does it when handled, try to handle her less so as not to give her an opportunity to hurt you. When you need to handle her, wear something to protect your arms and hands (gloves, biker gear, sports equipment, whatever). Yes it might feel weird but whatever works, right ? When attacking you has little effect because it does not hurt you she might try to attack you even harder at first. Compare it to a human who starts a machine by pushing a button, when one day they press the button and nothing happens, what do they do ? Push the button several times and push it harder, maybe even kick the machine !
If she finds her behaviour has no effect she must try something ele, try to reward good behaviour (praise, treats, play) to reinforce it.
Or does she actively seeks you out to attack you ? Again, do not give her a reaction ! Protect yourself if necessary so you don't give involuntary reactions. Interact with her when she is calm and/or at a distance by means of a toy on a string.
Maybe she is bored, try to play with her, enrich her environment (give her as much space as possible with possibility to climb, play food games, etc) and maybe consider adopting a very secure older cat that can teach her some kitty manners.
It is very important to be consistent and stick with a method for a longer period, because like I explained before she will keep trying her old behaviour for a while first, since it has always worked so well for her.
Is it possible for you to trim her nails ?
When I got dEUS he was a bit of a biter, whenever he tried to chew on my hands I did not pull away but pushed the side of my hand (or a big part of my finger) further into his mouth. Gently of course. he never liked that very much and quickly learned to stop biting my hands.