4 Month Old Siamese Has Started Attacking Me

catandmala

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Hello everyone! I've recently been having a bit of problems with my 4 month old Siamese girl. She's started attacking me in the mornings while I'm sleeping. She never does this a night. At night she's cuddly and friendly and either sleeps curled up next to me or on her bed right next to mine. But for some reason she's taken to attacking me between 4-8 am. She generally starts by coming close to my face and biting my neck to wake me up. As soon as I'm up she jumps at me, sometimes at my face but usually at my arms and bites down HARD. And she is absolutely relentless. It doesn't matter what I do to try and deter it, she just keeps going. I've tried redirecting her with toys, no go. I've tried saying "ouch" and "no" loudly, sometimes I don't even have to try, it just comes out from the pain, but she doesn't care at all. I've tried saying no firmly then picking her up and putting her off the bed and ignoring her, but she just comes back in a few minutes and starts up again.

I really have no idea how to fix it. When I try not letting her in my room she starts meowing incessantly at the door until I let her in. The thing is, other then that four hour morning stretch, she is the cuddliest, sweetest adorable thing. She does pick fights with my dog sometimes which just usually results in him rolling over on his back as wiggles around. He hardly ever fights back and when he does it's a bark that usually tells her she's being to rough so she'll back off for a while.

I don't know if this is at all connected but she does have a problem with love bites. She's usually pretty gentle with them, but sometimes she'll be purring and head butting my check then all of a sudden go for a bite on the neck. She's still purring loudly but the neck bites hurt. Not sure how to break her of those either ...

Does anyone have any suggestions for breaking her of these habits? I'm out of ideas and starting to feel sleep deprived. :(
 

lamiatron

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Dang. i remember how that feels! being sleep deprived because of: cat.

okay, here are a few suggestions. things that have worked for me:

1) you need to tire your kitty out before bed time! this means, playing with her, with her favorite toy, for at least thirty mins before bed time. after heavy play, give her some food. after eating she will most likely groom herself, and then feel sleepy. when you're playing with your cat, you are actually simulating prey hunting. and by giving her food at the end of her play session, you are giving her the impression that she was a good kitty, she was able to catch and kill her "prey" and now she's eating it. cats are very wild, and their instincts never go away, so try to indulge that part of her, and it will help. 

2) be mindful of her body language when you are petting her. look out for her tail, is it twitching, her ears, are they back? these are signs that your cat has had enough of being pet, and doesn't want to be pet any longer. these signs are usually followed by a bite or scratching. so listen to your cats body, and my suggestion to you is to stop petting her once you notice these things, and leave her alone. walk away. if she wants more pets she'll come to you, if she doesn't come to you don't bother with her. she will calm down on her own. this is a great way to avoid those "love bites" because as she gets older, the "love bites" really hurt, and she will always bite you because she will be used to it at that point. My Charlie used to bite me so much when i used to pet him. I learned later that he doesn't have a long threshold for being pet, so once i notice his tail twitching, i walk away. biting avoided, and Charlie is happy and so am I.

3) I know the meowing is annoying, but you have to kick her out of the room when she attacks you again early in the morning. its normal for her to be up at that hour, she's a kitten and she filled with energy. it is also normal for her to bite you. its painful for you, but that's how she's "playing" with you. you need to let her know that its not okay for her to bite you and wake you up when you're not ready. kick her out of the room, and set an alarm for the time you will wake up. once the alarm goes off, acknowledge her, give her time, love pets and treats. over time, she will learn that she cannot try and wake you unless that alarm goes off. be patient with this and be consistent, it REALLY helps and works. both my cats leave me alone all night long. but once my alarm goes off, all bets are off and they are all over me in bed, because they have learned, that its now okay to play with mommy/bother her, because she's awake. I trained my kitties by crating them at night in their carriers, in my bedroom. once the alarm went off, i woke up and let them out. slowly slowly, i didn't need to crate them anymore, they just know that the alarm means mommy's awake, and until that alarm goes off, they steer clear of me.

i wish you lots of luck! the main thing here is that, your kitten is very young and full of energy. you've got to give her an outlet, which should be a good 15-30 play session with her favorite interactive toy at least twice a day. and you have to teach her its not okay for her to wake you when she wants to wake you, and you have to kick her out of the room if need be. she will slowly learn that what she is doing is not getting her anything positive, she will slowly adhere to your schedule.
 
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siamese mommy

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@Lamiatron- That's great advice! 


@CatandMala- I sympathize with the middle of the night meowing of the Siamese!  Mine can get so loud, I'm pretty sure it wakes my neighbors!  
 

loribeth

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I am having a similar issue with my 2 yr. old recent adoptee ...I had to start putting him out of the bedroom around 4am ..earplugs help!  They muffle his cries enough so I can go back to sleep ...try earplugs if you need to
 
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catandmala

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@Lamiatron thank you so much for the advice! I'm going to start on some structured play times ASAP! As for the petting, she doesn't do the ears back, but she might do the tail twitch, that wasn't something I was looking for. I'll be sure to look out for that next time. Again, thank you!

@Siamese Mommy oh my god yes. She can bring down the house with her meows sometimes!
 
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lamiatron

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Good Luck to you @CatandMala

and great tip with the ear plugs @LoriBeth. wish i had thought of that when i was going through kitty hell with my (then) kittens!

here is an article that will help you understand petting aggression a bit better:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/behavior/overstimulation-petting-related-aggression/ 

I suggest you look into the author, Jackson Galaxy. He's an amazing and informative cat behaviorist, and can offer great advise and tips on anything cat behavior/cat care related!! 

he has tons of videos on youtube, and he also has a show called "my cat from hell". i'm not sure which channel airs the show, but i've seen the first 3 seasons on netflix- instant watch. i HIGHLY recommend watching a few episodes, or looking up his videos if you have any questions or concerns with your kitty. Every episode of "my cat from hell" deals with different situations and issues involving cats, but each episode basically preaches about the basics and the foundations of good cat care. I learned A LOT from watching him. 

:)

your siamese girl is quite beautiful! so adorable and tiny and cute and aww :) 
 
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catandmala

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I thought that I should swing by and give an update! So after a few days of hour long playing sessions before bed followed by a feeding, I can gladly say that there has been some progress! My kitty hasn't attacked me at all in the morning, though she still does wake me up. At least it's only once, around six, and she just sort of paws at my nose with claws in so I don't mind. Thanks so much for the advice everyone! You're real life savers :)
 

lamiatron

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I thought that I should swing by and give an update! So after a few days of hour long playing sessions before bed followed by a feeding, I can gladly say that there has been some progress! My kitty hasn't attacked me at all in the morning, though she still does wake me up. At least it's only once, around six, and she just sort of paws at my nose with claws in so I don't mind. Thanks so much for the advice everyone! You're real life savers
AMAZING PROGRESS!!! Hooray :) i'm happy to see this...and only in a matter of a few days!

 
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catandmala

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AMAZING PROGRESS!!! Hooray :) i'm happy to see this...and only in a matter of a few days!
:clap:
There is still some work to be done, but it's certainly a lot better quicker than I thought it would be!
 

lamiatron

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just be persist ant!!! and consistency is key. trust me!! in no time to two of you will be synced up!! :)

Good Luck!!
 
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