playful kitten or kitten from hell?

wonderchild

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We have had our kitten for about a month now and she was only a few weeks old when we found her. The first day or two she was calm but ever since then she has been very aggressive. I would say that about 98% of the time she is biting and/or scratching. There is no middle ground. She's either asleep or off the wall.  It's to the point where you can't even actually pet her because she will bite and scratch you. We have to sleep with our doors closed or else she will claw her way up the bed to bite. And if you're sitting down somewhere (or even standing up) she will climb your leg. Her claws and teeth are getting very sharp and it actually hurts a lot.

This could very well be just kitten behavior. Kittens and puppies tend to be rambunctious and playful but is this just playful behavior? Will she grow out of this? I'm concerned because my other cat Halen, when I was a child, would actually hunt me down (literally chasing me around the house) and attack me. I don't know if he just didn't like children or the sound of my voice but eventually he grew out of it. Old age softened him and towards the end of his life (we had to put him down 3 months ago) he was the most loving cat imaginable. But during his younger years he was very aggressive and not in a playful way. I'm worried that our kitten is going down that road. However, I don't think she's being mean. She's very friendly. If anything when she's afraid she tends to calm down.

Is there anything we can do about it? Should we be worried? Unfortunately this behavior isn't making her pleasant to be around..

Any help would be appreciated!

Don't be deceived by her cuteness..

 

catpack

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1.) How old was the kitten when you got it? When you say a few weeks old, I think 3-4 wks. How old is she now?

2.) Do you have any other cats in the house?

My guess is she is an only cat?

It sounds as if she hasn't received proper kitten socialization...meaning, having been taken from mom at an early age (for whatever reason) and not having other kittens/cats to learn from, she hasn't learned what is appropriate play behavior.

I think your IS playing; but, it's an aggressive play because she hasn't learned when she goes too far.

The BEST way to help correct this is to get another kitten that
1.) Has been socialized properly (with both people and other cats/kittens) and
2.) Is high energy and can hold their own against another rambunctious kitten.

It is possible to make some progress without getting another kitten; but, you often don't get the same results.

What types of toys does she have? Do you have multiple play sessions with her daily? Does she have a tall cat tree to climb? What about stuffed animals (slightly larger than she is) to wrestle with?
 

the3rdname

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Maybe she didn't get enough socialization, but she might simply be on the high energy side of the kitten spectrum.  Play aggression is perfectly normal, she just happens to get overly excited and doesn't understand that she's gone too far.  A lot of people have success yelling OW! in a high-pitched voice when their kitten bites or digs in their claws.  Redirection is also a typically successful strategy: have a substantial toy handy, like a Kong Kickeroo, and substitute it for your hand/foot/whatever when she tries to bite or wrestle with you.  I have two kittens (7 mos. old now) that are prone to over-excitement (maybe the result of generations of highly successful feral cats?) and I will calmly remove my hand and say "No pets" if Rumi or Tavi tries to use me like a big kitten.  They get the hint after a couple of tries (or, rather, they surrender since they're probably deliberately pushing their boundaries- teenagers!).  

My adolescent boys have always been roughhousers...I think it's just in their blood 
  Goodness knows they've drawn plenty of *my* blood 
 

Also, the more exercise she gets, the calmer she'll be.  At least 15 min. of wand toy play a day, preferably keep going until she's visibly exhausted or get in multiple sessions a day, with lots of zooming around and jumping.  She'll mellow out with age, too...however, kittens do get a little turbo boost around adolescence, so the bad news is that things will get worse before they get better.  

I can see the mischief in that self-satisfied kitten smile, btw!  Someone's dreaming of new ways to drive you crazy 
 
 
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wonderchild

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She's about 8 weeks. She was found in a box with a few other kittens, no mother though.

We have another cat in the house, much older, and they play together all the time. They both seem to enjoy it and I was really surprised with how well they hit it off.  Do you think we would see the same effect with my another cat?

We have a few different toys we picked up (scratching post, balls) and a few that we made (rolled up socks, a rolled up hand towel (that he likes)).  But he seems to get the most pleasure out of chasing the other cat around. We usually just use the toys when we need to distract him, but I think we need to have a more formal playtime.

Thank you both for the suggestions!
 

jstie

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Haha!  Your subject line was the one *I* was about ready to write!  Smike showed up in our yard about 6 weeks ago: tiny, skeletal, terrified, eyes sealed shut with crud.  We put food out for him for almost a week (which he ate under the lawn tractor), and finally he just sat in the driveway, looked at us and started to cry.  (So did my husband and I.)  He let me walk up to him and pick him up, and he just started to purr.  From 2 pounds of little bird bones and pus and snot and eye crud and worms and Giardia and ear mites, he is now four pounds of glossy black fur, big golden eyes, a megaphone purr and ENERGY!!!  My husband calls him the Little Black Meteor.  He pounces on the other boys, who are amazingly tolerant, and has huge wrestling matches with our border collie.  He ricochets though the house, break dances all over the bed at 3 AM (sigh), steals anything little enough to pick up and whack under the refrigerator.  He nips and grabs and puffs up for imaginary reasons.  We haven't had a baby kitty (the vet guessed him at 9 weeks when we found him) in 9 years, so we'd just forgotten what they're like!  Luckily, when he gets too violent, we can just set him firmly on the floor and ignore him - playtime stops.  Well, at least with us - he just goes bopping off to find something else to do.  But yeah, lots of toys and wand waving and throwing catnip mousies down the hall, and no wrestling with OUR body parts.  He launches himself at the other cats, and they're very good about letting him know when enough is enough, so he's getting the idea.  It's just a good thing they're so darn FUNNY and CUTE - gets you through this nutty phase!!

Julie & Smike
 

berghill

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We are having the same trouble with this new kitten,Jemma. She is probably  now 13 weeks old and we have had her for 6 weeks. (Found in the hedge along our  country lane.) She is manic and irrepressible. She attacks hands and climbs legs, as described by Wonderchild. She also attacks the computer cables. The electric ones we have managed to get out of her reach, but the others cannot be moved.

Our two older (5 years) cats are not happy with her as she attacks them whenever they come into the house.

We have tried all the things suggested above, plenty of toys, plenty of exercise. Whenever she attacks the cables she is removed from the room and put in the Kitchen with the door closed.

Very difficult to know how to deal with her. Hopefully, when she has been neutered and can go outside she will calm down.
 

rachelinaz

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When Wally gets wild (and sometimes Ana)... we will say "No bite Walter! No bite! Or "Ana... no scratch. Let go. We do no scratch!". And then positive reinforcement, petting snd positive talk.

Both have gotten a lot better, but there are times and we have 4 cats within 6 weeks of each other.
 

smaylala

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When they are scratching or biting STOP. Don't make a big deal of it just stop all attention bad or good all together and redirect play aggression with toys. The wand toys (stick with a little toy or feather on the end) works wonders!!! :)
 
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