my precious little terror.

Hi Cat lovers! I'm super stoked this website exists.

My girlfriend and I adopted an adorable all black 8 week old kitten in May. Although I'm definitely a non discriminatory animal enthusiast, I used to consider myself more of a dog person. Clemson has definitely changed that. I adore him.
There's just one little bitty problem...
He likes to attack my girlfriend, viciously. A lot.
At first, we excused it as normal kitten behavior. It's expected; the normal play biting/scratching. We made it a point to spend at least an hour a day playing with him; careful to not use things that would encourage attacking body parts. Instead we used laser pointers, mice on string, feathers, etc. (We still do this).
When the unprovoked attacks started becoming aggressive, we tried using a water bottle. Then I read that was terrible, but it didn't matter anyway because it turns out Clemson loves water. Then we tried the distraction method. Then the clapping method. Then the walking away method. Nothing really seemed to work. We were told when we got him neutered, he would calm down. He hasn't calmed down at all.
In his defense, he is only 5 months old. Still a baby, I know. But it's really starting to drive my girlfriend crazy. Especially when he makes her bleed. He rarely acts aggressively towards me for some reason, though I feel we've each bonded with him equally. He still sleeps in our bed when he he isn't too wild. I've noticed this behavior is usually most common in the morning, which is unfortunate because my girlfriend works from home and that is when she gets most of her work done. Periodically throughout the day he still continues to attack her and any guests we may have over; though some times are more vicious than others. He'll sporadically attack me but usually as soon as I clap my hands or snap my fingers, he stops. He's not so obedient with her or anyone else.
We adore our little baby. When he's tired, he curls up in our arms and it's the sweetest thing. We would never consider abandoning him or giving him away, I'm just wondering if there is some method I've yet to read about that would be effective in at least taming the aggressiveness of his playful nature.
Any and all cat mom advice is much appreciated.

That is just one of the problems I am having with my kitten from HELL, I posted a rather lengthy posting and the title is "Crazy Kitten or the Kitten from Hell" feel free to read it and be grateful you only have one bad behavior from Clemson! Good luck!

Welcome to the forums.  Here are a few suggestions.  When did you get him neutered?  It can take awhile after the neuter for him to calm down.  So give it some time.  Also he is a kitten with high energy and he needs lots and lots of play time.   Try to break the play time up into smaller more frequent sessions. 

You may want to try the hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep theory.  Get a great wand toy ( da bird is the best) or laser pointer.  Really get him moving.  If you can get some vertical space such as a cat tree for him to climb and jump up onto.  You want to use the toy for the hunt, catch, kill.  Really tire him out.  When he is tired, offer a special treat or small meal for the "eat" portion.  Make it something special not just an ordinary treat.  Next he should groom himself and then take a nap. 

Water bottles are not a good idea as it just makes the cat fear you.  You don't want that.  I would suggest getting the kittens nails trimmed and learning to trim them yourselves.  It's really not too hard if you start young.  Short clipped nails will really help.  His behavior is truly wild kitty behavior.  He needs lots and lots of play time to burn off the energy.  A tired kitty will be a better behaved kitty. 

When he attacks your girlfriend, you need to remove him and give him a firm No.  If he continues, you can place him in time out ( a small room of his own that is safe) for a few minutes.  Then bring him back out.  If he does it again, do time out again.  It may take him awhile.  Yet do reward good behavior. 

Some people have suggested that when he acts that way to give a sharp hiss.  Not in his face, just hiss.  It is what his mother or another cat would do to stop inappropriate behavior. 

Just remember he is young.  Yet you do need to stop his attacks.  Nail trimmings and having your girlfriend where long sleeves or long pants too for the time being.  Also be sure to never use body parts as toys.  It is so common to use our hands and fingers to get a kittens attention.  When you scratch on the floor or put your hand under a blanket, it just egging the kitten on.  He does not know that your hand/fingers are not toys. 

I hope others will come along and help out too.

Hi! I just read your article. Believe it or not, I actually had some similar problems with Clemson aside from just the attacking issues (and still do from time to time; although I have found some methods that help). For example, the furniture issue: Clemson almost destroyed my favorite antique chair. However, I heard sticky paws (basically just a double sided tape available at pet stores, but I'm sure any double sided tape would do) worked great for preventing scratching on furniture. So, I put some on the side of the chair and the arm of the chair where he loved to scratch. I then placed a cardboard scratching board right beside the chair. It worked like a charm. I was eventually able to remove the tape from the chair as Clem isnt even interested in scratching it anymore. As far as the curtains go, I simply tied them out of reach when I wasn't home, and distracted him with toys when I was at home and he starting to pounce on them. I also was able to trim his nails, which made the scratching attacks on me (and my furniture) less detrimental. I know right now it may seem like your cat would go insane, but if you start them young they do grow  accustomed to the nail trimmings. It's also a much better alternative than the declawing method, which I find to be very cruel. It helps if while trimming the nails, you give them treats periodically. I actually watched a you tube video on this and after the first trimming (which was a little rough), it gradually got better. Good luck with Charlie; I hope this helps!

Thank you so much for your advice. I have been trimming his nails weekly; surprisingly, he cooperates very well. Maybe because I reward him with treats during the trimings? It's the same when I give him baths, although I think that is just because he loooooves the water. He also loves when I use the blow dryer on the lowest setting to dry him off afterwards. He sits very still and purrs; I don't even have to hold him! it is the craziest thing.

I will definitely take your advice on the more frequent play times and the time outs. I also think that maybe it would help if I got him another kitten as a playmate? I've read kittens thrive when they have the company of one another, and I think he is still young enough to where it wouldn't do any harm. I also say this because my girlfriend and I dog sat for my mom this weekend. Her dog is a very sweet, playful young shi tzu mix; Clemson and her dog actually really liked each other. They played and played. It wore Clem out so much that he never even tried to attack me or my girlfriend at all. I can only imagine how much fun he would have with a friend of his own kind!

Thank you so much for your helpful advice. We sincerely appreciate it!

Getting another kitten can be a great thing or a bad thing!  It just depends on the temperment of the kitties.  Cats are territorial and you would need to be sure to do some cat to cat introductions.  You also would want to get another kitty that is high energy and not shy.  They would love to play with each other if you can find a cat that matches personalities.  Just do not make the mistake of getting another kitten and plunking it down and hoping for the best.  It may take a few weeks for them to work things out.  I have some great articles and video on cat to cat intros that you can read and watch if you are interested.  The process is not difficult, but it is time consuming.  Sometimes cats will take to each other right away.  Your cat is young and full of energy and seemed to like the company of a dog.  This is a good sign.  But cats are not pack animals and do take time to accept one another.  You just don't want it to back fire on you.  If you take the process slow ( most people rush it and then have to back track) all will be fine.

you can fix your problem by getting another kitten very close in age. he needs another kitten to romp and play with. 1/2 the fun of having kittens is watching them play together. that will tire them both out more than any toys..

trust me, 2 kittens are far easier than 1 and they will still snuggle with you when they are tired.

I've never had to do a long drawn out introduction with kittens. there may be some hissing at first but they usually get over that really quick when they realize they have someone fun to play with that is their own size.

Thank you for your reply. I read alot online about kitten introduction and would love to look at your videos and articles. I would prefer to go about it slowly as our downtown one bedroom apartment is very small and I'm hoping they are able to share the space well and become best friends

thank you, that is what I'm hoping for! I was also wondering if gender mattered? As i stated previously, Clem has already been fixed and I'd prefer to get a kitten that has already been fixed as well; I'm just wondering if males typically get along with males or if it even matters...

Another question I forgot to include was if I should get a cat tree. We have nice, big windows in our apartment with wide sills; easily accessible for him to nap on and gaze out from. He LOVES them. I purchased a scratching post with a hanging ball when we first got him, but I think he's pretty much grown out of it. Would a cat tree be necessary since we have the windows or should I save my money and just purchase more cat toys?

sasha on the left is 4 months, tucker on the right is almost 7 months. they have been best buds since the day they met. but of course tucker loves everyone, cat or human...





they are so fun to watch but they both still follow me everywhere. sasha takes about 1/2 her naps on me. pretty soon they aren't both going to fit on 1 perch!

sasha has repaid tucker's kindness and welcome but keeping his head and ears spotlessly clean, lol. now, if she would just stop knocking everything off my table! ggrr...

you really miss a lot of fun by having only 1 kitten! and yes yes yes on the cat tree!! they love theirs! all 4 of my cats do. I got it from chewy.com. I think chewy and ebay have the best prices, then amazon..

cats love watching birds, it's like cat TV. I have a hummingbird feeder outside my kitchen window that they adore plus a regular feeder. they watch birds several times a day--when they decide to wake-up. you will be surprised just how entertaining a window is. we are going to get another tree for downstairs soon. cats love having vertical space and climbing so they can look down upon their kingdom..

just make sure you get a tree that has 2 perches high enough to look out the window. one of my cats is territorial about HER perch and the other kitties know it!

I have this one:

http://www.chewy.com/cat/go-pet-club-55-tall-beige-cat-tree/dp/101939