Naughty Nala!

I adore my new kitten, Nala. I've never had a cat before and I don't really know what I am doing. I spoil her immensely. She is only 6 weeks old, so adorable and tiny but she's starting to bite and scratch in an aggressive way. I know she's a young, energetic kitten and she's just so darn cute it hurts me to even scold her. When she starts getting bitey I get a toy as soon as I can but usually after she's already tried to kill my hand, arms or face. Does she need a kitten sibling? I doubt my fiancé would go for me having another kitten in the house. How can I get her to stop biting? I want these bad habits to stop. It's so cute right now but when she gets bigger it's not going to be so cute and funny. I don't want to spray her with water as someone at a pet store suggested. I have a difficult time even speaking to her in a stern tone of voice. I wouldn't think of hitting her. I don't think she's deliberately trying to be mean. I have had her about a month now, I bottle feed this little girl, she nuzzles my face, she recognizes my voice, she's kissing me and purring as I write this so she's not constantly in attack mode. Ok, now she's trying to bite me. Ugh! Help.

You can try hissing at her or saying ouch in a loud voice.  She doesn't realize she is hurting you.

Maybe she's teething? Just say  "NO"  each time she bites you.

Macha bites me a lot too when she was a little girl, I said "NO Macha" now she listens lol

If she is teething you can put a clean damp wash cloth in the freezer.  She can chew on it while it's frozen and it will make her gums feel better. 

At this age she would be wrestling and play fighting with her siblings.  If you could find another cat about her age for her; that would be ideal.  After adopting my 2 together at 11 weeks of age; I'll always recommend it to people who can afford 2.  (2 spays at the same time, etc)  They kept each other busy and stayed out of trouble (most of the time).  They were never lonely while we were at work or sleeping.

You could also give her toys she CAN wrestle and bite.  A stuffed animal about her size or kickeroos would be good.  I would tell her "no, we don't bite hands! We bite this!" and give her the toy.  You have to be consistent.  Give her the toy and walk away.  

Nala with her stuffed animals, she attacks them but I think she's lonely for a sibling who could fight back.

Maybe she needs sister or brother?!

Macha seems okay being one and only. Anyway, even she wants a sister, I couldn't afford, too expensive to have two cats and I am not allowed to have two cats....yes... I can dream only :-)

Macha is so cute! [emoji]128151[/emoji]

Nala Ava Marie in Christmas tree.

Hi Nala Ave Marie...woohoo... first Xmas tree!

Nala Ave Marie...Mia want to play with you!

She looks so much like my Maya! She's adorable.
If the biting is still a problem the best way I've found is to make a yelp/squeal sound like a kitten being hurt and then walk away and ignore her for a few minutes. Kittens learn to be gentle with their teeth and claws from their littermates who do this if they bite/scratch too hard so she'll naturally adjust her play to be more gentle. Sometimes you have to do it over and over and over before she starts to get better but just stick with it.

Could Nala Ava Marie be such a naughty kitten because she was a bottle baby? I would've guessed being hand raised she'd actually be more loving and used to being handled. She acts wild and feral but then again her birth Mom was a wild, feral cat. I am not about to give up on her. My fiancé and his son can't stand her. My daughter swears she's evil. No one sees the times when she is purring and nuzzling me and wanting affection. She hisses, she growls, she bites when she's petted. She hates everyone but me. Not that I escape her fury, she attacks me too just less than she goes after everyone else. She's always on high alert and ready to claw and bite. I'm going to look at a young cat tomorrow, a 1 year old socialized cat at Last Hope Animal Shelter. This cat lives with little kids, big dogs and all types of cats. I know Nala is going to hiss and growl and act rotten when they're introduced. This other cat's foster Mom says she can handle Nala's ill temper? I'm optimistic but skeptical. I'm going to meet "Belle" first before I bring Nala along. I pray that there is hope for Nala Ava Marie to change. I will leave my fiancé before I give up on my precious kitten. The reason: i am the only person she has in this whole world. That's another reason that this site is so important to me, support. I'm serious, everyone hates her and it's heartbreaking. The vet even told me that she'd never seen a kitten so young be so aggressive. Nala is a beautiful kitten. Admittedly, I can discipline her more. I am soft with her. Is it really the worst thing in the world if she's a one person cat? I don't want her to act this awful but I also accept her as she is.

Please don't give up on this baby. I can tell how much she means to you and I understand your situation. My precious Isy was born feral and I rescued her at 3 weeks old. I hand raised her and shared an incredible 10 years with her before she was taken from me far to soon. She was absolutely a one-person cat and didn't tolerate even being petted by anybody else until she was a good 4 or 5 years old, and even then she only tolerated it. I know it's hard but it's so worth the time and work.

The main thing you have to look at here is whether she's truly being aggressive or if she's just a very wild kitten. Cats don't attack right away; they'll try to avoid whatever they don't like before they get aggressive. If she seems to be avoiding hands at certain times or is hissing, keeps her ears back against her head, puffed up, or trying to get away/hide something is making her uncomfortable and it's probably pushing that that makes her aggressive. If she's doing that leave her alone and let her settle down. If this is the case you need to identify what is making her uncomfortable and fix that, whether it's eliminating it or socializing her to it. Socializing (teaching her it's fun and safe) is much better in the long run but it takes time. If you think this is her problem I can talk to you about how to identify what the problem is and how to deal with it.

If she's just a crazy kitten she'll jump up out of nowhere or after stalking or staring, she'll keep her ears forward and maybe her fur ruffled up a little but not fully puffed up. Her tail may twitch or sway but not lash back and forth. A lot of kittens, especially ones who didn't have their littermates around, won't understand how to play gently and it can seem aggressive. My previous post explains how to fix this problem. Be very consistent about training this--you can't be soft on her.

Another problem that may be going on here since she was hand raised is jealousy. She may have become very attached to you and is going to extremes to keep your attention on her and not on anybody else, and she could easily go overboard being aggressive towards your family trying to "guard" you. If you think she has a problem with this kind of thing make a point of ignoring her when you're talking to other people or whatever and shes trying to get your attention or get them away from you. You need to clearly communicate to the other person that they need to be a part of this, too, to avoid her thinking she can chase them away from you. Don't yell at her or push her away or anything like that. She'll take negative attention over no attention. But as soon as she's being calm and nice reinforce it with lots of loves and pets so she learns that that's how she gets what she wants.

I really hope this helps. These are some of the issues I had with Isy and it sounds like you may be running jnto similar things, and these really helped get her past it.

When my kitten are being too aggressive I usually say Ouch then their name and walk away. You could also try lightly tapping her on her nose and holding her tighter so she can't scratch then pet her on her back where she can't get at your hands and try to calm her down a bit.

This has worked for all of my kitten but they have also always had siblings, hope this helps though!

Thank you! Sometimes if she is just sitting calmly, looking so darn adorable and someone goes to pet her, she will bite. She does this to me as well then I just take it she doesn't want to be petted and walk away and wait until she wants to be handled.
My fiancé and his son, age 14, so he's not a real little child, think that if they want to pet or hold her she should want that. She's not a dog, she doesn't seek out attention. I just don't grab her like they do. My fiancé said he won't stand for an animal to growl at him & his son and bite, scratch and be aggressive. They can't expect her to be grabbed at and held if she doesn't want to be handled. She can't speak and say "Leave me alone!" It'd be great to have a snuggly, cuddly little kitty but that's just not her personality. She is so cute that I'm tempted to want a little lap kitty but that's not Nala. That's good to read that your cat eventually tolerated being petted by other people. I hope Nala gets to that point. Did you have other cats or pets and did Isy get along with them? Do you think another cat companion for Ava would be a bad idea? I don't want 2 problem felines. Lol.

Any grabbing at her could definitely be making her on edge with all people.  They are not respecting her and she's not responding well. 

Adoringangel, they given you great advice and glad to know that you are getting her a new sister (Belle) as they said two is better than one and it works for us here. Macha is more independent and Mia loves her so much, they play together, wash each other and sleep together. Maybe that's what Nala need, a big sister, sweet, gentle  but happy cat. I really wish you the best mostly for Nala Ava Marie. I am sorry that you're feeling alone because others were saying negative to your kitten and it hurts, maybe you could talk to them again and tell how you feel?  Nala Ava Marie is very important to you and you love her so much and you guys need to work together so she would feel no stress.

Hugs to you and Nala Ava Marie...

Thank you. My fiancé is beginning to threaten to put Nala outside. His logic is that "She has teeth and claws and a fur coat." She is a bottle baby, she's been indoors since the 1st week of her young life! She is used to having her food and water given to her. She is used to warm baths! Accustomed to a plush, soft bed. She'd never make it. (Don't worry, I'd never stand for this, these are just threats he's putting out there.) We live in rural Iowa, a farm house built in 1925, outbuildings and barns. He said she could learn to kill and eat mice. He is talking about my baby. She is not "just a stray" to me. She was on the brink of death when he brought her to me. WE saved her. He's the one that brought her to me to nurse back to health and now because she bites, hisses and growls he wants to send her out into the cold. How about if they don't like her, they don't have to touch her. I'm fine with that. She's MY kitten. She's cute. She's fierce and vicious. She's not asking anything from them. She takes up very little space. She's fairly clean. She never did learn to clean herself very well. Lol. She's 14 weeks old tomorrow so she's still young. She just knocked over the Christmas tree! Ugh. Yes, she's ferocious but I love her! [emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]128571[/emoji] Rant over. Sorry.