14 week old kitten VERY aggressive when tired.

[rsn1987]

Hello,

Im new to this site and i have come seeking a bit of advice. Im a cat girl and i have always grown up with kittens and cats from rescue and strays. So me and my new husband wanted to complete our little family by adding in a little kitten, welcome Ted

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• rsn1987
• Mar 11, 2015

I know butter wouldnt melt right? Well most of the time yes. Playful, typically scratchy and bitey (with no bad intentions) but ever since we got him, right before he falls asleep he latches onto your wrist/arm/ankle whatever is in his range and latches on like nothing you have ever felt before, im talking ears flat back, back legs pounding into you (basically behaving as if you are prey)

We give him a stern no which stops him momentarily but then hes right back on the wrist and now hes bigger it really hurts, im talking gaping wounds here. So we have tried stern NO's not retaliating by pulling our arms out of his mouth, putting chew toys in his mouth instead incase hes teething, but hes still doing it. I have researched it a lot with no clear answer, i have spoken to the vets aswell again to no real answer so i just wondered if anybody on here had any experience with this?

And its not just kitten bitey playful, its true ears dissapearing as they are that flat its like someone flicks a switch, 5 minutes later hes fast asleep on you snuggling into your neck for kisses. No circumstances have changed since we got him, after 3 days of having him he was admitted to an emergency hospital with sever cat flu massively effecting his limbs but hes fully recovered and the experience didnt change his character (he was doing this pre-cat flu) the vets says hes happy and healthy but we are at our wits end with what to do, such a lovely kitty the rest of the time.

Any help would be amazing, thanks in advance,
Rebecca.

 

[cat nap]

Hello Rebecca, @RSN1987... welcome to TCSite,

First off, I have to say...Oh, my goodness, Ted is just adorable.

  He kind of reminds me of Billy Idol...with all that spikey cat fur standing up.

You are right, though,in thinking that his cuteness can only go so far, and that his 'bitey behaviour' has got to stop now, before he gets older, because he will just get stronger.

It sounds like Ted is being overstimulated in the play sessions. You will have to stop using your hands when playing with Ted, and resort to using "wand toys"...feather wands,  fishing wands, ping pong balls, supervised string toys.. and basically any toys that are not involving your own hands in any proximity to Ted's teeth or claws. The key would be not to use your hands...so Ted learns that hands are off limits to attack.

 You'll still be using your hands for petting, brushing, touching him all over, but not in any playing forms.  This way, Ted will be able to learn that he can only go after the inanimate toys and not people's hands, feet, arms.

You are so right in observing that he is basically latching on to you as 'prey' and that it is basically instinct causing him to do this...plus the teething part, is causing him to chew more.

One of my previous cats was a lot like your Ted, in that whenever I would begin to play with Barney, he would have 4 levels of stimulation. The first one and two seemed okay, and just gentle swatting and pawing, with some added faster movements. But then I noticed if I over-stimulated Barney, that level 3 would start with tail swishing/twitching, dilated pupils...and quickly progress to level 4 with those ears laid back, low posture attack mode.  It was really like you said...'flipping a switch'.  It progressed in stages...so I would never let myself get him to the point where he would be rough or fast, and switched to using toys to tire him out. (He also was worse before he got neutered and played less aggressively after neutering.)

Here are some Articles from TCS that may give you some more ideas, and I am sure you will be able to alter his behaviour, since you are already attentive to his 'cues' of ears laid down, and also because you have noticed to do this at this early stage.   

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playtime-aggression

(ps...you're going to have to post more photos...because he is just too cute. They grow up so fast.)

 

 

[rsn1987]

Hello there CatNap,

Thank you so much for responding he certainly is a cutie, and such a good comparison with the Billy Idol, we think he looks a bit like a black bear!

Right thats great to get some feedback, i have read a lot about play aggression but i just wanted to check thats definitely what it was, i still find it peculiar that he only does it when hes tired, one minute hes clamped on your wrist 30seconds later hes fast asleep and this is the only time he does it. We have lots of wand toys for him so im just gonna have to be a stricter mum and make sure no hands are involved.

The articles were really good by the way, im enjoying pondering through the website at some articles and thank you again for getting back to me, you know how it is im just trying to make sure i look after him properly.

Heres a few more pictures for you, just because i cant resist!

Rebecca.

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• rsn1987
• Mar 12, 2015

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• rsn1987
• Mar 12, 2015

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• rsn1987
• Mar 12, 2015

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• rsn1987
• Mar 12, 2015

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• rsn1987
• Mar 12, 2015

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• rsn1987
• Mar 12, 2015

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• rsn1987
• Mar 12, 2015

 

[cat nap]

Hello there CatNap,

Thank you so much for responding

he certainly is a cutie, and such a good comparison with the Billy Idol, we think he looks a bit like a black bear!

Right thats great to get some feedback, i have read a lot about play aggression but i just wanted to check thats definitely what it was, i still find it peculiar that he only does it when hes tired, one minute hes clamped on your wrist 30seconds later hes fast asleep and this is the only time he does it. We have lots of wand toys for him so im just gonna have to be a stricter mum and make sure no hands are involved.

The articles were really good by the way, im enjoying pondering through the website at some articles

and thank you again for getting back to me, you know how it is im just trying to make sure i look after him properly.

Heres a few more pictures for you, just because i cant resist!

Rebecca.

 

Rebecca, @RSN1987....yes, he definitely looks like a little black bear.  Wow, your photos are amazing, and you will have to go and post them over in other sections, too, when you have some time away, from training little Ted.  How did he get his name...I wonder?

It is peculiar that he only does the biting when he is tired....right before falling asleep.  Another TSC member mentioned that she gives her cat a treat right after playing with a wand toy, so that the cat feels that he gets a little reward for "catching his prey".  I thought that was a neat idea, but I usually forget to.

There will be other members, who will chime in, I am sure... and perhaps address why they think that Ted bites just before falling asleep.

These are some other places where you can post photos, and introduce Ted.

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/20/new-cats-on-the-block

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/268663/black-cats-only/480

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/29/fur-pictures-and-videos-only

Personally, I think that Ted deserves his own thread with photos.

..and I'm kind of wondering how you get any work done with that cute little bear cat, around. 

 

  I totally understand the 'wanting to look after him properly'. Thanks so much for posting these adorable photos.  Now the only thing left is to get Ted to co-operate with the 'non-biting plan'. 

Keep us posted, with his progress.

 

[evamilly]

I have had my cat, Eva, (now 11 years) since she was a kitten and she did and at times still does the same things as Ted. I agree with Cat nap it's due to overstimulation. I found that I quickly learnt when to stop petting her by her initial actions and facial expressions to stop her becoming too aggressive. It does still happen at times, and I put her down or move away and she follows and jumps up and bites me, so I just shut her out of the room for a few minutes, this usually works! She is a lovely cat and loves to be cuddled

Good luck

 

[rsn1987]

Hi @evamilly thanks for getting back to me. Im glad to know its not just me, he is so affectionate and cuddly then with no warning right before he falls asleep he latches on and once again catches me off guard. From what people have been speaking to me about on here i have started having toys on hand for when it happens, place him on the floor and play until he starts blinking which i give him a dreamie (his favourite thing in the world) and he falls asleep nicely. Since i started doing this hes much better and somehow more affectionate than ever.

Thanks for your advice, its all starting to come together