Aggressive Kitten

[Missaye2010]

Hi there,

So I rescued a 4-5 week old kitten that was abandoned by its mother. He was bottle fed. Also was isolated ( not handled much ) for a week or two at the age of 5-6 week a due to possible ringworm ( which it was not ) . Well he is a very aggressive bitter. He is currently 14 weeks old. He does not like to be petted, anytime you go to pet him his instinct is to bite. It’s to the point he is leaving sores on my arms. We have tried scolding him, spray bottle and even “popping” him ( tap on the nose ) and nothing seems to work! Everything makes him bite more. We read up on it and realized “popping” him is the worst thing to do but we were running out of options and sick of getting sores! He does not like to be held very long and will begin to become aggravated and trying to smack, kick and bite as well. Something has to give and we feel he’s still young enough to be corrected! If anyone has any suggestions please help! We just want a sweet kitten!! ​

 

[ArtNJ]

Re: affection - you need to view it like courting someone that doesn't currently like you much. What are you going to do? You sure aren't going to grab em, hold em down, and forcibly stroke them, or pick them up when they don't want that, on the theory that "they will come to like it". That is Harvey Weinstein territory. Notwithstanding my analogy there, it is understandable if you are doing that -- lots of inexperienced owners do it, and it can be hard for even experienced folks to resist. However, it just doesn't work on cats, it just stresses them out more and makes them associate you with bad things. Instead, when courting someone that doesn't like you much, you find the thing that they like, and you do that. With a cat, maybe they are willing to be pet when tired, or when on a certain dresser, so you do that. Gradually, it can build from there, if you let the cat be the boss. You need lots of patience, but you 100% can increase your kittens affectionateness if you work at paying attention to the cues.

Re: biting - a part of your problem may be trying to force the affection, but the other issue is that kittens do often bite by default. You need to train them not to by saying "no" firmly when they do it, and withdrawing play if they keep at it. Also, don't ever use your hand to play with them, used toys, and even with a cat that likes being picked up or petted at times, you don't do that when it is riled up -- which for a kitten is a big chunk of the time.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I really don't know what I could possibly add to that, other than you may try hissing at him, a short, sharp hiss, very like his mother would have done had she reared him. They're pretty much hardwired to know what a hiss means.