Agression

[JessyeGould]

My mother in law has a kitten who is about 6 months or so old, and she’s very aggressive. My husband and I have to speak sharply or growl to be able to walk past her in the hallway. She’s been like this since my husband and I have been around her. It’s not just us. She attacks my sister in law as well. She plays all day long, and gets all the attention she could need, but she still will hide under the stand in the hallway and try to claw at our feet. She hisses and growls and tries to intimidate us. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I feel like I can’t walk through the house anymore.

 

[meto]

My mother in law has a kitten who is about 6 months or so old, and she’s very aggressive. My husband and I have to speak sharply or growl to be able to walk past her in the hallway. She’s been like this since my husband and I have been around her. It’s not just us. She attacks my sister in law as well. She plays all day long, and gets all the attention she could need, but she still will hide under the stand in the hallway and try to claw at our feet. She hisses and growls and tries to intimidate us. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I feel like I can’t walk through the house anymore.

While it does seem unlikely that a kitten who plays all day long could still want to play more, it might be worth examining this a little further to rule out play-fighting before assuming this is aggression. Here's a good description of the key differences:

"Two behaviors that cats frequently display when playing are the “play face,” where a cat holds his mouth half open, and the sideways pounce or hop, which a cat often does with his back arched. Cats also tend to play quietly. During aggressive encounters, however, they often growl, hiss and spit."

Hope this helps! ^^

 

[maggiedemi]

Hi. Has she been spayed yet?

 

[JessyeGould]

Hi. Has she been spayed yet?

She has not. She’s my mother in law’s cat so I have no say over whether she does or not. My biggest concern is that she gets more aggressive by the day, and my 5 year old niece lives here too.

 

[maggiedemi]

I think getting her spayed will help. The hormones are probably causing this. My female cat was like this.

 

[JessyeGould]

While it does seem unlikely that a kitten who plays all day long could still want to play more, it might be worth examining this a little further to rule out play-fighting before assuming this is aggression. Here's a good description of the key differences:

"Two behaviors that cats frequently display when playing are the “play face,” where a cat holds his mouth half open, and the sideways pounce or hop, which a cat often does with his back arched. Cats also tend to play quietly. During aggressive encounters, however, they often growl, hiss and spit."

Hope this helps! ^^

There are no signs that it’s play-fighting. She doesn’t do the play face. It’s just downright aggression. Ive never seen a kitten act like this. She’s aggressive to both male and female humans, AND male and female cats. I hate to say it but I think she’s just a mean cat...

 

[meto]

While it does seem unlikely that a kitten who plays all day long could still want to play more, it might be worth examining this a little further to rule out play-fighting before assuming this is aggression. Here's a good description of the key differences:

"Two behaviors that cats frequently display when playing are the “play face,” where a cat holds his mouth half open, and the sideways pounce or hop, which a cat often does with his back arched. Cats also tend to play quietly. During aggressive encounters, however, they often growl, hiss and spit."

Hope this helps! ^^

Oops I made the mistake of overlooking the part where you mentioned she's hissing and growling. I've heard that a time-out can help with kitten aggressiveness. Since handling an angry cat is a bad idea, you can do this by leaving the room when she gets too aggressive. She will hopefully start to associate her rude behavior with loneliness. Make sure not to engage her physically in these times, since this could feed her episodes. Sorry again for overlooking!

 

[JessyeGould]

Oops I made the mistake of overlooking the part where you mentioned she's hissing and growling. I've heard that a time-out can help with kitten aggressiveness. Since handling an angry cat is a bad idea, you can do this by leaving the room when she gets too aggressive. She will hopefully start to associate her rude behavior with loneliness. Make sure not to engage her physically in these times, since this could feed her episodes. Sorry again for overlooking!

Problem is that she follows you when you leave the room. She has clawed the back of my ankles more times than I can count when I’m walking away. I’m at my wits end.

 

[Pjg8r]

Does she bite or just grab with her claws? Would clipping them at least reduce the damage? I do remember a Jackson Galaxy episode about cats that are ankle grabbers but I don’t remember his suggestion. You might be able to find it on YouTube.

 

[maggiedemi]

Can you speak to your mother-in-law about spaying her? I'm almost positive it will help.