Hi everyone,
I've been having some problems with my kitten, he is just a bit over 7 months old (already fixed, didn't seem to affect him one bit!) and he bites and scratches a lot - like every time I actively play with him. He also has a very bad habit of jumping at people's feet and legs when they are walking and this has led to him getting hurt on a couple of occasions, not badly but like having his tail or paw trodden on enough to make him yelp and make a run for it. I'm afraid he will really hurt himself or someone else if this continues. Several times now he has almost tripped me on the stairs running up to meet me and I'm always paranoid of where I put my feet.
He is otherwise a lovely cat, he is very cuddly and likes to sit on the couch behind my head with his paws on my shoulders, nestled into my neck. He curls up beautifully with my boyfriend and stays put on his lap purring away for hours. He is not possessive of his food or toys to an unreasonable extent and even when he bites etc. does not seem to do so maliciously, he seems to think it is a part of playing. He has only ever hissed twice, both times were upon hearing aerosol being sprayed and he just ran away, then came back when he had calmed down.
I would really appreciate any advice (and please accept my apologies for making such a long first post), I have only really been around two cats before, an elderly, timid stray I lured into my house when I was 13 and loved on and spoiled until he passed away and my boyfriend's cat I've known since he was a kitten (3 years now) who was always very chilled out.
One thing that worries me is that I got Skittles when he was only 8 weeks because he was an oopsie and the dam's owner (NOT a friend, someone from my boyfriend's work who heard I was looking for a pet) didn't want to keep him any longer. His brother was homed at six weeks but I absolutely refused to have him that young. I might not know a huge amount but I know they shouldn't be separated from mum that young if at all avoidable! I'm concerned he has maybe never been properly socialised and I don't know how to help him with this.
When I got him I was told he was eating dry food and water but that was rubbish and I had to give him wet food mixed with Lactol for two weeks followed by a while of wet only (can't remember quite how long) before he could tolerate dry.
His regular diet now is Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved dry food (they're about the best you can get around here and it really depends on what the pet store or vet has in stock) with water to drink and a small bit of raw meat daily, sometimes mixed with a bit of raw egg depending on what kind of meat it is. He doesn't really get treats as such as I have my doubts about how good typical store-bought treats are for animals but I'd be happy to introduce reasonably healthy treats into his diet as an incentive for his behaviour if you can recommend anything.
Once again sorry for the novel and if I missed anything out at all (haha!) let me know, any advice would be wonderful!
I've been having some problems with my kitten, he is just a bit over 7 months old (already fixed, didn't seem to affect him one bit!) and he bites and scratches a lot - like every time I actively play with him. He also has a very bad habit of jumping at people's feet and legs when they are walking and this has led to him getting hurt on a couple of occasions, not badly but like having his tail or paw trodden on enough to make him yelp and make a run for it. I'm afraid he will really hurt himself or someone else if this continues. Several times now he has almost tripped me on the stairs running up to meet me and I'm always paranoid of where I put my feet.
He is otherwise a lovely cat, he is very cuddly and likes to sit on the couch behind my head with his paws on my shoulders, nestled into my neck. He curls up beautifully with my boyfriend and stays put on his lap purring away for hours. He is not possessive of his food or toys to an unreasonable extent and even when he bites etc. does not seem to do so maliciously, he seems to think it is a part of playing. He has only ever hissed twice, both times were upon hearing aerosol being sprayed and he just ran away, then came back when he had calmed down.
I would really appreciate any advice (and please accept my apologies for making such a long first post), I have only really been around two cats before, an elderly, timid stray I lured into my house when I was 13 and loved on and spoiled until he passed away and my boyfriend's cat I've known since he was a kitten (3 years now) who was always very chilled out.
One thing that worries me is that I got Skittles when he was only 8 weeks because he was an oopsie and the dam's owner (NOT a friend, someone from my boyfriend's work who heard I was looking for a pet) didn't want to keep him any longer. His brother was homed at six weeks but I absolutely refused to have him that young. I might not know a huge amount but I know they shouldn't be separated from mum that young if at all avoidable! I'm concerned he has maybe never been properly socialised and I don't know how to help him with this.
When I got him I was told he was eating dry food and water but that was rubbish and I had to give him wet food mixed with Lactol for two weeks followed by a while of wet only (can't remember quite how long) before he could tolerate dry.
His regular diet now is Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved dry food (they're about the best you can get around here and it really depends on what the pet store or vet has in stock) with water to drink and a small bit of raw meat daily, sometimes mixed with a bit of raw egg depending on what kind of meat it is. He doesn't really get treats as such as I have my doubts about how good typical store-bought treats are for animals but I'd be happy to introduce reasonably healthy treats into his diet as an incentive for his behaviour if you can recommend anything.
Once again sorry for the novel and if I missed anything out at all (haha!) let me know, any advice would be wonderful!
