Kitten Aggression - 13 Weeks

[relienna]

Well, mine has been spayed since I got her and she is still pretty wild, but best of luck with the neutering! haha I mean that seriously! Lucy was bad tonight. Just plain bad. I have sessions with her every night, she has interactive toys for solo play and her favorite is the fishing pole that I use with her. There is no tiring her, I've never really seen her pant to be honest haha... But afterwards she usually gets treats and she is still ready to go. Tonight, I'm a little disappointed with her. It's tiring when you have really good days and then bad ones. Today all she wanted to do was bite, and all I needed was love

but she is who she is. She's never punctured my skin, so I feel like it is playtime to her but it's aggressive and she's persistent. The stern 'no', flicking of ear, forcing a bit of pressure back when she bites, water, nothing stops her.... Here's to tomorrow! Right now, I need to meditate haha

I'm sorry that your girl was really rough tonight! =[

I'm glad she's never punctured the skin for you though! Gage has a handful of times. It's ouchie!

Tomorrow is a new day, as you said! Hopefully she is feeling more cuddly.

Gage is crazy tonight as well, but we were both gone all day so that's his usual status! lol

We just did a 30min play session of both laser AND teaser toy!

I bought some flakes in gravy consistency wet food for the first time. He is eating that as his post-play snack and he really seems to like it! 

If it makes you feel better, I haven't gotten a single cuddle yet either today! 

 

 

[iluvlucy15]

Today was much the same. Limited cuddles, lots of bites. Sigh. But I had to share this pic... haha cause the books make it hilarious!

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• iluvlucy15
• Aug 25, 2015

 

[relienna]

Well, tonight he bit zach's nose and made him bleed. So we have that going for us. Lol =[

 

[misterwhiskers]

Hi, sounds like he got a little over stimulated. Robin was so active. He slept in the bed with me, but there was a few nights with very little sleep. A very fleecy throw on the area you want him to sleep might do the trick.

Your kitten sounds very normal. You got him pretty young, so be a brat back!! Like a litter mate would. If he bites, sound off! Cry!! Whine!! Find the sound he reacts to and use it. If all else fails, hold him down with a little gentle pressure, just enough to show him who's da boss.

How bad a bite on the nose? Ouch. Hope you washed it well. Love my cat, but one can't take chances.

My cat would lunge at the crook of my back legs til he was almost a year old. And dang, it would buckle my knees! Very glad when he grew out of it.

Your kitten is really cute. Do you know what happened to the litter mates?

 

[relienna]

Hi, sounds like he got a little over stimulated. Robin was so active. He slept in the bed with me, but there was a few nights with very little sleep. A very fleecy throw on the area you want him to sleep might do the trick.

Your kitten sounds very normal. You got him pretty young, so be a brat back!! Like a litter mate would. If he bites, sound off! Cry!! Whine!! Find the sound he reacts to and use it. If all else fails, hold him down with a little gentle pressure, just enough to show him who's da boss.

How bad a bite on the nose? Ouch. Hope you washed it well. Love my cat, but one can't take chances.

My cat would lunge at the crook of my back legs til he was almost a year old. And dang, it would buckle my knees! Very glad when he grew out of it.

Your kitten is really cute. Do you know what happened to the litter mates?

Yeah, I told Zach to put him down because he was flailing, but you know boys, he was finding it amusing until he got a cobra-strike to the face! >.< Didn't help that this morning Gage was then obsessed with trying to attack Zach's work boots... while he was wearing them. lol! Poor Zach, he just doesn't get the whole cat-body-language thing. I'm trying to teach him, but his patience is not his strong suit! Love him though! Lol

I am a brat back! I try crying out, hissing. Last night I growled and THEN hissed - which he ran away from. Sometimes I bop him lightly on the nose. Yesterday I lightly bit him back on his shoulder (It was gentle) before putting him in his carrier for time out. I know sometimes that works with dogs. I doubt it will do anything for Gage though! xD haha

Yesterday in particular I think he was just bored out of his mind. I had to take him to work with me because he vomited the night before last and it has a small piece of ribbon-like plastic in it. I didn't recognize the plastic at all so I took him to work with me to monitor for anymore vomit and have one of the Vet's palpate his belly and make sure his intestines didn't feel angry like he had swallowed more! Luckily, he is fine. Crazy, eating normal, no more vomiting. He's just a naughty bug! lol But he was soooo bored after 10 hours in a kennel. I think I brought him home all energetic and irate! lol

I do hold him against my body and talk softly, but firmly to him. Like "Calm down. You are not in charge here, and you are overreacting." and then he will just sit still with his tail twitching all pissed-off. Hahaha. But at least he stops biting! 

All of his litter mates found homes! There were 4 kittens total. Gage was the 2nd to last that I took. It was 2 tortie girls, an orange tabby and Gage. The owner of the Orange Tabby recently came in to my Vet Clinic to let the orange one get his check up - and apparently she told my coworker that he is JUST as feisty as Gage. So it is clearly a bottle-fed kitten thing! 

 

[iluvlucy15]

Lucy is wild tonight! Full moon and all! Her bites are getting harder, normally so, cause she's getting older. I've tried it all too. Distract with toys, hiss, say no, growl, whine, cry. She don't care. She ain't got time for that! haha I can't wait till next year at this time... Hoping she'll have calmed dowb by a year and a half! Haha

 

[relienna]

Lucy is wild tonight! Full moon and all! Her bites are getting harder, normally so, cause she's getting older. I've tried it all too. Distract with toys, hiss, say no, growl, whine, cry. She don't care. She ain't got time for that! haha I can't wait till next year at this time... Hoping she'll have calmed dowb by a year and a half! Haha

Haha, I'm sorry she is wild! Bites hurt, man! I made an ugly cat scream at my boy yesterday for biting too hard! It worked, he ran off. lol I, too, can't wait for it to be a year from now!

Gage has actually been pretty good the last 2 days. Although I have been home, my days off are in the middle of the week. He tends to behave a little better when someone is here all day. But, make no mistake, he still bites. Grabbed my hand twice today! I hissed and pinned him down. That seems to work. He jaunters away from me after I do it and goes back to playing by himself. But, he asked for attention a couple times today, which is relatively new.

It's also been REALLY hot here the last 2 days. The apartment has been like an oven! He seems to be just as affected by the heat as I am. He laid around a lot today. Even jumped up on the bed while I was napping to lay next to me.

Didn't want to be pet, just wanted to lay there. I take what I can get! Haha

Here he is hanging out with me today!

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• relienna
• Aug 27, 2015

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• relienna
• Aug 27, 2015

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• relienna
• Aug 27, 2015

 

[iluvlucy15]

Aww cute he has that look in his eyes, of course I recognize it! haha pretty sure him and Lucy are kitty soulmates! haha Lucy has been really overactive lately. It's hot here but not in my place. She's definitely better on my days off too, so we'll see how it goes this weekend!

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• iluvlucy15
• Aug 28, 2015

 

[relienna]

Was home all day yesterday and Gage was pretty bad. Very bitey, very moody. It was hot again, but instead of laying around he was very irritated and anti-social. 

Meh, makes me a sad panda! But, I'm home sick today because my stomach isn't feeling well.

I'm hoping maybe he'll be a little kinder! =] 

Here he was messing around yesterday. I removed him before he could accidentally hurt himself! lol

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• relienna
• Aug 31, 2015

 

[iluvlucy15]

Bad days suck. Sorry to hear. But he's handsome as ever hoping today was better. Lucy is doing not too bad. I find the weekends better sometimes cause I am around more.... Let me know how today went. Sending good kitty vibessss!

 

[iluvlucy15]

Just curious as to what you feed your cat? Dry? Wet? Mix? What brand? I only give Lucy wet food twice a week, a small amount, and I find afterwards she goes nuts! I usually give it after a good play session. But she gets wild! No clue if that's common or what. I feed her Royal Canin for both the wet and dry. And organic Orijen for treats.

 

[jade14]

Hey I just wanted to also let you know... you are not alone!  My boy is 20 weeks old to the day.  We had him neutered at 15 weeks old.  His name is Sawyer but we occasionally call him Satan because of his antics!  He is a bit better now.... but he loves to attack feet and legs, gnaw on my arms and hands and I look like I've been in a fight with a feral cat.  His favorite game is when he hears me coming down the hall, he hides behind a door and flings himself out with his front legs in the air and attacks me and then runs away! Luckily he doesn't use his claws... just his teeth!  I have tried everything just like you, redirecting to toys, spray bottle, hissing, scruffing, leaving him when he is bad (he just follows me attacking) and bitter apple on my hands and arms.  I've learned that the best thing is redirecting him to big toys he can attack and wrestle, doesn't always work but usually distracts him enough he forgets what he was doing.  I was worried because like you, my husband was not excited about getting a cat.  He didn't want one, just let me get one because he knew I wanted one.  He was very frustrated with him at first.  He likes him now..I just got back from visiting my parents in Canada and had to leave him alone with my husband for 2 weeks!  I was worried about how he would be when I came home!  He actually was quite good..the worst he did was 1. Jump in the toilet while my husband was cleaning his litter box (flushable litter) and then run around the apartment wet while my husband chased him with a towel  2. Discovered toilet paper while he was at work so he came home to a roll shredded all over our apartment haha.  I do believe it is something they will grow out of.  I also work at a vet clinic and that is what everyone keeps telling me.  Though while I was away my husband had to go to his parents for a night a couple times, so I had a coworker come feed him and play with him, and she texted me telling me how scary and bad Sawyer was.  She likes him but she said he kept attacking her feet . I blamed it on pent up energy from being alone for so long.  I actually have a pair of yoga pants and a shirt set aside with teeth holes waiting to be fixed....  I have already had to sew holes in 2 pairs of pants from his teeth!  Anyways, just wanted you to realize it isn't just your kitten who is bad!  Mine is too!  Hopefully they really do grow out of it haha... but I think they will!  

Here is my attack demon:

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• jade14
• Sep 1, 2015

 

[relienna]

Just curious as to what you feed your cat? Dry? Wet? Mix? What brand? I only give Lucy wet food twice a week, a small amount, and I find afterwards she goes nuts! I usually give it after a good play session. But she gets wild! No clue if that's common or what. I feed her Royal Canin for both the wet and dry. And organic Orijen for treats.

I feed Gage Blue Buffalo! I am changing him over from the dry Blue Buffalo Healthy Growth Kitten to the Blue Wilderness Kitten. Same brand, I just like the higher protein in the Wilderness vs the general kitten one. I feel like he's a boy that needs protein to feel sustained! Haha

I feed Gage 1/4 can of wet food once a night. He's not a huge fan of wet food, so he eats a little bit of it and goes on. I wish he would eat MORE wet food, because I don't like primarily dry. But, he's just not a huge fan! He eats the Blue Wilderness canned chicken and salmon kitten flavors!

Right now he free feeds dry because he is so much of a grazer. He won't eat when I put down meals, he likes to eat throughout the day.

He was bad again yesterday. VERY bitey and moody. Tonight he is OK, mostly just rambunctious. Tried to chew my phone charger cable again! lol

 

[relienna]

Ahhh! Sad to hear you are having issues, but happy to again hear that I'm not alone!

Gage gets neutered the day after tomorrow! He is 20 weeks today as well!!

Here's to hoping it helps my boy a little. He's really been over active and more play aggressive the last two days. Really depressing since he was making progress! But, we've taken 2 steps back again! Ugh!

I don't get how after 5 months of age he can still NOT understand that biting isn't acceptable! lol >.<

 

[bodisha]

I just got my 1st cat about a year ago, so I would defer to anyone more experienced for how to handle it.  I can just tell you what I've seen Merlin respond to.  I don't know how much of a difference it makes but I got him sort of as a rescue.  He came to me through the sister of his first owner that was a drunken jerk and would abuse him from what I've been told.  When he was with my friend, he had a reputation for being a very aggressive cat.  Since I've had him, what I've noticed is if I play with him with regularity, he tends to get less aggressive and won't attack and bite me as often.  How I've learn to interrupt this behavior is his attacks are a result of him being bored, which causes him to get aggressive.  

I have several toys for him to play with on his own, but he mostly ignores them.  The one toy he really enjoys is the feather on a string toy.  I will fly it around, but mostly he likes to "stalk" and "hunt" it.  I fly it around and let it land someplace that hides it.... and man does that get his attention!!!  As soon as it's hidden, he goes into pounce mode and will sneak up on it, and then spring into his attack.  Since I've started doing this, I've noticed he has gotten more docile.   I try to play with him for an extended period a couple times every day.  When I first started doing this, he was very enthusiastic and would pursue it with a lot of aggression.  It also seemed like he wanted to play for hours.  Now that I've been playing with him for a while, he requires less attention.  I'll break out the toy and try to play with him for at least 30 minutes a couple times a day, but I will also just randomly play with him a couple other times.  As long as he's not acting out badly, he will usually just chase it around without a ton of enthusiasm, and will get bored with it after 5 minutes.   What I'll do since it's easy and mindless is sit on the couch watching a movie or something, and just fly it from one end of the couch or coffee table to the other, and he seems to love it.

One other thing I've noticed since I've made a point to keep him entertain and not bored.  After I had him for about 8-9 months, he suddenly developed a huge desire to go outside.  I live in a condo near a busy road and Forrest preserve.  So letting him out was never really an option.  For a couple months, He would sit near the door and meow at me constantly.  It got to the point I felt like I was being cruel not letting him out.  Since I've been playing with him regularly, he doesn't seem to want to go outside as much.  He'll still occasionally stand near the door and meow like he's expecting me to open it for him.  But it's no where near as bad as it was before.

Basically for me I learned that cat's aren't the anti-social, aloof, low maintenance animals I thought they were.  I'd like to think we've bonded pretty well so I'm certainly willing to deal with catering to his needs to keep him happy.

 

[relienna]

Gage was neutered yesterday!

He is currently drunkenly strutting around the house in the cone of shame. He's still trying to play even though he's kinda doped up on his pain meds! It's hilarious xD hahaha

He has 4 days worth of oral Buprenorphine, which is a nice pain medication that can also work as a mild sedative. So he's pretty much guaranteed to be nicer and lazy the next few days, lol. 

I'm going to take him to work with me tomorrow so I can monitor him in his e-collar. It has to stay on for 2 weeks! He hates it, and you can see his frustration - but he's leaving it on for the most part, which is good! It will be nice since he can't really bite us with the e-collar on! Mwhaha! lol

I do feel for the little guy, though. Poor thing. I'm sure yesterday was stressful for him!

But, at least he seems comfortable! =]

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• relienna
• Sep 4, 2015

Although he really does hate the cone. Haha >.<

 

[iluvlucy15]

Ha! Poor little dude. Lucy has been running pretty wild the last few days. Even after increasing the intensity of what I thought was already hardcore play sessions... It bothers me that I came home after attending a wedding, so I was gone for 8-10hrs and she just wanted to attack. And I want to take her to bed with me but she won't stop. I feel bad leaving her all day and then not being by her at night....i know this is a bonding time and I want to get to that stage but we're not even close. Maybe soon tho, who knows! Sending good happy healing kitty vibes to Gage

 

[relienna]

Ha! Poor little dude. Lucy has been running pretty wild the last few days. Even after increasing the intensity of what I thought was already hardcore play sessions... It bothers me that I came home after attending a wedding, so I was gone for 8-10hrs and she just wanted to attack. And I want to take her to bed with me but she won't stop. I feel bad leaving her all day and then not being by her at night....i know this is a bonding time and I want to get to that stage but we're not even close. Maybe soon tho, who knows! Sending good happy healing kitty vibes to Gage

Sorry that your girl was a wild-lady! Probably just her way of saying she wants to "Play play play" since you were gone! But, I know how it feels. It can be really concerning that their way of telling us is by biting the crap out of us!

Gage is going through testosterone changes or something.

Today he was very lovey and sweet with me: only trying to nibble once or twice, but mostly wanting to be cuddled and held.

BUT, for whatever reason, he will NOT stop attacking my boyfriend! He will walk over to Zach while he is just gaming at his desk and will randomly attack his leg or jump trying to bite his knees or hands! It's not even playful, it seems straight up MEAN!

I don't know if this is because after his neuter his body is having waves of testosterone while it leaves his body so he feels the need to challenge Zach??

But it's NOT ok behavior and I am not pleased about it! 

 

[iluvlucy15]

Lucy probably is in definite play mode but we did play for 30mins. She just won't let up. I just feel bad cause she was alone all day, now I'm in my room alone and I gotta work in the AM - it's not that I don't want her in here, but ****. I never sleep. Just sucks. I'll be glad when all this stage is over. It has to end.... lol

 

[relienna]

Turns out Gage's extra aggression was a bad trip on his Buprenorphine! lol

Now I only give him the pain medication at night once we've put him in the bathroom. If given when there is no stimulation he passes right out for the night! lol

However, he is still bitey. I think he's frustrated cause he can't do anything at all with the e-collar on. But, I know he will try to lick his incision if I take it off. So, he's stuck in boredom land =[

He's definitely not as bad as he was on the pain medication though. He's just his usual "run-around-happy and I'll bite ya if you try to pick me up" self, haha.

Although at least the e-collar is a shield! He can't actually bite us when he has it on! lol xD