Good heavens, when I started reading this thread I thought I was having troubles, but clearly, while my kitten is aggressive, she is not in the same league as some of these feline ferocities!
My little buzzsaw is called Mooni, and she was turned into the local shelter at around four weeks of age. Nothing was known about her, someone just brought her in claiming she was a stray. She immediately developed an upper respiratory infection upon coming home so I spent the first couple of weeks getting that cleared up. As she got better she got more aggressive. Biting, scratching, ambushing and not cuddly at all. I had just lost my beloved Tippi to coyote predation and was desperate to have another special kitten.
What I have discovered in reading everything I could find on the matter is that overly aggressive kittens have not only not been properly feline-socialized, they tend to be more energetic, and are usually more intelligent than most cats. This has led me to provide all the stimulation of new toys, new situations and new adventures I can think of. Living on five acres of gardens, trees and eventual rodent hunting gives all of our (now) seven cats all the stimulation they need to be satisfied and seems to be helping with my ginger 'tasmanian-devil'.
While my nose is still pretty chewed up at the moment, since she likes to awaken me by first licking my face with that tiny raspy tongue and then giving me a good chomp before I can react, her claws are retracted for all ambushes and finger fights. The teeth still seem to find their way to skin on occasion, but she is developing the understanding that it is improper and will get a quick drop to the ground or push off the bed, or a sharp 'OW!'. Also getting up and leaving or putting her in the bedroom and closing the door for a bit seems to bring conciliatory behavior in her.
At eleven weeks she is finally developing the understanding of gentleness and modest mouthing behavior, but also she is getting all sorts of interactions and exercise...which I would think would be difficult to provide in an indoor-only situation. With a bit of creativity and purpose a person could be helpful in taming these misbehaving meowers living indoors.
To be sure, outdoors has its own dangers, as I am painfully aware. The cats are protected from predation if they stay within the five fenced acres, and at least mine do not have to worry about being hit by cars. Little ones stay indoors at night to avoid the owls. This kitten has no fear and has not met anyone she is afraid of. However this moxy gets Mooni in trouble. She decided that the lower, rough-barked, safer fruit trees were not sufficient for her climbing abilities and scurried up the smooth-barked Pistache tree. Ten feet up and with a miss of too-small claws, down' she came ten feet hard on a rock. Other than the wind knocked out and her pride bruised somewhat she began nibbling on skin within a minute, a sure sign of repair.
I think the aggression situation boils down to this; learn your cat's visual communications. Tails, ears, body posture and eyes all tell you when an attack is imminent. Nip it in the bud. Pet sparingly. Once the tail twitches, stop petting. Once the eyes darken, redirect. You'll have moments when they are drowsy and receptive to petting. In time the window of opportunity may widen. Never allow bad behavior to go unnoticed or unpunished.
Play, play, play! New toys, simple toys, complex toys, climbing toys. Mooni is just as happy with an empty soda bottle or crackly candy wrapper wadded up as she is with her feather and wierd squeaking mouse toys. She adores the dog's plush stuffed animals. Here she is thrashing one of them.
She didn't take to it like my other cats, but cardboard boxes cut with doors, windows and hanging things can keep a kitten busy for hours. I call them my Kardboard Kitty Kondos. I have some videos of them if anyone wants to see them.
Be patient but be firm. We may never end up with the cuddlebug we hoped for, but their intelligence and energy can be endlessly fun to watch and engage.
Here are images of Miss Mooni, Tippi, Lilo (also departed via coyotes) and other cats of mine (most of them are dumpees) :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/24426209@N06/albums/72157654503911612
My little buzzsaw is called Mooni, and she was turned into the local shelter at around four weeks of age. Nothing was known about her, someone just brought her in claiming she was a stray. She immediately developed an upper respiratory infection upon coming home so I spent the first couple of weeks getting that cleared up. As she got better she got more aggressive. Biting, scratching, ambushing and not cuddly at all. I had just lost my beloved Tippi to coyote predation and was desperate to have another special kitten.
What I have discovered in reading everything I could find on the matter is that overly aggressive kittens have not only not been properly feline-socialized, they tend to be more energetic, and are usually more intelligent than most cats. This has led me to provide all the stimulation of new toys, new situations and new adventures I can think of. Living on five acres of gardens, trees and eventual rodent hunting gives all of our (now) seven cats all the stimulation they need to be satisfied and seems to be helping with my ginger 'tasmanian-devil'.
While my nose is still pretty chewed up at the moment, since she likes to awaken me by first licking my face with that tiny raspy tongue and then giving me a good chomp before I can react, her claws are retracted for all ambushes and finger fights. The teeth still seem to find their way to skin on occasion, but she is developing the understanding that it is improper and will get a quick drop to the ground or push off the bed, or a sharp 'OW!'. Also getting up and leaving or putting her in the bedroom and closing the door for a bit seems to bring conciliatory behavior in her.
At eleven weeks she is finally developing the understanding of gentleness and modest mouthing behavior, but also she is getting all sorts of interactions and exercise...which I would think would be difficult to provide in an indoor-only situation. With a bit of creativity and purpose a person could be helpful in taming these misbehaving meowers living indoors.
To be sure, outdoors has its own dangers, as I am painfully aware. The cats are protected from predation if they stay within the five fenced acres, and at least mine do not have to worry about being hit by cars. Little ones stay indoors at night to avoid the owls. This kitten has no fear and has not met anyone she is afraid of. However this moxy gets Mooni in trouble. She decided that the lower, rough-barked, safer fruit trees were not sufficient for her climbing abilities and scurried up the smooth-barked Pistache tree. Ten feet up and with a miss of too-small claws, down' she came ten feet hard on a rock. Other than the wind knocked out and her pride bruised somewhat she began nibbling on skin within a minute, a sure sign of repair.
I think the aggression situation boils down to this; learn your cat's visual communications. Tails, ears, body posture and eyes all tell you when an attack is imminent. Nip it in the bud. Pet sparingly. Once the tail twitches, stop petting. Once the eyes darken, redirect. You'll have moments when they are drowsy and receptive to petting. In time the window of opportunity may widen. Never allow bad behavior to go unnoticed or unpunished.
Play, play, play! New toys, simple toys, complex toys, climbing toys. Mooni is just as happy with an empty soda bottle or crackly candy wrapper wadded up as she is with her feather and wierd squeaking mouse toys. She adores the dog's plush stuffed animals. Here she is thrashing one of them.
She didn't take to it like my other cats, but cardboard boxes cut with doors, windows and hanging things can keep a kitten busy for hours. I call them my Kardboard Kitty Kondos. I have some videos of them if anyone wants to see them.
Be patient but be firm. We may never end up with the cuddlebug we hoped for, but their intelligence and energy can be endlessly fun to watch and engage.
Here are images of Miss Mooni, Tippi, Lilo (also departed via coyotes) and other cats of mine (most of them are dumpees) :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/24426209@N06/albums/72157654503911612
they are definitely way more complicated than doggies! You guys have so much patience. I definitely wouldnt have lasted.
He is a sweet boy at times, and more than he is not. When I get home from work he will spend a long time rubbing against me and wanting pets, and cuddling up on me and purring. He would do it forever and probably fall asleep with me if I would let him! I have had to sew so many holes in my leggings....he jumps up on my legs and bites and then puts holes in them! I fixed a bunch of them a couple weeks ago, luckily haven't had to since then...hopefully that means he isn't doing it as often!
