Rescued as newby bites and scratches

[mary anne]

I rescued a kitten when he was prob only 1 day old. My sister and brother in law have him and want to give him back. They say he bites and scratches them. He's been fixed. He's not quite a year. Any idea why he's acting like this? Is it possible for him to be a good pet for me? He's never been outside. What can I do when I first get him? He was held all the time as a kitten. It's making me nervous. Why this behavior with owners that treat you like a king?

 

[tulosai]

Unfortunately this is really really common in kittens that were separated from mom and siblings early.  In the ordinary course of things mom and siblings teach a kitten 'manners'. Since this couldn't happen, this is unfortunately not surprising.

It's hard to give specific advice as to what your sister and her husband could do without knowing what they have already tried. As a very basic starting point they should never play with her using their hands as that encourages and reinforces the behavior, and they should be actively playing with her usingappropriate toys as much as possible. These articles may be also provide a good starting point:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-stop-playtime-aggression-in-cats

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/re-directed-aggression-in-cats