Scratching and Biting

[lioness821]

Last year I found a cat while coming home at the metro station. I heard this loud cry. I knew it was a kitten so I searched until I found it snuggled under a car tire. I took the poor weak thing home, took him to the vet the next day and the vet told me the cat was only around 10 days old. Well I did everything a new mother cat would do, fed every couple of hours, helped the little thing go to the bathroom everything. Well its a year later and my sweet little boy, has turned into a scratching biting mess. My poor son has scratch and bite marks all over his arms and the youngest constantly gets tripped up by Maxwell. I'm a dog person and are not used to cat/kitten behavior. Someone told me since he was born stray he will always be this way. I figured since he was so young that wouldn't matter. Maxwell as been fixed so he doesn't have the desire to roam around outdoors, but constantly stalks and terrifies everyone at home. Will he grow out of this or is there something I can do?

Thanks

 

[nikie1986]

I have the same thing going on. Our neighbor found Maximus outside when it first started getting cold (we've only had him for 3 months) We got him neutered and the vet said he was less than a year old. He's sweet and loves playing but he gets overly aggressive (seems like it got worse after we neutered him). Not while playing you can just be sitting there and he'll out of no where attack you and scratch and bite hard. I'm curious as well as how to help him not be so aggressive. We have no kids yet but we plan on keeping him for a long time. He's a sweet heart and even though he has these moments he also is very friendly when he wants to be.

 

[addiebee]

You often see this kind of bratty behavior in bottle babies because they didn't get taught "catiquette" by mom and siblings. You could get him a pal... perhaps a somewhat older cat... who will teach him HOW to be a cat... possibly.

I know there are ways to redirect this playful aggression... there is a sticky at the top of this subforum that talks about this in general terms.

I hope someone comes along shortly with more experience with this than me.

 

[lioness821]

Originally Posted by Nikie1986

I have the same thing going on. Our neighbor found Maximus outside when it first started getting cold (we've only had him for 3 months) We got him neutered and the vet said he was less than a year old. He's sweet and loves playing but he gets overly aggressive (seems like it got worse after we neutered him). Not while playing you can just be sitting there and he'll out of no where attack you and scratch and bite hard. I'm curious as well as how to help him not be so aggressive. We have no kids yet but we plan on keeping him for a long time. He's a sweet heart and even though he has these moments he also is very friendly when he wants to be.

Well I'm glad I'm not alone. Funny both names have the "Max" in them hmmm. Yes I totally agree Maxwell is a sweet cat, but he is very aggresive!! Good luck with him. By the way, does your kitten still suckle on blankets and very soft things?

 

[lioness821]

That makes a lot of since, wow another cat....I'll have to think about that one :-) Thank you so much for your advice!!

 

[alleygirl]

Originally Posted by AddieBee

You often see this kind of bratty behavior in bottle babies because they didn't get taught "catiquette" by mom and siblings.

That explains Riley!

He was a bottle baby and definitely has no manners.

 

[ldg]

This is the stickied thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20837

I basically gave the same advice... but here's my reply to the post in the Caring for Strays and Ferals forum: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=210903