Hi all! So in August of last year I added a 4th cat to my little clowder, a 10-week-old girl I named Zosia. She's not the first kitten I adopted (my boy cat, George, was 12 weeks old when I got him 10 years ago) so it's not my first time at the rodeo, but I just wanted to vent out a little frustration about how naughty adolescent kitties are!
I was super careful to socialize her really well as a kitten - she learned that biting and swatting hands was unacceptable, and I also focused on getting her to allow being handled and picked up without squirming or struggling. I got her used to having her paws and feet handled, and tried (key word: tried, lol) to get her used to being brushed at the suggestion of my vet. In fact, she was SUCH an angel at the vet office that he complimented me on her! She was so good, didn't struggle at all, just calmly let him examine her.
Fast forward a few months and we are in the midst of the terrible teens; she's about 10 months old now. My sweet as sugar little kitten has become...well, less sweet. She was never particularly cuddly, and never wanted to sit on laps, but now she more or less doesn't want me to pet her at all. Despite bribing her with treats, she absolutely DOES NOT WANT to be brushed, and will swat and attempt to bite sometimes - which is a pain, because she grew in a massively fluffy coat that's extremely prone to matting. She loves getting into anything and everything, and pesters even George, to whom she is extremely bonded, to the point that even he is done with her sh*t, lol. I've been through this with him as well - I remember that George wanted nothing to do with me as an adolescent either, unless he was falling asleep, and he was super crazy and destructive. I know that baby Zosia will grow out of her naughtiness and her sweet temperament will return. But it's still stressful, so I wanted to post here and see if you all can commiserate with tales of naughty teenage cats, and if you have further suggestions about how to get this fluff monster to accept the brushing she desperately needs.
I was super careful to socialize her really well as a kitten - she learned that biting and swatting hands was unacceptable, and I also focused on getting her to allow being handled and picked up without squirming or struggling. I got her used to having her paws and feet handled, and tried (key word: tried, lol) to get her used to being brushed at the suggestion of my vet. In fact, she was SUCH an angel at the vet office that he complimented me on her! She was so good, didn't struggle at all, just calmly let him examine her.
Fast forward a few months and we are in the midst of the terrible teens; she's about 10 months old now. My sweet as sugar little kitten has become...well, less sweet. She was never particularly cuddly, and never wanted to sit on laps, but now she more or less doesn't want me to pet her at all. Despite bribing her with treats, she absolutely DOES NOT WANT to be brushed, and will swat and attempt to bite sometimes - which is a pain, because she grew in a massively fluffy coat that's extremely prone to matting. She loves getting into anything and everything, and pesters even George, to whom she is extremely bonded, to the point that even he is done with her sh*t, lol. I've been through this with him as well - I remember that George wanted nothing to do with me as an adolescent either, unless he was falling asleep, and he was super crazy and destructive. I know that baby Zosia will grow out of her naughtiness and her sweet temperament will return. But it's still stressful, so I wanted to post here and see if you all can commiserate with tales of naughty teenage cats, and if you have further suggestions about how to get this fluff monster to accept the brushing she desperately needs.