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Old June 6th, 2009, 03:03 AM
medwa medwa is offline
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My kitten is too rough and aggressive

My kitten's name is Oh Billy (from billy madison). When Billy is calm, she is a great kitten. She's very sweet, likes to suck on her blanket, and will purr and nudge me in my face. She does this to greet me when I get home from work everyday as well.

However, the other 75% of the time is difficult. I can't satisfy Billy's urge to play with me, no matter how short or long our play sessions are. As soon as I stop playing and sit down at my computer, she drives me crazy. She climbs my pants, and when I have on shorts, she climbs my legs. If I grab at her to put her down off, she latches onto my hand and bites and claws my hand all up in a really aggressive manner. I've tried disrupting play time as a way to "punish" her, but she just continues climbing, clawing, scratching, and biting.

Can I get some guidance from someone on Oh Billy please? I am getting more frustrated by the minute.
Thanks
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Old June 6th, 2009, 03:33 AM
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I forgot to mention...Billy is about 4-6 months old.
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Old June 6th, 2009, 07:43 AM
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Billy is a baby and has tons of energy. A great way to get her to stop bothering you is to get her a playmate. It will give you a break and your kitten will be much happier
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Old June 6th, 2009, 12:26 PM
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Ditto what L4H said. She's very young and all kittens want to do is play. A playmate around the same age would be great. They would keep each other company, and burn off lots of kitty energy. 2 isn't much more work than 1.
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Old June 6th, 2009, 09:13 PM
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How old was OhBilly when you got her? Kittens learn to control their bite between the ages of 6-10 weeks. If you got her at 6 wks or younger, she's never really learned that by roughhousing with her littermates. If she's giving you hard bites, a gentle tap on nose with a stern "No", and then do not continue playing with her with your hands. Redirect her with a toy or foil ball or something she likes to play with. Adding a second kitten is also a good idea.
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Old June 7th, 2009, 01:10 AM
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Billy was probably about 8 or 10 weeks when i got her. However when I got her she was much more calm than she is now. She was a very calm cat for the first 2 weeks or so when I had her.

While the idea of another kitten seems fun, it would be twice as expensive as having one. I would prefer for it to be just Billy and I for now, but I am still weighing the option.

Thanks for your suggestions. I will try redirecting her play with a toy. She has bout 3 or 4 different toys, but I think I may make or buy some additional and swap them out every so often and see if that keeps her a bit more interested in the toys and not so much on my hands.
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Old June 7th, 2009, 06:32 AM
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You may want to consider a feather stick and/or a laser light. They are great for pooping out a cat.
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Old June 7th, 2009, 06:34 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catlover2 View Post
How old was OhBilly when you got her? Kittens learn to control their bite between the ages of 6-10 weeks. If you got her at 6 wks or younger, she's never really learned that by roughhousing with her littermates. If she's giving you hard bites, a gentle tap on nose with a stern "No", and then do not continue playing with her with your hands. Redirect her with a toy or foil ball or something she likes to play with. Adding a second kitten is also a good idea.
With my foster kittens, I have never had to "tap" them on the nose to stop them from biting. I just had to say a firm "No" and stop play, then redirect play with a toy.
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  #9  
Old June 7th, 2009, 10:07 PM
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Let her play with toys, a lot, like a fishing pole, and let her get that play out.. She will grow out of it..

Her sucking on a blanket leads me to think she was taken too early, he still has a suck drive.. A lot of people think that when a cat stops nursing, or needing to that it is time to remove them from mom, that is not the case. Also people think that when the mom is getting grumpy with her kittens that she doesn't want them anymore, is sick of it, that is not true wither.. That is when she is teaching them, that rough play is not cool, they learn a lot from her at that age. Given the choice mother cats don't completley wean their kittens for months, when we intervene we get some problems..

Don't worry, all kittens are rough, I have scars on my feet because every kitten discouvers hiding under the bed when you are making it... They are bouncy playful littly beings, it will pass. If you don't like it, end the play, that works, that is what mom would do. Then they lean, if I am rough.. no game.. they figure it out. The more you can play, using their natural prey drive the better, chasing a string you drage, a pole with a feather ect... they love it!
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Old June 12th, 2009, 04:11 PM
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This is what cats do

Quote:
Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
With my foster kittens, I have never had to "tap" them on the nose to stop them from biting. I just had to say a firm "No" and stop play, then redirect play with a toy.
This is what cats do to discipline---a tap on nose, tape on nose with claws out for more emphasis, bop on head. The following videos demonstrate this typical cat behavior. 1) a young kitten who doesn't want to share food, 2) a very patient cat that gently pushes ear-chewing puppy away, but when puppy still doesn't get the hint, razes the level of discipline to a neck bite.

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzwi9eF3QOw&NR=1
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlAhCFk4zD4
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Old June 12th, 2009, 04:31 PM
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This is what cats do

This is same video, but goes a little longer on the neck bite, which is a hard enough bite as puppy squeals. I wish they would have carried it on a little longer to see if puppy actually got the "don't bug me" message and left cat alone after that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td-VG...eature=related
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Old June 12th, 2009, 05:15 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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lol pup will eventually
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  #13  
Old June 14th, 2009, 10:30 PM
medwa medwa is offline
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Here's an update on Billy for everyone who responded with advice. But first I want to thank yall for your time and suggestions.

Billy's aggressive play hasn't really improved any over the past few weeks. I tried all of the things suggested here, but nothing has worked as of yet. I think she is just still to young and playful to fully grasp what NO means.

Some days, she will run around the house and growl and hiss and spit at random things. If I don't play with her or whatever, she will walk around and meow. I'm considering getting a 2nd kitten in hopes that they will get their aggression and playfulness out on each other and not terrorize me when I get home from work.
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Old June 15th, 2009, 02:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catlover2 View Post
How old was OhBilly when you got her? Kittens learn to control their bite between the ages of 6-10 weeks. If you got her at 6 wks or younger, she's never really learned that by roughhousing with her littermates. If she's giving you hard bites, a gentle tap on nose with a stern "No", and then do not continue playing with her with your hands. Redirect her with a toy or foil ball or something she likes to play with. Adding a second kitten is also a good idea.
Please don't tap her on the nose because it might damage her sense of smell and if she can'ts smell she won't eat. I know catlover said a gentle tap but I wouldn't just in case.

When u are playing with a toy with her and u want to stop, u have to slowly slow down the playing so she has time to calm down and is not stil wound up for the playing. Also don't use your hands as toys.

Could u set up a bird feeder in front of a window so she can watch birds? That keeps my 3 entertained for hours. LOL

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Old June 18th, 2009, 03:46 AM
medwa medwa is offline
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Originally Posted by Tundra_Queen View Post
Could u set up a bird feeder in front of a window so she can watch birds? That keeps my 3 entertained for hours. LOL
I plan on doing this as soon as she is big enough to jump up onto the window sill
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Old June 18th, 2009, 07:53 AM
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Some days, she will run around the house and growl and hiss and spit at random things. If I don't play with her or whatever, she will walk around and meow. I'm considering getting a 2nd kitten in hopes that they will get their aggression and playfulness out on each other and not terrorize me when I get home from work.


yup sounds like the zoomies lol

anorhet kit is a great idea esp if you can get a sibling if not make sure you read upon how to introduce kits

btw i dont mean to alarmyou but my 3 yr old cat still gets the zoomies at least twice a day

terrorise lol well welcome to catdom billie iwll mellow it will just take a whaile aslo all this running aroound shows he is in the best health
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Old June 20th, 2009, 10:51 PM
medwa medwa is offline
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Yeah I paid the money to make sure Billy is completely healthy. I have been raised with cats my entire life, had at least 15+ cats over the past years and have never had a cat that behaves as badly or aggressively as Billy. I hate to say it, but I do not believe that getting a companion for her will be the solution to my problems. I'm going to give her another few months, but if things do not improve I will have to find another home for her.
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Old June 26th, 2009, 01:52 PM
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Can you persevere with "Billy" for another few months? She really is in the rowdy "teenager phase" now, and yes a lot of kitties do play rough at her age. If she has not settled down by one year or more, it probably is just her "personality". Like people some cats are more aggressive than others. Sometimes it's that red hair gene---like red/orange tabbies or related tortoiseshell pattern. They don't call it tortitude for nothing. So just curious, what colour is Billy? By the way, torties and orange tabbies can be some of the most lovable and devoted, so it's worth hanging in there through the "rowdies".
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Old June 27th, 2009, 04:24 AM
medwa medwa is offline
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Billy is a gray tabby. Gray and light stripes on the back, gray spots on the stomach.

I have decided i'm going to do my best to be patient with Billy. While she still has really bad days, I see a slight improvement in her behavior.
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Old July 1st, 2009, 11:36 PM
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Hmmm? I've always found greys & grey tabbies to be the sweetest. Maybe quirky personality here...but more likely just the "rowdies". A ["slight improvement" is good, so Billy may be learning. Hang in there!
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Old July 14th, 2009, 01:52 AM
medwa medwa is offline
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Hey everyone. Thanks for all of your advice so far!

As for billy, she has calmed down a good bit since i last posted. She still has her days where she is really crazy and pissy, but usually she is pretty sweet. I noticed that she doesn't like for me to sit at my computer desk, lol. It is something she will have to get over, being that I spend a lot of time on my computer, but she is making good progress.
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Old July 14th, 2009, 06:17 AM
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try giving her her meal or a special treat just before you sit down at the computer, she'll start thinking of it as a reward and let you sit undisturbed
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Old July 14th, 2009, 05:11 PM
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Good to hear Billy is making progress. I have one that doesn't exactly like me at the computer either. She wants to help type all the time too! kkkkkkkkkm./////// (that's her typing!) and likes to paw at the paper as it comes out of the printer. Sometimes I have to lock her out of the room if I need to get something done without interruption, but most of the time she settles down if I show her where I want her to sit beside the computer and tell her to "sit", and she does and enjoys looking out the window. But if she's in one of her really "buggy" moods I say "No" and keep putting her on the floor if she interferes. She eventually settles either beside the computer, on my lap, or sitting behind me in the chair.
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