Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog training - dog behavior > Cat behavior forum - cat training

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 5th, 2012, 05:36 PM
raquelmaria15 raquelmaria15 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: NJ
Posts: 3
Exclamation Inexperienced trying to take care of kitten. Having difficulties with aggression.

About a week and a half ago I was given a kitten. She was basically thrown away, and I brought her home.
I've had cats before, and I know how to take care of them, but I've never had a kitten.
She's about a month old, quite young.

She's been fine up until now. She's showing extreme aggression and doesn't understand being pet (petted?).

She's always after my hands. When we're playing, she'll choose my hands over her toys. She bites and scratches and pounces on me. She does this to my feet when I'm walking around, too. It's not just during play either, it's all the time. And she also attacks every other part of my body. I'm lucky that she hasn't found my face yet. That's what I'm scared of. If it gets to the point where she scratches my face.. I may have to give her up. It has gotten to be very problematic and I don't know how to correct it.

Also, she seems to be confused. She does like me, I'm sure she doesn't hate me. She wasn't abused before either. She just didn't have any human interaction. Sometimes I'll pet her, and she'll purr, but then she'll attack me again. And she likes to sleep cuddled into me at night and during the day. She really loves getting my attention, and her aggression might be her trying to get my attention, but it's definitely not a good way. I need to fix that now that she's young.

Basically, she's very aggressive about everything. She doesn't know when to stop, when to soften her bite, or when to play without her claws.

Oh and don't suggest getting her a playmate, because I can't afford one right now.
But I do have an old cat (Tiger) here. He's neutered and has his vaccines. On Saturday Cookie (kitten that I've been talking about) is going to be getting her vaccines as well. After that I plan on introducing Cookie to Tiger and maybe he'll be able to teach her to control herself.

Any suggestions?
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old January 5th, 2012, 06:16 PM
Winston's Avatar
Winston Winston is offline
Mom of 3 precious Angels
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hamilton Ontario
Posts: 7,300
First off welcome!

Just wanted to say that what your describing is typical kitten behaviour. She is very very young to be off her mom and without her siblings. They get such value from this in the later weeks after birth because they get experience from being with their littermates and nutrition from mom. Most kittens dont come off the mom ideally until 7 -8 weeks but I know many go sooner than that.

The other concern is I dont think she should be vaccinated so young? I could be wrong but it seems to me you shouldnt. I am positive some of our experienced kitten folks will give you some more advice on that.

Have you tried redirecting her biting to a toy? I think you may have some trouble when your older cat gets to know the younger one? some dont mind it but others have more trouble with it. Kittens are so full of energy too! you may find yourself giving the kitty a time out somewhere so the other one can have some freedom...

Most importantly thank you for taking her in. It is so sad how disposable animals have come. Your her little kitty angel now! I think as she ages you will see a signifigant change as she matures.

Good Luck
Cindy
__________________
Tabitha April 10, 1995 - August 23, 2013
Bomber April 10, 1995 - July 12, 2010
Winston Nov 15, 1999 - September 15, 2011
Sophie Aug 30, 2011

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Unknown
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old January 5th, 2012, 06:36 PM
raquelmaria15 raquelmaria15 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: NJ
Posts: 3
Thank you! This is such a lovely community c:

Yeah, I realized that she was really young to be separated from her mom, it's a shame. But I didn't want to see her being thrown away, so I quickly took her in.
I've been trying to raise her like a good mommy, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I was actually reading some other threads about this kind of behavior, and it does seem to be normal. But she's not doing this as just play, she'll attack my hands/feet/body when they're not moving

I'm also worried about her aversion to petting. All of my cats have always loved the attention, but she seems confused about it. Is there a way to introduce it to her. I've been petting her a little bit a time. Once she shows signs of discomfort, I back away. I want her to grow up to be an affectionate cat.

Also, she didn't have and littermates. Her mom only had her. So she hasn't had the experience of playing with another cat besides her mom, which she was only with for a month.

Speaking of age, I had no idea that there was an age to get her vaccinated. She's a little more than a month old, maybe 5 - 6 weeks at most, is that too young? (I'm gonna have to research that.)

Oh dear I didn't even think of having a problem with her and my other cat. I have her upstairs, and he's in the rest of the house. I have her scent on me and he doesn't seem to mind. He still cuddles with me. He's a very mellow cat. Of course I'm gonna introduce them slowly. I plan on having her in her crate the first time. I'm a bit nervous about letting her out though. I'm not sure how to introduction at that point works.

Anyways, thank you for your reply and kind words c:
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old January 6th, 2012, 08:37 AM
sugarcatmom's Avatar
sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 5,357
Does indeed sound like a typical rambunctious kitten. As cute as they are, they can also be persistently obnoxious !! She should eventually grow out of it, but in the meantime do you have any wand or fishing rod style toys you can encourage her to play with? That will distract from your hands a bit, plus hopefully give her enough exercise to get some of her ya-yas out. The petting thing will come. It's probably still new to her, plus the fact that she sees your hands as toys confuses her.

As for introducing her to your older kitty, here are some links that might help the process:
http://www.wvcats.com/integrating_kittens_with_cats.htm
http://www.squidoo.com/multi-cat-man...module10663073
http://parmashelter.org/home/index.php/old-vs-new

Good luck! And we also demand kitten pics here if you have any.
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb

“We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old January 6th, 2012, 04:08 PM
raquelmaria15 raquelmaria15 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: NJ
Posts: 3
Haha yeah she's pretty crazy, but she likes to cuddle sometimes too. It's nice.


Thank you for the links and information!

Here are some pictures!




Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old January 6th, 2012, 06:42 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 10,187
Absolutely adorable.
I foster kittens quite a bit. What you are describing is typical kitten behaviour. I even have kittens aged 5-6 months at times that do exactly what you are describing.
Follow sugarcatmom as she is one of the most savvy cat person here along with 14+K and Love4Himmies.
I am just a foster mom but I got alot of useful information from these 3 people on how to work with fiesty kittens and even got support for a feral kitten who is now safely in a home and loved to bits.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old January 14th, 2012, 04:43 PM
catlover2's Avatar
catlover2 catlover2 is offline
Catlover2
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: GTA (Greater Toronto Area)
Posts: 1,031
Thanks for taking in this sweet little girl. You've received some good info. already. One of the things you can do to get her to enjoy being stroked is to place her in your lap---if she's a bit sleepy even better! Place her in your lap facing away from your body and stroke the back of her neck and head with short upward strokes with your forefinger. This mimics a momacat's licking and most kitties respond well with this type of stroking. If she starts to bite aggressively, stop the stroking and offer her a toy to bite at, or use a piece of cord for her to follow. Ignore any aggressive biting, say "No" if she makes contact with your skin, give a toy and walk away. You want her to get the idea that nice things happen when she shows good behavior. Good luck!
__________________
"We humans are indeed fortunate if we happen to be chosen to be owned by a cat." -- Anonymous
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old January 14th, 2012, 04:59 PM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
What a little sweet-heart,I too thank you for taking her in,what could have happened to her if you didn't I don't even want to think of.
Introducing a kitten to a laid back male cat,should not be a problem,a little hissing at first,but I am sure they'll both be ok,a slow intro is important.
When I got my youngest(now 9yrs old)he took to my older tabbie right off and they were pals from that day on.
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
aggression, attack, behavior, bite, rough

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:12 AM.