Help me with my mental cat!
Discussion
We took ownership of a cute tortoise-shell kitten at age 8 weeks at which point she was very playful (puncing, a bit of biting and pawing which didn't hurt at that age) but also cuddly when she wanted to be.
At 14 weeks she has turned into a bit of a vicious creature. "Play" biting is all she ever seems to want to do. Pouncing on hands, feet, faces and causing scratches and cuts.
What is really worrying is her snake like tendency. She will rear up on her hind legs and her head will weave like a fecking cobra. Her ears go back then she pounces on your arm with a bite.
She no longer really cares about petting, stroking or cuddles.
Does anyone know of any techniques we can apply to tell her this is wrong? A getle tap on the nose and shouting "no" just seems to be part of the game. Ditto if I push her away.
Any suggestions very welcome - we just want her to be as she was nad not this little psycho! At the moment we can't even watch the TV without fear of our ankles being attacked!
L83
At 14 weeks she has turned into a bit of a vicious creature. "Play" biting is all she ever seems to want to do. Pouncing on hands, feet, faces and causing scratches and cuts.
What is really worrying is her snake like tendency. She will rear up on her hind legs and her head will weave like a fecking cobra. Her ears go back then she pounces on your arm with a bite.
She no longer really cares about petting, stroking or cuddles.
Does anyone know of any techniques we can apply to tell her this is wrong? A getle tap on the nose and shouting "no" just seems to be part of the game. Ditto if I push her away.
Any suggestions very welcome - we just want her to be as she was nad not this little psycho! At the moment we can't even watch the TV without fear of our ankles being attacked!
L83
chr15b said:
water pistol or sprayer, just make sure she doesnt see who does it, cures all sorts of problems such as clawing carpet, furniture etc.
tap on the nose they just see as aggression back, so they go into fight mode.
Absoloutly water pistol, I have them all over the house ready, cured a few of my kittens bad habits. tap on the nose they just see as aggression back, so they go into fight mode.
Water spray bottle. Give her a squirt when she tries to pounce.
You could also try and divert her attention using toys sprayed with catnip.
My two were like this as kittens but grew out of it, they'd pounce on anything, and had a thing for attacking my housemate. He said he felt like a pincushion
You could also try and divert her attention using toys sprayed with catnip.
My two were like this as kittens but grew out of it, they'd pounce on anything, and had a thing for attacking my housemate. He said he felt like a pincushion
Reading that if she does bite, not to give in as she will see you as a easy to defeat object and will keep coming back!
Might get a harrier-hawk glove!
Will definitely try the water spray.
P.S. as I type at my desk she is standing on her back legs chewing at a drawer handle - do kittens go through a teething stage?
Might get a harrier-hawk glove!
Will definitely try the water spray.
P.S. as I type at my desk she is standing on her back legs chewing at a drawer handle - do kittens go through a teething stage?
Legend83 said:
P.S. as I type at my desk she is standing on her back legs chewing at a drawer handle - do kittens go through a teething stage?
Mine did, they would gnaw at the plastic handles on my bedside table.TBH it sounds like she has alot of pent up energy that you need to burn off and direct somewhere fluffy, by this I mean toys
You can get these fluffy snake things which are about a metre long with a plastic handle which means you can play with her without risking your hands. As above spray the end with catnip, play with her and she'll go mad for it.
Torties are always a bit mental, ours has a little in it, one of the other proper tortie kittens in the litter was growling and hissing at 9 weeks old to anyone who got in her way- vicious little thing!
Ours has chewing mode and attacking mode- luckily only to inanimate objects and she does it fairly gentle on our hands, and she has fuss mode
Ours has chewing mode and attacking mode- luckily only to inanimate objects and she does it fairly gentle on our hands, and she has fuss mode
Pepi is mental, and will chew hands that are fussing him quite suddenly Tis amusing til it hurts!
They are (mostly) just playing and practising killing prey, which in this case is your hand.
A sharply said NO! Should get them out of the habit, so long as you do it every time they try it.
Cats can't be taught to do things easily, but they can be taught not to do stuff.
Tis amusing til it hurts!They are (mostly) just playing and practising killing prey, which in this case is your hand.
A sharply said NO! Should get them out of the habit, so long as you do it every time they try it.
Cats can't be taught to do things easily, but they can be taught not to do stuff.
Another vote for the water pistol. Problem is trying to buy a decent one, the small ones are cheaply made and tend to leak. I used to keep one in an old plastic container, and the cat in question used to drink from it, so now that has become his preferred water bowl.
It does work, though, and torties are usually quite intelligent, and will soon figure out that unwanted behaviour earns a squirt
Where are the pictures, BTW?
It does work, though, and torties are usually quite intelligent, and will soon figure out that unwanted behaviour earns a squirt
Where are the pictures, BTW?
Legend83 said:
We took ownership of a cute tortoise-shell kitten at age 8 weeks at which point she was very playful (puncing, a bit of biting and pawing which didn't hurt at that age) but also cuddly when she wanted to be.
At 14 weeks she has turned into a bit of a vicious creature. "Play" biting is all she ever seems to want to do. Pouncing on hands, feet, faces and causing scratches and cuts.
[]
Any suggestions very welcome - we just want her to be as she was nad not this little psycho!
L83
Get a second kitten, preferably male and slightly younger than the tortie, as a playmate. Sit back and enjoy the show as they appear to tear lumps out of each other. In a week they'll settle down, be madly in love with each other, and extremely affectionate all round.At 14 weeks she has turned into a bit of a vicious creature. "Play" biting is all she ever seems to want to do. Pouncing on hands, feet, faces and causing scratches and cuts.
[]
Any suggestions very welcome - we just want her to be as she was nad not this little psycho!
L83
At least that's the situation in our household right now.
karona said:
Legend83 said:
We took ownership of a cute tortoise-shell kitten at age 8 weeks at which point she was very playful (puncing, a bit of biting and pawing which didn't hurt at that age) but also cuddly when she wanted to be.
At 14 weeks she has turned into a bit of a vicious creature. "Play" biting is all she ever seems to want to do. Pouncing on hands, feet, faces and causing scratches and cuts.
[]
Any suggestions very welcome - we just want her to be as she was nad not this little psycho!
L83
Get a second kitten, preferably male and slightly younger than the tortie, as a playmate. Sit back and enjoy the show as they appear to tear lumps out of each other. In a week they'll settle down, be madly in love with each other, and extremely affectionate all round.At 14 weeks she has turned into a bit of a vicious creature. "Play" biting is all she ever seems to want to do. Pouncing on hands, feet, faces and causing scratches and cuts.
[]
Any suggestions very welcome - we just want her to be as she was nad not this little psycho!
L83
At least that's the situation in our household right now.
We've tried the same several times and sometimes it works, sometimes it ends in disaster.
Legend83 said:
Reading that if she does bite, not to give in as she will see you as a easy to defeat object and will keep coming back!
Might get a harrier-hawk glove!
Will definitely try the water spray.
P.S. as I type at my desk she is standing on her back legs chewing at a drawer handle - do kittens go through a teething stage?
cat and bite wtf they pee and scratch never seen a cat bite Might get a harrier-hawk glove!
Will definitely try the water spray.
P.S. as I type at my desk she is standing on her back legs chewing at a drawer handle - do kittens go through a teething stage?
Whenever I've seen someone get a second cat or dog to try and calm the first one it always ends up in double trouble as they 'egg' each other on a bit, especially if they're kept as indoor cats bored s
tless all day.
Although never had a kitten myself, only grown dogs and cats.
Do kittens respond to pack-like authority like dogs do? My friends always criticise me for roughing up their kittens (in a playful way).
tless all day.Although never had a kitten myself, only grown dogs and cats.
Do kittens respond to pack-like authority like dogs do? My friends always criticise me for roughing up their kittens (in a playful way).
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