Aggressive Kitten

[Breann]

I have a almost 9 week old kitten that just seems to keep getting more aggressive. I've had him since he was about 6 weeks old and a couple days after getting him he started getting aggressive.
He will bite hands unprovoked, and attacks feet when walking. I know that this is normal kitten behavior but sometimes he bites way too hard and won't stop. I have several toys for him to play with, a feather stick thing, and stuffed animals to wrestle with but after a few seconds he decides he would rather attack people.

He also seems to have temper tantrums when he's caught doing something he's not supposed to, and when I make him stop he attacks me.
He has his cuddly moments, and will lick my face but then something he just all of a sudden will bite my face hard for no reason.

I've tried ignoring him when he shows these behaviors, and will even walk away, but no matter what he won't stop attacking people.
I don't know what to do anymore, i'm hoping this is just normal kitten behavior that will slowly start to go away as he gets older.
Any ideas?

 

[tabbytom]

Hi Breann, just be firm with him, keep going through the motion with a firm 'NO'.

Have more play time with him and keep him busy playing and tire him out. All these are just play aggressions and have toys lying around and as soon as he jumps on you, tell him no and give him the toy and walk away.

The other thing is just to look out for him and see if he's hiding at a corner waiting to ambush and pounce on you. If you see that, just tell him no and give him a toy to wrestle or simply you change course and don't walk by him.

Get toys that are big enough to grab like a kickaroo. Kittens have many phases they go through and this is one of them.

 

[Letta]

Hi,
From what you are describing it does seem that he is probably trying to play with you. 6 weeks is a bit early to be taken away from his siblings and he might not have learnt how to play properly. I truly don't think that he sees that as aggression but kitten wrestle together and he might be trying to do that.
How much do you play with him? Having toys is not enough he needs you to move them. I suggest that every time he does that you play with him instead. He is at a very active age and he needs you to play with him. If he really bites too hard try complaining and hissing. Never hit him however.
I know how frustrating it can be but it will stop I promise, just be consistent in telling him no and play with him, the more you play the less he will do that and the stronger your bond will become and the more he will love you for it.

 

[danteshuman]

Where slippers around the house so he can't get his little claws into your feet? He is just a baby

 

[sparrowhawk]

I agree with Letta, that cat was taken away from the litter very young. What you are experiencing isn't active aggression, but play. At 9 weeks, your kitten hasn't even quite finished developing his vision! (they don't open their eyes for the first week, and their eyes don't fully develop until week 10!), so I assure you this isn't a cat trying to establish dominance. But you did get your kitten probably less than a week after it first learned to pounce! It's just wanting to do all those things that nature is saying "practice practice practice!"

Ideally he would be doing this with siblings - no respectable breeder will give away a cat until AT LEAST 8 weeks (2 weeks older than your cat when you got him) and many wait until 12.

But since he has no siblings, you and your family will have to be his siblings and parents simultaneously! This means being gentle but very firm "no" when "attacking" you, but on the flip side you will have to give him a LOT of play time to attack the toys you make move around and come to life.

Make sure he also gets plenty of nutrition. I'm not trying to bash whoever gave you the kitten (many people obviously unexpectedly get kittens and don't know how long to wait, and others help a stray mom out and even bad timing is better than life on the streets), but your kitten needs a bit of help making sure it gets everything he normally would have gotten from his mother and siblings

 

[haleyds]

Great advice above, like mentioned, most people don't know that kittens need to be with their mother ideally until 12 weeks of age. Their mom teaches them a lot about how to play nicely and what's too rough or too much. So really he missed out on those messages and it leaves him with no understanding that he can hurt you. It's not aggression, it's just lack of understanding lol.

 

[Lalka]

Kit, my bf's cat is the devil. I still love her but most of the time when i try to pet her, she attack me. If i run away, she chase me..little bugger. I dont live with them and only visit every 2 weeks for 2 days and she always purr non-stop and cuddle in the first 30 minutes of my arrival, she is obviously happy to see me. She does sleep everynight in the bed with my bf and if he pet her for too long, she bite. I recently bought her a Bergan star chaser and a wand toy...she love both toys but she is still agressive. We found her outside 3 years ago starving when she was maybe 1 month old...and we still love her. I think she has a "feral" personnality and my bf can live with that because she can be also lovely.

And saying "No" to her makes things worse

I would follow people advice on playing...he is still a kitten. Look for Jackson Galaxy video if you still need advices. Dont litherally do what he suggest, all cats are different.