Biting kitten - Bach Flowers?

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Antonio65

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I hope so, maybe I had to many expectations.

Meanwhile, her soft pops go on, and today she started peeing outside the box too! :frustrated:

P.S.: You might have noticed that her tail is short, twisted and knobby :)
 
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Antonio65

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The pharmacy gave me a tiny bottle of Australian Bush Flowers, 7 drops twice a day for about a week to see the first results.
I also plugged the Feliway diffuser in.

Today she peed 4 times outside the box, once in the box.

Right now she's next to me on the sofa, listening to the portable loudspeaker with a music for cats. She's letting me cuddle her, the first time in 6 days.
 

islander

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Six days is so short a time. It really is early days. One of the three street youngsters I took in last year took weeks to come to me fully. She would suddenly attach to my wrist, purring, for hours on end. Clinging desperately. But no way would she accept petting unless she initiated it. That one was very insecure; had a total phobia of doors. I spent a full hour one day standing by an open door persuading her it was OK .. took weeks longer of her psyching herself up then charging the open door.. A year on she now often cries and rears up against the door to be let out, but not all the time. Just time and patience with them all. Delighting in the victories.
 
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Antonio65

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Yesterday we spent a couple of hours together on the sofa, lying next to each other. She purred a lot, she licked my face for a few minutes, then she fell asleep with one of her paws on my cheek. She never came on my chest, though, as I would have liked.

This morning I picked her up in my arms and she accepted to stay for three minutes, then asked to be put down.

There have been very slight improvements.
 

rubysmama

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I think things are settling quite well, but I understand your hesitation. :hugs:
 

di and bob

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i think she will settle down a lot as she matures and blends herself into your household and ways. Just keep trying to love and cuddle her until she says no. She may be just too full of 'kitten' to want much cuddle time right now. She sounds awfully 'feisty' (tail wagging) just lile my Chrissy and Chrissy did become a lap cat later in life. Although she did have overstimulation syndrome which really limited stroking and interaction. But I had other cats for that! She was my soul kitty and I would give anything to feel those teeth again!
 
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Antonio65

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Hi rubysmama rubysmama , thanks for checking in on us.
Today is the second week of Australian Flowers, and I don't think I can say there are visible improvements. The kitten is a little quieter than in the first days, but nonetheless she's still biting (softly) my hands and rejects all attempts of petting her.
The only moments when I can cuddle her or feel her fur is when she's sleeping. When she sleeps I can kindly pet her or keep a hand on her and feel her coat and warmth. But as soon as she wakes up and realizes what is going on, she turns belly up with all four paws ready to fight back my hand. She doesn't bite or scratch, but she makes it clear that doesn't like to be touched. And if I do not understand it within a few seconds, she leaves.
No lap curling or other kind of physical contact.
No purrs if not early in the morning.

She is also taking some relaxing pills, Anxitane by Virbac. It contains L-Theanine. And she listens to music for cats too when we're away.
 

rubysmama

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The people who "cared" for her before she came to live with you, made a huge mistake using their hands as toys. You're now left trying to break her out of the habit.

Since she doesn't like being touched, maybe try a tip that people use with ferals. Put a sock or something else soft on a stick, and try touching her with that. I've read that helps ferals get used to being touched. And speaking of ferals, I'm going to tag Jcatbird Jcatbird who has socialized many feral kittens, and even though your girl isn't technically feral, she might have some tips for you
 
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Antonio65

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Thanks rubysmama rubysmama , actually I have already tried something similar to the sock on a stick.
I bought her a toy, one of those wands, rods, with a line and a toy hanging at the end of it. She loves this toy and runs like crazy to try and catch the cloth fish at the end of it. The tip of the stick is equipped with a plush ball, and I have used that soft ball to pet or touch her without being directly involved, but she fights and bites the ball too.
It is something like this, with a fish instead of the flower

Stick.JPG


Is it what you were thinking of?
 

rubysmama

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Yes, that's the type of thing I was thinking of.

And, I agree totally with di and bob di and bob , that if anyone can make a difference in this kitten's life, it's you. :redheartpump:

About her peeing around the house, have you considered confining her to just one room, or area, for a while. Just till she gets the hang of using the litter box all the time. Does she use the litter box at all? And, I'm sure you know this, but you are using an enzyme cleaner to clean up the accidents, right?
 
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Antonio65

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About her peeing around the house, have you considered confining her to just one room, or area, for a while. Just till she gets the hang of using the litter box all the time. Does she use the litter box at all? And, I'm sure you know this, but you are using an enzyme cleaner to clean up the accidents, right?
She's been confined to a single room for at least a week and she picked two corners as alternate spots for peeing. She already had a litter box (open type, a tray) that she was using regularly.
We decided to add a litter box (closed, with door removed) in one of her "favorite"spots. She started using the new box, along with the old one, and along... the remaining spot. We also gave her the use of a second room because we thought she was feeling imprisoned and was trying to tell us something. Nothing. She kept using the two boxes and that corner.
I put a new dish with food in that corner, she stopped peeing there.
Yesterday she found a new corner to use as a toilet.

I always cleaned the spots as soon as possible, using all kinds of products. I used the Italian equivalent of your Lysol, I also used just white vinegar, and of course the enzyme cleaner. One at the time, or all together one after the other.
No luck so far.
 

Jcatbird

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Hey! I just wanted to add a little. You know I’ve brought in kitties too. Some came from tense situations and some abandoned. I have had kittens with runny poop and hand biters. It’s very frustrating. The last runny poop was a Combination of worms and Coccidia. I think part of that kitten biting had to do with discomfort. She had tummy pains suddenly and also a fever. She recovered but still bit though. I found that getting her really exhausted from active play, a toy on a string attached to a wand , got her tired. After getting tired, I let her calm down and then sat beside her on the floor for pets. If she nipped I gently said, “ no baby” and withdrew. I would return in a few minutes and start again. Any time she went for my hands, I put a toy in front of her mouth. She began biting the toy as I petted. She was without Mom cat training or siblings when I found her. She was happy to find a human parent but undisciplined. She purred a lot but it took time for snuggling. She would climb my leg when I entered the room! Ow! Lol Finally, she climbed in my lap on her own and snuggled down. Yay! She’s now older and very happy to be picked up, held and loved. She stopped hand biting. I guess my hands don’t look threatening or like prey to her now. She loves her toys and still wants to play. Tortie kitties do seem to be a bit active and more playful babies. I think if you just hold on, give it time and work on redirecting the biting as she matures a bit, it will all be fine. Next time you pick her up or pet, have a toy in your hand and as she goes to bite, put it in front of her mouth. Hopefully she’ll understand, toys are for biting, not humans. It worked with Wanda Heart so I’m hoping!
I posted some pictures that might make you feel a little more better. :alright:
FD3491C9-81B7-496A-A603-5248648D557E.jpeg
7D3B3DC9-99B4-4E6D-9ADC-B2F12EB94621.jpeg
C1D8437F-5C06-4078-8A3D-9A4EBE4A1A10.jpeg
50FE2DA3-644A-4C9F-A15E-D48356FB1760.jpeg
 

Jcatbird

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I hope the new toys are helping her exhaust some of that energy. She looked adorable with the bear. She’s got that Tori’s wagging tail but that should pass as she gets past some of those kitten manners. I hope today was better.
 
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Antonio65

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Hi Jcatbird Jcatbird , thanks for your inputs!

Well, yes, apparently this kitten lost her mother too soon, but this had happened to many other kittens I had at home in the past years, and none of them ever showed this unwelcome behavior.
Lola, the cat in my avatar, for instance didn't ever see her mom at all. She was raised with the milk bottle in my hands and was the sweetest cat ever! Her brother Romeo was just the same. Leo, the other cat in my signature, was taken from his mom when he was about 5 weeks old, and was absolutely sweet. I had a kitten at home this past summer, found among the garbage at the age of 5 or 6 weeks, really sweet too.
This one is the first kitten that I have seen in many years that doesn't like to be touched or kept in my arms. And nearly doesn't purr...

About getting her tired, I think she can manage this herself. She almost never sleeps. During the weekends, she wakes up at 6 in the morning, play all day, running like crazy, jumping, biting, ambushing us behind corners or doors, playing with everything, eating, etc... then she relax for a while in the afternoon for a quick nap, then again till midnight.
When she does lay to my side on the sofa, she licks herself, bites her legs, or my hands... she's never tired!

I tried to pet her with the plush tip of the fishing rod she usually plays with. She likes it, she closes her eyes and relaxes, but when I stop and she opens her eyes, she sees my hands and attacks.
I already tried to propose her a toy instead of my hands, she kind tries to destroy the toy, her beloved bear, with a fury that I think is not a game. It's like if she thinks the bear is alive and wants to kill him!

And her short tail, always and constantly wagging (well, kind of, she can't move her tail as a normal cat does), and bristled, even when she sees me coming out of the bathroom :flail:

In August I had rescued a 2 months old kitten. She was angry and wild, but I was sure she could have been tamed. A woman asked me to have the kitten, she was looking for a kitten. I told her the cat was very wild and dangerous, she said she was going to try and tame her. On the second day in her hands, she took the kitten to her vet, and the vet had his hands seriously injured and couldn't visit her, nor wanted to see her again. The woman did her best for 5 weeks, I was update every day on her progresses, but at the end she returned the kitten to me, and I had to put her in a shelter, where the staff told me the kitten was really mad and dangerous, and the only option we had was to have her spayed when it was time, and release her where I had found her.
Well, last week this kitten got sick at the shelter, the staff managed to get her into a carrier and took her to the vet. I had been informed about what was going on, so I called the vet and warned her that the kitten they were going to take at the practice was a fierce feral beast!
Well, nobody could believe it, a few hours later the kitten was in the vet's arms and was giving her kisses and headbutts as she was the sweetest of the kittens. This vet succeded in taming other feral kittens in no time before.
So I was kind of thinking to hand my kitten to the vet for a day or two and have her reset to be a sweet cat :lol:
 
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