Several months ago we adopted a neutered, claws in tact, male cat who is about a year old. The shelter didn't know anything about his background beyond that he had been brought in by someone who came across him being beaten. "Abandoned" was written on his paperwork.
With that background I was cautious, but I totally fell in love with him and the (reputable) shelter hadn't seen any problem behaviors. They said he loved people and played well with other cats. He was a very sweet boy who spent much of the first two weeks going between my daughter's lap and mine, with some exploration in between. He must have just been soaking in all the love, because after that he hopped down and started becoming the active, strong cat you'd expect in a young one.
We'd made the mistake of letting our last kitten think of us as playthings, so we've been careful to direct him to toys--not our hands, feet, etc. He would occasionally ambush us with a light tap on the rear in those early weeks, but that was it. Gradually he moved beyond that and started going after our arms or legs---biting/scratching. Typically we'd give him a firm "No" and if that didn't work, we'd put him the pet taxi which did calm him. Distraction with toys also helped.
This hard play behavior has really increased over the past month, but has shifted to include more aggressive behavior. A few weeks ago I working on a project that required me to be standing up and he was really persistent in targeting my legs and it was crossing into ears back aggression. Then this past week he's especially targeted my older teen daughter. The past two days every time she's walked into the kitchen he's skipped any play and started facing her down with ears back, tail swishing, and (new) a few loud, deep meows. We've continued with no/pet taxi, although honestly I thumped him yesterday when he was coming at my daughter. I know that's not ideal in this situation, but he was close to striking and I was really worried he was going to tear into her legs. Then just this morning after a normal hour he started approaching my legs with the ears back. I put him in the pet taxi and now he's perfectly chilled out--even stayed there when the door opened.
Other details I can think of that might help. He's like having a toddler around the house--into everything. We give him plenty of attention, including active play every day. He became increasingly food obsessed when we started switching from shelter fed Science Diet to Evo. He seems satisfied when he's fed, but he's wild about it. (1/2 can plus a small spoon of dry so calories are equal). He's constantly hopping on counters to cruise around and we're constantly picking him up and putting him back down, but he doesn't give up. If I don't cover the sinks with a wire rack, he'll be fishing around in the garbage disposal.
I'm going to call and schedule with my vet, but I wanted to tap into the wisdom that I know is here. We adore him, so it's upsetting, and concerning. Our last cat had a feisty temperament, but it was more along the lines of aggressive play when he was young and crankiness when he was older. This is different.
Thanks in advance for any help.
With that background I was cautious, but I totally fell in love with him and the (reputable) shelter hadn't seen any problem behaviors. They said he loved people and played well with other cats. He was a very sweet boy who spent much of the first two weeks going between my daughter's lap and mine, with some exploration in between. He must have just been soaking in all the love, because after that he hopped down and started becoming the active, strong cat you'd expect in a young one.
We'd made the mistake of letting our last kitten think of us as playthings, so we've been careful to direct him to toys--not our hands, feet, etc. He would occasionally ambush us with a light tap on the rear in those early weeks, but that was it. Gradually he moved beyond that and started going after our arms or legs---biting/scratching. Typically we'd give him a firm "No" and if that didn't work, we'd put him the pet taxi which did calm him. Distraction with toys also helped.
This hard play behavior has really increased over the past month, but has shifted to include more aggressive behavior. A few weeks ago I working on a project that required me to be standing up and he was really persistent in targeting my legs and it was crossing into ears back aggression. Then this past week he's especially targeted my older teen daughter. The past two days every time she's walked into the kitchen he's skipped any play and started facing her down with ears back, tail swishing, and (new) a few loud, deep meows. We've continued with no/pet taxi, although honestly I thumped him yesterday when he was coming at my daughter. I know that's not ideal in this situation, but he was close to striking and I was really worried he was going to tear into her legs. Then just this morning after a normal hour he started approaching my legs with the ears back. I put him in the pet taxi and now he's perfectly chilled out--even stayed there when the door opened.
Other details I can think of that might help. He's like having a toddler around the house--into everything. We give him plenty of attention, including active play every day. He became increasingly food obsessed when we started switching from shelter fed Science Diet to Evo. He seems satisfied when he's fed, but he's wild about it. (1/2 can plus a small spoon of dry so calories are equal). He's constantly hopping on counters to cruise around and we're constantly picking him up and putting him back down, but he doesn't give up. If I don't cover the sinks with a wire rack, he'll be fishing around in the garbage disposal.
I'm going to call and schedule with my vet, but I wanted to tap into the wisdom that I know is here. We adore him, so it's upsetting, and concerning. Our last cat had a feisty temperament, but it was more along the lines of aggressive play when he was young and crankiness when he was older. This is different.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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